Jefferson County Hunting Guide

Jefferson County bird and trapping seasons

Jefferson County duck and goose seasons

All of Jefferson County falls in waterfowl Zone C, one of the three duck and goose zones ODNR drew for 2026-27. Zone C ducks reopen on December 12 after the October split and last until January 31, 2027. Goose hunters in Zone C have until February 15, 2027. Before the zone seasons, all of Ohio gets early teal and goose from September 5 to September 13, 2026, then youth and military days on October 3 to October 4, 2026. Mourning dove hunting has two statewide splits, September 1 to November 8, 2026 and December 12, 2026 to January 1, 2027, and woodcock fall between them. The Ohio wetlands stamp ($15.00) and federal duck stamp ($25.00) go with HIP for anyone 16 or older after ducks or geese.

Jefferson County turkey numbers

In the South zone, which includes Jefferson County, spring 2026 ran April 25 to May 24, 2026; no 2027 dates were out at our check. The youth spring weekend was April 18 to April 19, 2026 in 2026. The 2026 spring count for Jefferson County was 338 birds (374 in 2023); that ranked 15th in Ohio. Jefferson County opens to fall turkey on October 1, 2026 and closes October 25, 2026; one turkey, shotgun only. 4 fall birds were reported from Jefferson County in 2025.

Small game and trapping in Jefferson County

Jefferson County is outside the quail counties, so bobwhites are off limits. Statewide small game dates apply: squirrel from September 1, cottontail and pheasant from November 6. River otter Zone A covers Jefferson County. Furbearers open November 10, 2026, beaver and otter December 26, 2026. The otter season limit reads: 3 total, max. 1 from Zone B. Mink and muskrat close on 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.

Jefferson County event dates and winners

On November 5, 2026 the county showed 1 date ahead and 9 past rows.

Recently held

1 older rows are on the results page.

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Calling ODNR about Jefferson County

The county answers to the Northeast Ohio district of the Division of Wildlife, based in Akron. Jefferson County has its own state wildlife officer, Craig Porter, listed at (330) 245-3050. Highlandtown Wildlife Area headquarters (Salineville) is the closest wildlife area office, roughly 18 miles from the county centre.

Steubenville is the county seat; Jefferson County had 63,900 residents in the 2024 Census estimate across 408 square miles of land.

Base towns in Jefferson County

Open a town page to see public ground around Steubenville and Wintersville.

• Steubenville18,029 people
• Wintersville3,672 people
• Irondale318 people

Jefferson County has 1 taxidermist and 3 sporting goods stores in the services list. For a deer processor, look across the county line: none is listed inside Jefferson County.

Closest deer processors beyond Jefferson County

Shoulder mounts made near Jefferson County

Guns and bows, Jefferson 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.

Jefferson County license costs and rules

An Ohio hunting license costs $19.00 for residents and $180.96 for nonresidents; youth and senior licenses are $10.00. Hunter orange in Ohio means a whole garment: a vest, coat, jacket or coveralls, solid or camo orange, during the firearm deer seasons, for everyone but waterfowl hunters.

Ohio allows deer baiting on private ground outside the Disease Surveillance Area; public land, turkey hunting and migratory bird hunting stay bait-free. Game check deadlines, by app, website, phone line or license agent: noon the next day for deer, and for turkeys 11:30 p.m. the same day. There is no Sunday restriction in the Ohio rules; hunters may go out on Sundays in any open season. Buying a license for the first time means a hunter education card, unless you go the apprentice route with a licensed adult 21 or older. Score sheets go to the Buckeye Big Buck Club, the private keeper of Ohio deer 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.

Other county guides close to Jefferson County

County guides in driving range, plus statewide pages for rules that never change at a county line.

Adjoining Ohio counties: Belmont County, Carroll County, Columbiana County, Harrison County.

Out-of-state neighbours: Brooke County (WV), Hancock County (WV), Ohio County (WV)

Keeping Jefferson County current

Jefferson County rules last checked November 6, 2026; watch for ODNR updates on spring turkey 2027 and for new weekly deer reports.