Subscribe to our Got Nature? Newsletter

Got Nature? Blog

MyDNR, Indiana’s Outdoor Newsletter: There are many options for enjoying outdoor recreation across Indiana this fall, especially with deer hunting season upon us. Learn more about deer hunting, how to support healthy wildlife populations, important regulations and how your hunting can support Hoosiers in need. Pay special attention to deer regulation changes, season dates and the importance of purchasing your license.

• Reduction Zone Season: Sept. 15, 2025 – Jan. 31, 2026
• Archery Season: Oct. 1, 2025 – Jan. 4, 2026
• Firearms Season: Nov. 15 – Nov. 30, 2025
• Muzzleloader Season: Dec. 6- Dec. 21, 2025

Deer Hunting Regulation Changes
Indiana DNR has made big changes to Indiana’s deer hunting rules. These changes are in effect for the 2025-2026 hunting season. The changes were made, in part, to make Indiana’s hunting regulations easier to understand.

Rule changes include:

• The statewide bag limit is now 6 antlerless deer and 1 antlered deer.
• A newly created county antlerless bag limit replaces the season antlerless bag limits and county bonus antlerless quotas. Because of this change, the new multi-season antlerless license has replaced the bonus antlerless license.
• Antlerless deer cannot be taken with a firearm during firearms season at Fish & Wildlife areas.
• Only 1 antlered and 2 antlerless deer can be taken with the bundle license.
• The use of crossbow equipment is now allowed using the archery license.
• Portable tree stands and ground blinds can now be placed on DNR properties in Deer Reduction Zones between noon Sept. 1 and Feb. 8.
• State law prohibits the use of drones (unmanned aerial aircraft) to search for, scout, locate or detect a wild animal during the hunting season and for 14 days prior to the hunting season for that animal.
• Hunters can now use rifles with a centerfire cartridge that has a bullet diameter of .219 inches (5.56 mm) or larger on both public and private lands.

For questions about equipment, regulations or changes in them, or which license you need, contact the Deer Information Line at INDeerInfo@dnr.IN.gov or 812-334-3795.

View a webinar recording explaining deer regulation changes.

Hunting Safety Tips and Reminders
Indiana DNR reminds you to stay safe this deer season. Hunting injuries most commonly involve elevated platforms and tree stands, so stay safe by following the guidelines below.

Tree stand safety before the hunt:

• Read, understand, and follow the tree stand manufacturer’s instructions.
• Check tree stands and equipment for wear, fatigue, rust, and cracks or loose nuts/bolts, paying particularly close attention to parts made of material other than metal.
• Practice at ground level with a responsible adult. If you need to sight in your equipment, find a shooting range near you.
• Learn how to properly wear your full-body safety harness.
• Make a hunt plan and share it with someone before your hunt.
• Wear your full-body safety harness.
• Use a tree stand safety rope.
• Make certain to attach your harness to the tree or tree stand safety rope before leaving the ground and check that it remains attached to the tree or tree stand safety rope until you return to the ground.
• Maintain three points of contact during ascent and descent.
• Wear boots with nonslip soles.
• Use a haul line to raise and lower firearms, bows, and other hunting gear.
• Make sure firearms are unloaded, action is open, and safety is on before attaching them to the haul line.

General reminders:

• Hunter Orange – know when to wear it and how much is needed on a ground blind
  • Hunter orange is required for all deer hunters during youth, firearms, and muzzleloader season. Hunter orange must be worn at all times during the hunt, including walking to and from the hunting location. Regardless of hunting equipment being used (archery, crossbow or firearm), if it is firearms season, you are required to wear hunter orange.
  • A ground blind must have at least 144 square inches of hunter orange material that is visible from any direction during any season in which a hunter is already required to wear hunter orange.
• Firearm Safety – Treat every firearm as if it is loaded, keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot, and be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
• Print and complete a Landowner Permission Form if hunting on private land that isn’t your own.
• Remember to complete and attach a deer transportation tag immediately upon taking a deer. The tag should be attached to the deer during transportation and any time the deer is unattended.

Always bring emergency equipment with you on your hunt, such as a cellphone, flashlight, small first aid kit and extra water.

Read more about the guidelines and property rules here: Fish & Wildlife Properties.

Deer Reduction Zones
For information or any questions, view: Deer Reduction Zones.

Deer Disease Updates
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal disease impacting white-tailed deer, has been detected in wild deer in two areas of Indiana: LaGrange County and Posey County. These detections resulted in a CWD Positive Area including LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, and DeKalb counties and a one-year CWD Enhanced Surveillance Zone including Posey, Vanderburgh, and Gibson counties.

DNR offers free, statewide CWD testing for hunters by either taking your deer to one of DNR’s drop-off coolers at select Fish & Wildlife areas (FWAs), state parks, state fish hatcheries (SFHs) or through advertised private businesses such as taxidermists. These options are available during all seasons. Find out more about how to get your deer tested here: Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).

Resources:
Ask an Expert: Wildlife Food Plots, video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 1, Field Dressing, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 2, Hanging & Skinning, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 3, Deboning, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 4, Cutting, Grinding & Packaging, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Deer Harvest Data Collection, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
How to Score Your White-tailed Deer, video, Purdue Extension
White-Tailed Deer Post Harvest Collection, video, The Education Store
Age Determination in White-tailed Deer, video, Purdue Extension
Handling Harvested Deer Ask an Expert? video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
How to Build a Plastic Mesh Deer Exclusion Fence, The Education Store
Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild White-tailed Deer, The Education Store
Woodland Stewardship for Landowners: Managing Deer Damage to Young Trees, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Integrated Deer Management Project, Purdue FNR
New Deer Impact Toolbox, Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR)

Division of Fish and Wildlife, Indiana Department of Natural Resources

---

MyDNR, Indiana’s Outdoor Newsletter: Donate your harvested deer to feed hungry Hoosiers. In Indiana, you can enjoy a great day hunting and also help Hoosiers in need. In fact, one donated deer can provide 200 meals for a Hoosier family!

