County Antlerless Deer Bag Limit

In 2025, the Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC) adopted a new rule converting the County Bonus Antlerless Quota system to a County Antlerless Bag Limit. Previously, in a county with a County Bonus Antlerless Quota of 3, hunters could take up to 6 antlerless deer. This occasionally led to a misunderstanding that the number posted for the County Bonus Antlerless Quota map was the total number of antlerless deer that could be harvested. In response, Indiana DNR worked to clarify the antlerless harvest system so that a single number was provided stating the number of antlerless deer that could be harvested with any legal equipment within that county, now called the County Antlerless Bag Limit.

The County Antlerless Bag Limit is the total number of antlerless deer that can be harvested in a given county during youth, firearms (only with the use of a multi-season antlerless license), archery, and muzzleloader seasons combined. Additional antlerless deer can be harvested if there is a deer reduction zone present or if there are special organized hunts occurring in that county such as state park management hunts, draws on public land, and military lands. The County Antlerless Bag Limit can be filled using archery licenses, muzzleloader licenses, or the multi-season antlerless license. The multi-season antlerless license can be used in firearms, muzzleloader, and archery seasons only.

Firearms licenses cannot be used to harvest antlerless deer. Firearms licenses are “buck only.”

Hunters must use the equipment that is legal during the season that is being hunted. The multi-season antlerless license may be used in any county, but you may not take more than the county bag limit for antlerless deer in any specific county. You cannot exceed the statewide antlerless bag limit of 6 for the entire state.

The map on the right indicates county bag limits for antlerless deer; however, bag limits may change in the event of a disease outbreak prior to deer hunting season, so be sure to check the bag limit in the weeks before the season begins.

Multi-season antlerless licenses may be used on public land, including DNR-managed Fish & Wildlife areas, 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 during firearms season if you are hunting with archery equipment. See a list of properties below where the multi-season antlerless license cannot be used to harvest an antlerless deer during firearms season.

Antlerless deer harvested with the deer license bundle must be used toward the bag limit for antlerless deer in that county where the deer was harvested.

The bag limits for archery and muzzleloader seasons have been removed. This means you can now use archery and muzzleloader licenses to harvest all your antlerless deer. For instance, if you want to harvest all 6 antlerless deer statewide with an archery license, you can now do so; however, you still must comply with each county’s antlerless bag limit.

County Antlerless Bag Limits are determined using a variety of population indicators such as trends in deer population estimates, hunter harvest success rate 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.

2025-2026 County Antlerless Bag Limits

* During the 2025 Youth Season (Sept. 27-28) the antlerless bag limit for Franklin and Fayette counties is one antlerless deer per youth hunter. Beginning Oct. 1, the bag limit is 2 antlerless deer for all hunters.

• Anspaugh Wetland Conservation Area
• Ashcraft Wildlife Management Area
• Atterbury Fish & Wildlife Area
• Aukiki Wetland Conservation Area
• Austin Bottoms Conservation Area
• Beaver Dam Wetland Conservation Area
• Big Barbee Wetland Conservation Area
• Bittern Bog Wetland Conservation Area
• Blue Grass Fish & Wildlife Area
• Bob Kern Nature Preserve
• Boones Pond Public Fishing Area
• Brownstown Public Fishing Area
• Carlson Gamebird Habitat Area
• Cartmell Gamebird Habitat Area
• Cattail Slough Gamebird Habitat Area
• Cedar Swamp Wetland Conservation Area
• Center Lake Wetland Conservation Area
• Chinook Fish & Wildlife Area
• Chustak Public Fishing Area
• Crosley Fish & Wildlife Area
• C. Triplett Gamebird Habitat Area
• Curtis Lake Wetland Conservation Area
• Cypress Lake Public Fishing Area
• Deer Creek Fish & Wildlife Area
• Deniston Resource Area
• Deno Gamebird Habitat Area
• Dick Blythe Wetland Conservation Area
• Doak Wildlife Management Area
• Donohue Gamebird Habitat Area
• Driftwood Wildlife Management Area
• Durham Lake Wetland Conservation Area
• Eagle Lake Wetland Conservation Area
• Elk Creek Wildlife Management Area
• Eller Pond Wetland Conservation Area
• Fairbanks Landing Fish & Wildlife Area
• Falwell Gamebird Habitat Area
• Fish Lake Wetland Conservation Area
• Flora Gamebird Habitat Area
• Funcheon Gamebird Habitat Area
• Galena Marsh Wetland Conservation Area
• Geswein Gamebird Habitat Area
• Glendale Fish & Wildlife Area
• Goose Creek Gamebird Habitat Area
• Goose Lake Wetland Conservation Area
• Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area
• Green Valley Wildlife Management Area
• Greenwood Ditch Gamebird Habitat Area
• Grouse Ridge Wildlife Management Area
• Hawkins Gamebird Habitat Area
• Hillenbrand Fish & Wildlife Area
• Hindostan Falls Wildlife Management Area
• Hovey Lake Fish & Wildlife Area
• Howat 80 Wildlife Management Area
• Hufford Trust Area
• Huston Ditch Wildlife Management Area
• Idaville Gamebird Habitat Area
• Interlake State Recreation Area
• Iroquois Gamebird Habitat Area
• Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area
• Jefvert Gamebird Habitat Area
• Jimmerson Lake Wetland Conservation Area
• Judy Burton Nature Preserve
• Kankakee Fish & Wildlife Area
• Kankakee Sands (The Nature Conservancy)
• Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife Area
• Kirsch Gamebird Habitat Area
• Knob View Gamebird Habitat Area
• Koontz Lake Wetland Conservation Area
• Knop Lake Public Fishing Area
• LaSalle Fish & Wildlife Area
• Little Chapman Wetland Conservation Area
• Little Pigeon Creek Wetland Conservation Area
• Lost Hill Wetland Conservation Area
• Lyons Gamebird Habitat Area
• Mallard Roost Wetland Conservation Area
• Manitou Island Wetland Conservation Area

