Ohio Rabbit & Squirrel Season 2026-27: Small Game Dates

Q: When does rabbit season open in Ohio in 2026-27?

Cottontail rabbit: November 6, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife publishes it under that name, and the zone table on this page was read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: When is squirrel season in Ohio?

Squirrel: September 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027. Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife publishes it under that name, and the zone table on this page was read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: Does Ohio have a pheasant season?

Ring-necked pheasant (roosters only): November 6, 2026 to January 10, 2027. Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife publishes it under that name, and the zone table on this page was read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: Do small game dates vary by zone in Ohio?

Not for the 2026-27 seasons shown here: Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife publishes these windows statewide rather than splitting the state into zones with different openers, so the dates in the tables above apply as listed. Which county or public area you hunt can still change what is open there, and the agency's regulations page linked below is where that lives.

Q: Where are the bag limits, legal methods and licence rules for Ohio small game?

At Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, whose regulations page is linked on this page. Those rules are legally binding, change annually and vary by species, by zone and by land ownership. This page carries the season windows themselves, with source and read date attached.

Q: Can these Ohio small game dates change?

Yes. Agencies amend season orders, add or drop zones, and occasionally correct their own published tables mid season. This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 19, 2026, says so in the copy, and links the exact Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife page it read on September 19, 2026. Treat the agency page as the final word on the morning you hunt.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 19, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.

November 6, 2026 to January 10, 2027

Pheasant

published

November 6, 2026 to November 29, 2026

Quail

published

No open season

Grouse

no season

November 6, 2026 to February 28, 2027

Rabbit

published

September 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027

Squirrel

published

Statewide

Zone structure

as the agency draws it

Five seasons, one state

Ohio small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife dates red, gray, black and fox squirrel, cottontail rabbit, ring-necked pheasant, chukar and bobwhite quail, with ruffed grouse limited to controlled hunts separately, so each species is below under the agency’s own name for it, with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them.

Ring-necked pheasant (roosters only)

published

Ring-necked pheasant (roosters only) runs November 6, 2026 to January 10, 2027 across all zones.

Ohio ring-necked pheasant (roosters only), as published by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	November 6, 2026	January 10, 2027

Dates read from Ohio's 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Season Dates, ODNR Division of Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Ohio opens rabbit, pheasant, chukar and quail together on the first Friday of November, Nov 6 in 2026, and pheasant runs statewide to Jan 10, 2027. Two youth small game weekends precede the opener.

Opening day, the daily limit and the full season calendar are on the Ohio pheasant season page.

Bobwhite quail (16 counties and specific wildlife areas only)

published

Bobwhite quail (16 counties and specific wildlife areas only) runs November 6, 2026 to November 29, 2026 across all zones.

Ohio bobwhite quail (16 counties and specific wildlife areas only), as published by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
16 open counties and specific wildlife areas	November 6, 2026	November 29, 2026	Open counties are on the Division of Wildlife's 2026 Bobwhite Quail Open Counties Map

Dates read from Ohio's 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Season Dates, ODNR Division of Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Bobwhite quail is open only in 16 designated counties on private land plus Tri-Valley and Crown City wildlife areas, with Crown City offering controlled hunts only, and the season is a little over three weeks, Nov 6 to Nov 29, 2026. Quail hunting is closed on all other public hunting areas.

Ruffed grouse

no season

Ohio has no open grouse season for 2026-27. New for 2026-27: the season dates chart lists ruffed grouse as limited to controlled hunts on four designated areas, and the regulations say only hunters with a permit drawn in the July controlled access lotteries may hunt grouse. There is no open general ruffed grouse season anywhere in Ohio this year. Source: Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.

Cottontail rabbit

published

Cottontail rabbit runs November 6, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

Ohio cottontail rabbit, as published by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	November 6, 2026	February 28, 2027

Dates read from Ohio's 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Season Dates, ODNR Division of Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Cottontail rabbit opens with pheasant on Nov 6, 2026 and is the last of Ohio's small game seasons to close, on Feb 28, 2027.

Squirrel

published

Squirrel runs September 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027 across all zones.

Ohio squirrel, as published by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	September 1, 2026	January 31, 2027

Dates read from Ohio's 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Season Dates, ODNR Division of Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Squirrel is Ohio's first small game season of the year, opening Sep 1, 2026 statewide for red, gray, black and fox squirrels and closing Jan 31, 2027.

