Wyandot, Marion County, Ohio · 9,054 acres
Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area Hunting 2026: Species & Access
Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area covers 9,054 acres near Harpster in Wyandot, Marion County. Grasslands, woodlots, wetlands and marshes 3 miles southwest of Harpster, built around a 360-acre reservoir and more than 100 smaller ponds — home to nesting bald eagles alongside the deer and waterfowl.
01 — What you can hunt here
| Species | Notes |
|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | Runs on a controlled-hunt permit system — up to six deer per hunter, only one of which may be antlered. Permits are valid only for the specific date printed on them. |
| Waterfowl | Hunted Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until 1 p.m., through Dec. 25. |
| Small game | Present across the grassland and woodlot mix. |
02 — Access rules specific to this WMA
- Deer hunting requires a controlled-hunt permit valid only for the exact date shown on it — showing up on the wrong day with a valid permit doesn't work.
- Waterfowl hunting runs a fixed three-day-a-week schedule (Tue/Thu/Sat) rather than every day of the season, closing at 1 p.m. each of those days.
- A standard Ohio hunting license is required in addition to the controlled-hunt permit for deer.
04 — Facilities
Camping: Not specified as available on the wildlife area. No shooting range on-site.
More than 100 ponds alongside the main 360-acre reservoir make this one of the more water-dense wildlife areas in Ohio outside the dedicated waterfowl marshes further north.
05 — Where to go next
Killdeer Plains runs two genuinely different access systems side by side: deer hunting is date-locked to a specific controlled-hunt permit (no flexibility if plans change), while waterfowl hunting instead runs a fixed three-day-a-week, 1 p.m.-cutoff schedule through Christmas — closer to Gray Lodge's California model than to Ohio's usual license-only approach. The six-deer bag limit (capped at one antlered) is generous for a controlled hunt, rewarding hunters who do get a permit.
Ohio hunting license costs and permits →
Verified · Ohio Division of Wildlife · Last verified 2026-08-09
Publisher's note. Read from ODNR, retrieved 2026-08-09. Review due 2027-08-01. WMA-specific rules and closures can change between seasons — confirm before you hunt.