Follow these simple steps:

1. Enjoy a deer hunting experience.
2. Harvest a deer.
3. Drop off the field-dressed deer at a local participating processor.
4. Processing fees are paid for by Hunt for Hunger (at no cost to you).
5. The processor creates healthy venison burgers to distribute to food banks.

This is a part of the program Indiana Hunt for Hunger (also known as Sportsmen’s Benevolence Fund).  The Indiana Department of Natural Resources launched this in 2008 to provide an easy way for hunters across Indiana to help hungry Hoosiers in need. Since its launch, the program has grown across the state to collect thousands of deer donations, providing hundreds of thousands of meals for Hoosiers.

For more information, visit the Hunt for Hunger page.

To subscribe to the newsletter, visit MyDNR Email Newsletter.

Resources:
Ask an Expert: Wildlife Food Plots, video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 1, Field Dressing, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 2, Hanging & Skinning, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 3, Deboning, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 4, Cutting, Grinding & Packaging, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Deer Harvest Data Collection, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
How to Score Your White-tailed Deer, video, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
White-Tailed Deer Post Harvest Collection, video, The Education Store
Age Determination in White-tailed Deer, video, The Education Store
Handling Harvested Deer Ask an Expert? video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
How to Build a Plastic Mesh Deer Exclusion Fence, The Education Store
Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild White-tailed Deer, The Education Store
Woodland Stewardship for Landowners: Managing Deer Damage to Young Trees, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Integrated Deer Management Project, Purdue FNR
New Deer Impact Toolbox, Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR)

Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Department of Fish & Wildlife

---

Wild Bulletin, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fish and Wildlife: Interested in processing your own deer? Head over to our new webpage to view instructional videos from our partners at the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA) and National Deer Association (NDA). They’ll guide you through each step, including grinding and preserving the meat. Plus, you can download our printable PDF that includes step-by-step instructions for skinning and processing your own deer.

 

To learn more, view the Deer Processing page on the official Indiana DNR website. This is where you can find the instructional PDF along with training videos and other resources!

Subscribe to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources YouTube Channel.

Subscribe to Wild Bulletin.

Resources:
Ask an Expert, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 1, Field Dressing, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 2, Hanging & Skinning, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 3, Deboning, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 4, Cutting, Grinding & Packaging, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Introduction to White-tailed Deer Impacts on Indiana Woodlands, Got Nature? Blog & The Education Store
Purdue Extension Pond and Wildlife Management
Understanding White-tailed Deer and Their Impact on Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Monitoring White-tailed Deer and Their Impact on Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Managing White-tailed Deer Impacts on Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
How to Build a Plastic Mesh Deer Exclusion Fence, The Education Store
Managing Your Woods for White-Tailed Deer, The Education Store
Deer Harvest Data Collection, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
Handling Harvested Deer Ask an Expert? video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Subscribe to Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources YouTube Channel, Wildlife Playlist
A Woodland Management Moment – Deer Fencing, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Video

Indiana Department of Natural Resources – Division of Fish & Wildlife

---

Indiana Department of Natural Resources has all of your hunting resources for a fun season. The Wild Bulletin, Division of Fish and Wildlife, newsletter and the MyDNR – Enjoy the Outdoors newsletter brings you all the resources you need in one email. Check out the recent information shared in the newsletters below:

Wild Bulletin
IN DNR Newsletter: If you’ve been hunting for a license instead of deer, look no further: Buy your license now via our online license system. Get your firearms and muzzleloader licenses before the seasons begin.

My DNR
Indiana’s Outdoor News: Hunting for answers or a new license? Search no more. For questions about equipment, regulations, or which license you need, use the Deer Hotline by calling 812-334-3795 or emailing indeerhotline@dnr.IN.gov.

For questions related to the CheckIN Game system, your online license system account, license-purchasing errors, or deer control permits, email inhuntfish@dnr.IN.gov or call 317-232-4082.

Remember to buy your deer license early. Find a list of license retailers online and be sure to check your license for accuracy before you leave the store. If you plan to purchase your license online, log into your Access Indiana account before the season begins—don’t risk delays.

To find out more view the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Hunting Deer in Indiana.

Resources:
Ask an Expert: Wildlife Food Plots, video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 1, Field Dressing, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 2, Hanging & Skinning, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 3, Deboning, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 4, Cutting, Grinding & Packaging, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Deer Harvest Data Collection, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
How to Score Your White-tailed Deer, video, Purdue Extension
White-Tailed Deer Post Harvest Collection, video, The Education Store
Age Determination in White-tailed Deer, video, Purdue Extension
Handling Harvested Deer Ask an Expert? video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
How to Build a Plastic Mesh Deer Exclusion Fence, The Education Store
Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild White-tailed Deer, The Education Store
Woodland Stewardship for Landowners: Managing Deer Damage to Young Trees, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Integrated Deer Management Project, Purdue FNR
New Deer Impact Toolbox, Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR)

Division of Fish and Wildlife, Indiana Department of Natural Resources

---