Short answer
Yes, deer, elk, moose and reindeer are halal animals, but the meat is halal only if the animal was slaughtered by zabiha or hunted correctly with Allah's name. Venison from an ordinary butcher, or a deer killed by a bullet, is not halal in the Hanafi school unless the deer was reached alive and slaughtered.
Deer of every kind are halal species. Wild game becomes halal by zabiha, or by a sharp weapon such as an arrow that wounds it, released by a Muslim (or a Jew or Christian) with bismillah. A deer killed by a bullet before it could be slaughtered is not halal, because a bullet kills by force, not by a cutting edge.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The deer family are grazing animals without fangs, and the Hanafi books count deer among the wild animals that may be eaten. That covers white-tailed deer, red deer, elk, moose and reindeer. So the question is never the animal: it is how it died.
From a shop or restaurant: most venison comes from farmed or hunted deer killed without Islamic slaughter. It needs reliable halal certification, just like beef.
From hunting: the weapon must cut or pierce. Asked about a hunting weapon, the Prophet ﷺ said: what strikes with its edge, eat it; what strikes with its flat side has been killed by a blow.
- Arrows and crossbow bolts with a sharp broadhead: halal if you say bismillah when you release and the deer dies from the wound.
- Rifles and shotguns: Ibn Abidin and the Deobandi muftis hold that a bullet kills by force and heat rather than by an edge, so a deer shot dead is not halal. If you reach it alive, slaughter it at once with bismillah and it is halal.
- Some contemporary scholars of other schools count a modern bullet as a piercing weapon and allow such game. Hanafis follow their own muftis on this.
Many Muslim hunters carry a sharp knife so they can slaughter straight away. The wider rules on hunting are in is hunting haram, and the conditions of slaughter in what makes meat halal.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:1
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَوْفُوا۟ بِٱلْعُقُودِ ۚ أُحِلَّتْ لَكُم بَهِيمَةُ ٱلْأَنْعَٰمِ إِلَّا مَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ غَيْرَ مُحِلِّى ٱلصَّيْدِ وَأَنتُمْ حُرُمٌ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ مَا يُرِيدُ ﴿١﴾
O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts. Lawful for you are the animals of grazing livestock except for that which is recited to you [in this Qur'an] - hunting not being permitted while you are in the state of ihram. Indeed, Allah ordains what He intends.
Grazing animals are lawful.
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:4
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ مَاذَآ أُحِلَّ لَهُمْ ۖ قُلْ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتُ ۙ وَمَا عَلَّمْتُم مِّنَ ٱلْجَوَارِحِ مُكَلِّبِينَ تُعَلِّمُونَهُنَّ مِمَّا عَلَّمَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ فَكُلُوا۟ مِمَّآ أَمْسَكْنَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ ﴿٤﴾
They ask you, [O Muhammad], what has been made lawful for them. Say, "Lawful for you are [all] good foods and [game caught by] what you have trained of hunting animals which you train as Allah has taught you. So eat of what they catch for you, and mention the name of Allah upon it, and fear Allah." Indeed, Allah is swift in account.
Game is lawful when Allah's name is mentioned.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5475
Sahih... ما أصاب بحده فكله وما أصاب بعرضه فهو وقيذ ...
"What strikes with its edge, eat it; what strikes with its flat side is killed by a blow."
Game must be killed by a cutting or piercing edge, not by blunt force.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Sayd. Game killed by the weight of a weapon rather than a wound is not eaten.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Sayd. Game killed by a lead bullet is not halal, since the bullet kills by force and burning, not by an edge.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.