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November 16, 2006
OHIO’S POPULAR DEER-GUN SEASON OPEN STATEWIDE
NOVEMBER 27 THROUGH DECEMBER 3
Additional weekend of gun hunting for white-tailed deer
on December 16-17
 COLUMBUS, OH Ohio’s popular deer-gun season opens statewide on Monday, November 27, offering hunters expanded opportunities to harvest a whitetail. The upcoming season will include an extra weekend of gun hunting, as well as the new apprentice license program, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
“Ohio’s hunters told us they wanted more weekend days to hunt, so an extra Saturday and Sunday were added this year. This is also the first year for the apprentice license, which gives deer hunters a great new chance to mentor a friend for deer hunting,” said Steven A. Gray, chief of the Division of Wildlife.
Apprentice hunting licenses allow new hunters, both adults and youth, to sample the experience of hunting under the mentorship of a licensed adult, prior to completing a hunter education course. The apprentice hunting license was developed as part of a nationwide effort called “Families Afield,” designed to remove barriers that prevent hunters from passing along the hunting heritage.
The deer-gun season will be open from Monday, November 27, through Sunday, December 3, from one half-hour before sunrise to sunset. For the first time in Ohio, hunters will have an additional gun-hunting weekend, December 16-17, to pursue deer statewide. With a pre-hunting season population estimate of 600,000 white-tailed deer, the Division of Wildlife anticipates a kill of 115,000 to 120,000 deer during the nine-day season. Approximately 400,000 hunters are expected to participate in this year’s season, including many out-of-state hunters.
The white-tailed deer is the most popular game animal in Ohio, frequently pursued by generations of hunters. Deer hunting contributes an estimated $266 million to the state’s economy each year and helps to support thousands of jobs.
Venison is delicious and nutritious meat, low in fat and cholesterol. It is the number one wild game served by hunters in Ohio. Deer hunters also contribute thousands of pounds of venison to organizations that help feed less-fortunate Ohioans through special programs.
The Ohio Buckeye Big Buck Club (BBBC) has recorded more than one-half of its top 10 entries for both typical and non-typical deer racks during the last decade. Of the 144 BBBC entries scoring higher than 200, 92 (63 percent) have been killed since 1990. The BBBC has kept records of trophy deer since 1958.
Ohio’s trophy bucks have also gained national attention. The famous 39-point Beatty Buck was taken in Greene County in the fall of 2000. With a rack score of 304 6/8, it stands as the world’s largest non-typical, white-tailed deer ever taken by a bow hunter. A typical white-tailed deer killed in 2004 in Warren County, known as the Jerman Buck, became an Ohio record with a score of 201 1/8.
Ohio is divided into three deer hunting zones. A limit of one deer may be taken in Zone A (20 counties). Hunters may take a second deer in Zone B (30 counties). A total of three deer may be harvested in eastern and southeastern Ohio’s Zone C (38 counties). Any time a hunter is allowed to take more than one deer, they must purchase an additional permit. Hunters may purchase up to four urban deer permits to take antlerless deer within the designated urban deer zones located around Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Toledo, Dayton, and Cincinnati.
Hunters may take only one antlered deer, regardless of zone, hunting method or season. A deer permit is required in addition to a valid Ohio hunting license.
Additional hunting regulations and maps of the state’s deer zones are contained in the 2006-2007 Ohio Hunting Regulations. This free publication is available wherever hunting licenses are sold, online at ohiodnr.com/wildlife or by calling 1-800-WILDLIFE.
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