DEER HUNTING Ohio and Pennsylvania
OHIO
The deer gun season will be open each day from Monday through Sunday, from a half-hour before sunrise to sunset.
The state is divided into three deer hunting zones with a limit of one deer may be taken in Zone A (29 counties) or Zone R (5 counties). Hunters may take a second deer in Zone B (54 counties) by purchasing additional deer permits.
Hunters may purchase up to four urban deer permits to take antlerless deer only within the urban deer zones. Urban deer zones are located around Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Toledo, Dayton and Cincinnati.
Hunters may take a deer of either sex during the deer-gun season, except in the five-county Zone R, where a deer of either sex may be taken during the first two days of the season and an antlered buck only during the remaining five days. Zone R lies primarily in northwestern and western Ohio.
A deer permit is required in addition to a valid Ohio hunting license. Hunters may take only one antlered deer, regardless of zone, hunting method or season.
During the seven-day gun season, hunters must visibly wear a vest, coat, jacket or coveralls that are either solid hunter orange or camouflage hunter orange. A hunter orange hat or cap alone does not satisfy legal requirements during the deer-gun season.
Hunters may use 10, 12, 16, 20, 28 or .410-gauge shotguns; handguns with five-inch minimum barrels, using straight-walled cartridges of .357 caliber or larger; muzzleloading rifles of at least .38 caliber or larger; longbows or crossbows. Rifled barrels are permitted when using shotgun slug ammunition.
PENNSYLVANIA
The concurrent antlered/antlerless rifle deer season runs Monday through Dec. 13. In order to harvest a doe during the concurrent seasons, all hunters must possess a valid, wildlife management unit-specific antlerless deer license for the unit in which they are hunting.
Manually operated center-fire rifles, handguns and shotguns with all-lead bullet or ball, or a bullet designed to expand on impact; (2) muzzleloading long gun of any type or caliber; and (3) long, recurve or compound bows with a peak draw weight not less than 35 pounds, and crossbows with a draw weight of not less than 125 pounds, and not more than 200 pounds.
Bowhunters must use arrows equipped with broadheads having an outside diameter of at least 7/8-inch with no less than two cutting edges, which shall be in the same plane throughout the length of the cutting surface.
Crossbow hunters may use bolts tipped with broadheads of cutting edge design.
The use of buckshot is illegal, except in the Southeast Special Regulations Area.
Hunter orange regulations require hunters to wear 250 square inches of fluorescent orange clothing on the head, chest and back combined -- visible in a 360-degree arc -- when they hunt, or assist to hunt any game or wildlife, or move to or from a hunting location, from one hour before legal hunting hours to one hour after legal hunting hours, outside of any motorized vehicle.
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