Ruffed grouse hunting will be limited to controlled hunting with a permit on designated areas.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

A rooster ring-necked pheasant with a red face, iridescent green head and white neck ring striding through dry pale crop stubble — A rooster in harvested crop stubble in North Dakota. Most pheasant openers land in October and November, once the fields are cut. Photo: Courtney Celley, USFWS. “Ring-necked pheasant (54120901581)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Public domain

The rest of the calendar

Other Ohio small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife dates 3 further seasons on the same small game pages. They are reproduced here under the agency’s own names, because a hunter reading a calendar needs to know which window a licence or stamp actually covers.

Youth small game: cottontail rabbit, ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail

published

Youth small game: cottontail rabbit, ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail runs October 24, 2026 to November 1, 2026 across all zones.

Ohio youth small game: cottontail rabbit, ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail, as published by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide (segment 1)	October 24, 2026	October 25, 2026	Quail only in the counties and wildlife areas open to quail hunting
Statewide (segment 2)	October 31, 2026	November 1, 2026

Dates read from Ohio's 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Season Dates, ODNR Division of Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Two youth weekends ahead of the regular Nov 6 opener. The regulations say the youth small game season is open for rabbit, pheasant, chukar and quail in select areas, as well as other legal game in season.

Chukar

published

Chukar runs November 6, 2026 to January 10, 2027 across all zones.

Ohio chukar, as published by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	November 6, 2026	January 10, 2027

Dates read from Ohio's 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Season Dates, ODNR Division of Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Chukar is dated alongside ring-necked pheasant on the same Nov 6, 2026 to Jan 10, 2027 window.

Mourning dove

published

Mourning dove runs September 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027 across all zones.

Ohio mourning dove, as published by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide (segment 1)	September 1, 2026	November 8, 2026
Statewide (segment 2)	December 12, 2026	January 1, 2027

Dates read from Ohio's 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Season Dates, ODNR Division of Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Listed in the migratory game bird section of the same ODNR season dates chart; a split season with a December reopening.

Rules

Ohio small game hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by is set by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Ohio regulations

Bag and possession limits, legal methods, shooting hours, license and stamp requirements, and youth or special season rules for Ohio are set by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife: current regulations

Close view of an eastern cottontail rabbit in green grass, ears up, dark round eye and white chin catching the light — An eastern cottontail. Rabbit is usually the last small game season to close, running into February in most of the East and Midwest. Photo: Grayson Smith, USFWS. “Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (48935527872)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Public domain

Small game season dates in other Midwest states

Every state’s pheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit and squirrel dates are on the national small game season page.

A pair of northern bobwhite quail standing together in a carpet of purple violets, the male with a bold white throat and eye stripe, the female buff faced — A bobwhite pair. Quail seasons run from late autumn into winter across the South and Midwest; several western states date scaled, Gambel's and California quail on the same row. Photo: Steve Maslowski, USFWS. “Colinus virginianus USFWS”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, Public domain

Ohio pheasant seasonOpening day, the daily limit and the full Ohio pheasant calendar, read from the same agency.Ohio deer seasonArchery, firearms, muzzleloader and youth deer dates for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.Ohio turkey seasonSpring and fall wild turkey windows for 2026-27, read from the same agency.Ohio duck seasonDuck and goose season dates by zone and flyway, read from the same agency.Ohio fall foliagePeak color and the first grouse and squirrel weeks overlap. Plan the same trip.

Ohio small game season questions

When does rabbit season open in Ohio in 2026-27?

When is squirrel season in Ohio?

Does Ohio have a pheasant season?

Do small game dates vary by zone in Ohio?

Where are the bag limits, legal methods and licence rules for Ohio small game?

Can these Ohio small game dates change?

A fox squirrel with a grey back and rust orange belly crouched on a lichen covered branch against bare winter trees and blue sky — A fox squirrel in bare winter woods in Ohio. Squirrel is the earliest small game opener in many states, from mid August or September, and runs to January or February. “Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger vulpinus) (13255025953)” by Andrew C, CC BY 2.0

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 19, 2026. Every season window is republished from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife page linked beside it, read on September 19, 2026; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Bag and possession limits, legal methods, shooting hours and licence rules are set by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.