| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 06 NOV – 29 NOV 2026 | 24d |
As publishedNov 6, 2026 - Nov 29, 2026
Private land only in 16 southern counties: Adams, Athens, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Highland, Jackson, Meigs, Montgomery, Pike, Preble, Ross, Scioto, Vinton, and Warren. Public land limited to Tri-Valley Wildlife Area (Muskingum County) and controlled hunts at Crown City Wildlife Area (Gallia/Lawrence counties); closed on all other public areas (county list per Quail Forever's 2026 forecast, Ohio section). Youth small game season (quail included) runs Oct 24-25, 2026 and Oct 31-Nov 1, 2026, same bag as regular season. Wild bobwhite population is low-density in Ohio (ODNR's 2020-21 hunter survey estimated only ~728 wild-bobwhite hunters and ~208 birds harvested statewide that season) - relative-scale context only, not current-year data.
Ohio's bobwhite was historically statewide but has contracted to a fragmented southern/southwestern core, and one Ohio site is quantified in unusual detail: ODNR's own Crown City Wildlife Area Northern Bobwhite Population Status Report (June 2025), a distance-sampling roadside survey running annually since 2019. Crown City, a reclaimed strip mine in Lawrence and Gallia counties, southeastern Ohio, supports the largest known population of northern bobwhite quail on public lands in Ohio, estimated at 159 birds (95% CI: 88-287) in 2025, stable to increasing since 2019. Independent sourcing (Ohioline/OSU Extension and outdoor-press coverage) identifies two other, unmanaged population clusters, Preble/Butler counties (southwest) and Adams/Brown/Clinton/Highland counties (south-central), plus smaller fragments in Fayette, Ross, and Jackson counties, consistent with ODNR's own statement that hunting is currently limited to 16 counties in southern/southwestern Ohio, down from a historically statewide range.
Ohio's statewide spring whistle count, run by the Ohio Division of Wildlife from mid-May through June, came in 40% lower than 2025, according to the Division's own biologist quoted in Quail Forever's 2026 forecast. Part of that drop is a give-back: 2025's counts were among the highest of the past five years. The cause was a late-January storm that dropped 6 to 18 inches of snow across most of the state, with an ice layer of an inch or more on top of the snow in parts of southern Ohio quail range and a deep freeze lasting more than a week. Birds did come through where cover was good. Coveys are still spread across all 16 southern counties open this fall, and Quail Forever's acoustic recorders picked up quail in all 12 southern counties where they were deployed, but numbers remain low and hunters should expect to walk farther between flushes than last season. Access is the bigger planning question: quail hunting is open only on private land in Adams, Athens, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Highland, Jackson, Meigs, Montgomery, Pike, Preble, Ross, Scioto, Vinton, and Warren counties. Public ground is limited to Tri-Valley Wildlife Area in Muskingum County, outside those 16 counties, and controlled hunts at Crown City Wildlife Area, whose application period has closed. Ohio's walk-in program, OLHAP, covers about 200 properties across 51 counties with free permits. Season runs Nov. 6 to 29, 2026, with a 2-bird daily and possession limit.
A harsh late-January storm of snow, ice, and a week-long deep freeze, which cut Ohio's 2026 spring whistle counts 40% from a strong 2025, per the Division of Wildlife's own biologist.
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