Holmes County Hunt Planner

Holmes County waterfowl, turkey and small game

Duck and goose zone dates for Holmes County

Two waterfowl calendars apply here, Zone B and Zone C, separated by the highway boundary in the ODNR zone text. The longer Zone B duck split starts November 21 and ends January 10, 2027. Geese stay open in Zone B 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 Holmes 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.

Zone B boundary as ODNR words it: Lucas south of U.S. 24 and west of I-75; line from the Ashland County line along SR 3, SR 60, U.S. 30, SR 3, SR 226, SR 514, SR 754, SR 39, SR 241, U.S. 30 and SR 39 to Pennsylvania; plus remaining Lake Erie islands and waters.

Gobblers in Holmes 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 206 birds for Holmes County (rank 37 of 88), compared with 197 in 2023. Fall turkey is open in Holmes 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, Holmes County

The county is not on the quail list. 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; Holmes County is in otter Zone A. 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.

Holmes County district office, towns and processors

For ODNR, Holmes County is a Northeast Ohio county; the Wildlife District 3 office sits in Akron with Pete Novotny as manager. For a violation or a question in the field, the Holmes County wildlife officer is Cory Burroughs at (330) 245-3045. Shreve hosts the nearest wildlife area headquarters, Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area headquarters, around 8 miles away.

Holmes County covers 423 square miles of land; Millersburg is its seat and the 2024 population estimate is 44,668.

Holmes County towns with pages

Town pages for Holmes County: 2, listed by size after the seat.

• Millersburg3,264 people
• Holmesville375 people

Our directory lists 2 deer processors, 2 taxidermists and 9 sporting goods stores in Holmes County.

Holmes County venison processing

Holmes County mount makers

Shops for ammo and bows around Holmes County

Closest guide or preserves beyond Holmes 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.

Holmes 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 Holmes County

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

Bordering Holmes County: Ashland County, Coshocton County, Knox County, Stark County, Tuscarawas County, Wayne County.

Last check for Holmes County

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