Brown County Hunting Guide

Brown County waterfowl, turkey and small game

Duck and goose zone dates for Brown County

Zone C covers the whole county, so there is no zone line to watch for waterfowl. The longer Zone C duck split starts December 12 and ends January 31, 2027. Geese stay open in Zone C until February 15, 2027. Early teal plus early Canada goose, September 5 to September 13, 2026, and youth and veterans waterfowl, October 3 to October 4, 2026, apply in Brown County as everywhere. Two dove windows (September 1 to November 8, 2026; December 12, 2026 to January 1, 2027) and one woodcock season (October 16 to November 29, 2026) cover the county. Duck and goose hunters 16 and older carry the $25.00 federal duck stamp and the $15.00 Ohio wetlands stamp, plus HIP certification each year.

Gobblers in Brown County

Spring turkey here follows the South zone. Its 2026 dates were April 25 to May 24, 2026; treat them as last year's until ODNR posts 2027. In 2026, young hunters in the South zone went first, on April 18 to April 19, 2026. ODNR's 2026 spring results list 358 birds for Brown County (rank 10 of 88), compared with 292 in 2023. Fall turkey is open in Brown County, October 1 to October 25, 2026, one bird of either sex, and for 2026-27 only shotguns with shotshells are legal. Fall 2025 results: 13 birds from the county.

Upland and fur seasons, Brown County

The county is among the 16 where bobwhite quail may be hunted, November 6 to November 29, 2026. Squirrel season runs September 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027; rabbit, pheasant and chukar open together on November 6. Furbearer hunting and trapping run November 10, 2026 to January 31, 2027, and beaver and river otter trapping December 26, 2026 to February 28, 2027; Brown County is in otter Zone B. ODNR sets the otter limit at 3 total, max. 1 from Zone B. Mink and muskrat stay open to February 28, 2027.

Zones from OAC 1501:31-7-07 and the digest waterfowl pages; seasons from the 2026-27 season dates; turkey from the turkey rules with spring and fall results (2023 spring; 2024 spring; 2025 spring; 2026 spring; 2023 fall; 2024 fall; 2025 fall); quail from OAC 1501:31-15-21; otter zones from the trapping pages; stamps from the license list. Checked November 6, 2026.

Brown County district office, towns and processors

For ODNR, Brown County is a Southwest Ohio county; the Wildlife District 5 office sits in Xenia with Todd Haines as manager. For a violation or a question in the field, the Brown County wildlife officer is Micah Collier at (513) 646-4014. Fayetteville hosts the nearest wildlife area headquarters, Indian Creek Wildlife Area headquarters, around 18 miles away.

Brown County covers 490 square miles of land; Georgetown is its seat and the 2024 population estimate is 44,292.

Brown County towns with pages

Town pages for Brown County: 3, listed by size after the seat.

• Georgetown4,498 people
• Ripley1,591 people
• Fayetteville317 people

Our directory lists 1 deer processor, 1 taxidermist and 1 sporting goods store in Brown County.

Brown County venison processing

Brown County mount makers

Shops for ammo and bows around Brown County

Closest guide or preserves beyond Brown County

District offices, officers and wildlife area headquarters from the digest wildlife officer page and the ODNR county contacts and work units layers (counties.json); population from the Census 2024 estimates; services from store locators, Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry and Yellow Pages listings (not individually verified). Checked November 6, 2026.

Brown County hunter checklist

The base license is $19.00 for an Ohioan and $180.96 for a visitor; youth and resident seniors pay $10.00. Any hunter afield in a gun or muzzleloader deer season needs a hunter orange vest, jacket, coat or coveralls; waterfowl hunters are exempt.

The baiting rule: legal for deer on private land outside the DSA, illegal on public areas and for turkeys and migratory birds. Every deer is game checked by noon the day after it is taken, and each turkey by 11:30 p.m. on its day. Sunday is a normal hunting day in Ohio. Hunter education is required for a first license; the apprentice license lets a beginner skip it while accompanied by a licensed hunter 21 or older. For a record-book whitetail, contact the Buckeye Big Buck Club; ODNR keeps harvest counts, not records.

From the license and permit list, hunter orange rule, baiting rules, game check, season calendar, hunter education and the Buckeye Big Buck Club notice in the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations. Checked November 6, 2026.

Nearest county guides to Brown County

Pages for the closest counties, measured centre to centre, and three Ohio-wide references.

Bordering Brown County: Adams County, Clermont County, Clinton County, Highland County.

Beyond Ohio: Bracken County (KY), Mason County (KY)

Last check for Brown County

Check the official digest before you go: ODNR can change a rule, and the officer for Brown County has the final word in the field.