Ohio

Straight-walled cartridge rifles (.357 to .50 caliber, e.g., .350 Legend, .450 Bushmaster, .45-70 Government, .444 Marlin, .360 Buckhammer) are legal statewide during Ohio Deer Gun Week and the bonus December weekend. Bottlenecked centerfire cartridges (.30-06, .270 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor) are strictly prohibited for deer hunting statewide. Expanding bullets mandatory.

10, 12, 16, 20, and 28 gauge shotguns firing a single slug or sabot slug are legal for deer during the gun season. Holding capacity must be plugged to hold no more than 3 shells total in magazine and chamber combined. Buckshot is strictly illegal for deer hunting in Ohio. Non-toxic shot mandatory for waterfowl.

Single-barrel muzzleloading rifles .38 caliber or larger permitted statewide during Gun Week and the dedicated 4-day statewide January Muzzleloader season. Modern in-line muzzleloaders with 209 primers, sabots, and magnifying scopes are fully legal. Muzzleloading shotguns 10 gauge or smaller firing a single slug are also legal.

Longbow, recurve, and compound bows with minimum 40 lb draw weight. Broadheads must have minimum 7/8-inch cutting width and at least two sharp cutting edges. Mechanical expanding broadheads are fully legal. The archery season runs continuously for four months from late September through early February.

Ohio is the pioneer of full crossbow inclusion: crossbows are 100% legal for ALL licensed hunters during the entire 4-month archery season without requiring any disability permit. Crossbows must have a minimum draw weight of 75 lbs, a functioning mechanical safety, and shoot bolts with broadheads measuring at least 7/8 inch wide.

Straight-walled centerfire handguns .357 caliber or larger (e.g., .357 Magnum, .41 Mag, .44 Mag, .45 Colt, .454 Casull, .500 S&W) with a minimum barrel length of 5 inches are legal during gun week. Bottleneck handgun cartridges are illegal for deer hunting in Ohio.