• Maxinkuckee Wetland Conservation Area
• Marsh Lake Wetland Conservation Area
• Martindale Public Fishing Area
• Martinsville Public Fishing Area
• McGinnis-Lauerman Gamebird Habitat Area
• Meander Lands Wetland Conservation Area
• Mendenhall Wetland Conservation Area
• Menominee Public Fishing Area
• Menominee Wetland Conservation Area
• Metro-60 Gamebird Habitat Area
• Mississinewa Lake (including adjacent lands administered by the DNR)
• Modoc Wildlife Management Area
• Morgan Bluff Wildlife Management Area
• Mud Pine Gamebird Habitat Area
• Nickel Plate Gamebird Habitat Area
• Nipsco Beach Public Fishing Area
• Norway Dam Public Fishing Area
• Oak Grove Wildlife Management Area
• Oxbow Bottoms Wildlife Management Area
• Paragon Wildlife Management Area
• Patoka Lake
• Pigeon River Fish & Wildlife Area
• Pine Creek Gamebird Habitat Area
• Place Trail Marsh Gamebird Habitat Area
• Pointer Ridge Gamebird Habitat Area
• Port of Indiana Public Fishing Area
• Province Pond Wetland Conservation Area
• Prudential Gamebird Habitat Area
• Raccoon Creek Public Fishing Area
• Randolph County Wildlife Management Area
• Raub Gamebird Habitat Area
• Reynolds Creek Gamebird Habitat Area
• Roger McClellan Gamebird Habitat Area
• Rome City Wetland Conservation Area
• Ropchan Wetland Conservation Area
• Round Lake Wetland Conservation Area
• Roush Lake Fish & Wildlife Area
• Salamonie Lake (including adjacent lands administered by the DNR)
• Salt Creek Public Fishing Area
• Sandy Ridge Gamebird Habitat Area
• Scott Mill Pond Public Fishing Area
• Sorenson Gamebird Habitat Area
• Splinter Ridge Fish & Wildlife Area
• Sprig Slough Wetland Conservation Area
• Steiner Gamebird Habitat Area
• Straight Line Slough Wildlife Management Area
• Stucker Fork Fish & Wildlife Area
• Sugar Creek Conservation Area
• Sugar Creek Public Fishing Area
• Sugar Ridge Fish & Wildlife Area
• Three Rivers Public Fishing Area
• Trail Creek Public Fishing Area
• Trail Creek Forks Public Fishing Area
• Trail Creek Johnson Road Public Fishing Area
• Trail Creek West Branch Public Fishing Area
• Tri-County Fish & Wildlife Area
• Turkey Creek Wetland Conservation Area
• Turkey Foot Wetland Conservation Area
• Vinegar Hill Gamebird Habitat Area
• Vinyard Gamebird Habitat Area
• Wabashiki Fish & Wildlife Area
• Wabash River Conservation Area
• Watland Gamebird Habitat Area
• Wawasee Public Fishing Area
• Wawasee Wetland Conservation Area
• Westerkamp Wildlife Management Area
• Whirledge Wetland Conservation Area
• White County One Gamebird Habitat Area
• White Oak Wildlife Management Area
• White River Bend Wildlife Management Area
• Wilbur Wright Fish & Wildlife Area
• Williams Dam Public Fishing Area
• Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife Area
• Winamac Fish & Wildlife Area