Antlerless Deer

Antlerless Deer Bag Limit

Statewide Bag Limit

The statewide bag limits for deer hunting are 1 antlered deer and 6 antlerless deer harvested in all counties and seasons combined. Hunters cannot exceed these limits during the regular deer hunting seasons, including youth, firearms, archery, and muzzleloader seasons, regardless of the licenses or exemptions used. Hunters must also comply with the number of antlerless deer that can be harvested in each individual county.

The Deer Reduction Zone season and properties with special hunts, such as the reserved hunts for military and federal lands and the state park management hunts have their own bag limits in addition to the statewide bag limits.

County Antlerless Bag Limits

The county antlerless bag limit is the total number of antlerless deer that can be harvested in each county during youth, archery, firearms (only with the use of a multi-season antlerless license), and muzzleloader seasons combined.

Hunters may use an archery license, muzzleloader license, multi-season antlerless license, license bundle, youth hunt/trap license, comprehensive lifetime hunting license, or license exemption to harvest antlerless deer. Firearms licenses are “buck only,” and cannot be used to harvest antlerless deer. Antlerless deer harvested with the deer license bundle must be used toward the bag limit for antlerless deer in the county where the deer was harvested. The number of antlerless deer harvested from all Indiana counties combined cannot exceed the statewide bag limit.

County antlerless bag limits are determined using a variety of population indicators such as hunter harvest trends, deer observation rates, crop damage reports, deer-vehicle collision rates, and hunter surveys that measure individual satisfaction level with deer populations in each county.

Bag limits may change in the event of a disease outbreak prior to the deer hunting season, so be sure to check the bag limit in the weeks before the season begins. Learn more about county antlerless bag limits at on.IN.gov/deer-quota.

Multi-Season Antlerless License

The multi-season antlerless license can be used in the youth, archery, firearms, and muzzleloader seasons only. Hunters must use the equipment that is legal during the season that is being hunted. Only one antlerless deer may be harvested per multi-season antlerless deer license. Additional licenses must be purchased to harvest additional deer.

Multi-season antlerless licenses may be used on public land, but they cannot be used on a DNR-managed Fish & Wildlife area and some other DNR properties to harvest an antlerless deer with a firearm during firearms season. This includes using muzzleloaders during firearms season. The multi-season antlerless license may be used on these properties during firearms season if you are hunting with archery equipment. See a list of properties with antlerless restrictions at on.IN.gov/deer-quota.