Annual Deer-Gun Week Concludes for Ohio Hunters

Annual Deer-Gun Week Concludes for Ohio Hunters

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio’s white-tailed deer hunters finished the weeklong gun season with 63,493 deer taken, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. During the 2018 season, 60,752 deer were harvested during the same period. Meigs County numbers were down with 1,076 being tagged in this year opposed to 1,238 tagged in for 2018.

“Ohio hunters took full advantage of a great week of deer hunting,” said Mike Tonkovich, Ohio Division of Wildlife deer program administrator. “The fall weather has been the most hunter-friendly we’ve seen in a long time, and this year’s harvest is certainly proof of that. The deer harvest is a direct result of our ongoing efforts to align Ohio’s wild deer herd with the interests of the majority of Ohio’s farmers and hunters. This has been and will continue to be the backbone of Ohio’s deer program.”

Top 10 counties for deer harvest during the weeklong deer-gun season include: Coshocton (2,322), Tuscarawas (2,127), Muskingum (1,972), Ashtabula (1,901), Knox (1,771), Guernsey (1,734), Licking (1,514), Carroll (1,473), Holmes (1,465), and Washington (1,464).

Through Dec. 1, 2019, 76,822 deer were taken by Ohio archery hunters. Plus, Ohio’s youth hunters checked 6,234 white-tailed deer during the 2019 two-day youth gun season, Nov. 23-24. Meigs County numbers were also down for the youth hunt with 127 tagged for 2019. In 2018, 138 deer were tagged in.

Ohio offers many more opportunities for hunters to pursue deer. Deer-gun season resumes for two days, Dec. 21-22. Deer-muzzleloader season is Saturday, Jan. 4, through Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. Deer-archery season is open now through Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. Find complete details in the 2019-2020 Hunting and Trapping Regulations or at wildohio.gov. For summaries of past deer seasons, visit wildohio.gov/deerharvest.

Ohio is a popular hunting destination for many out-of-state hunters. To date in 2019, more than 34,000 nonresident Ohio hunting licenses have been sold. The top five states for purchasing a nonresident hunting license in Ohio include: Pennsylvania (6,490), Michigan (4,294), West Virginia (3,717), North Carolina (2,816) and New York (2,365).

The Ohio Division of Wildlife wants to provide you the tools to get started on a new hunting adventure. Anyone interested in learning to hunt or becoming a mentor to a new hunter can visit the Wild Ohio Harvest Community Page for information on how to get started, hunting-related workshops as well as special hunting opportunities for mentors and new hunters.

Each year, Ohioans take an estimated 171 million outdoor recreation trips and contribute $5.9 billion to the Buckeye State’s economy, according to a report entitled Economic Valuation of Natural Areas in Ohio, recently released by The Ohio State University.

The Division of Wildlife can help you take advantage of all the hunting opportunities Ohio has to offer. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for instant news stories, outdoor recreation ideas, local wildlife information and so much more. The Your Wild Ohio Hunter Facebook page provides hunting tips and useful information as you get outside this season. Visit wildohio.gov to find locations to hunt, fish, trap and view wildlife. And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram to view the best of Ohio’s wildlife photography.

Editor’s Note: A list of all white-tailed deer checked by hunters during the 2019 weeklong deer-gun hunting season is shown below. The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2019, and the 2018 harvest numbers are in parentheses. Harvest numbers below are raw data and subject to change.

Adams: 935 (960); Allen: 361 (250); Ashland: 1,272 (1,124); Ashtabula: 1,901 (2,028); Athens: 1,265 (1,326); Auglaize: 341 (269); Belmont: 1,196 (1,085); Brown: 797 (739); Butler: 294 (250); Carroll: 1,473 (1,454); Champaign: 376 (337); Clark: 182 (177); Clermont: 558 (554); Clinton: 257 (185); Columbiana: 1,173 (1,133); Coshocton: 2,322 (2,180); Crawford: 562 (497); Cuyahoga: 49 (39); Darke: 248 (215); Defiance: 768 (583); Delaware: 388 (352); Erie: 208 (224); Fairfield: 599 (620); Fayette: 139 (91); Franklin: 115 (143); Fulton: 308 (292); Gallia: 980 (1,150); Geauga: 526 (585); Greene: 232 (196); Guernsey: 1,734 (1,732); Hamilton: 136 (147); Hancock: 487 (405); Hardin: 554 (382); Harrison: 1,408 (1,290); Henry: 380 (258); Highland: 843 (803); Hocking: 1,196 (1,117); Holmes: 1,465 (1,290); Huron: 980 (865); Jackson: 987 (1,087); Jefferson: 786 (700); Knox: 1,771 (1,513); Lake: 149 (181); Lawrence: 685 (817); Licking: 1,514 (1,423); Logan: 699 (614); Lorain: 566 (628); Lucas: 115 (117); Madison: 165 (146); Mahoning: 493 (616); Marion: 384 (336); Medina: 568 (606); Meigs: 1,076 (1,238); Mercer: 302 (228); Miami: 217 (172); Monroe: 1,059 (1,103); Montgomery: 137 (122); Morgan: 1,244 (1,205); Morrow: 558 (551); Muskingum: 1,972 (1,924); Noble: 1,167 (1,264); Ottawa: 122 (113); Paulding: 480 (333); Perry: 1,016 (1,044); Pickaway: 306 (244); Pike: 631 (691); Portage: 584 (559); Preble: 284 (253); Putnam: 306 (232); Richland: 1,179 (1,142); Ross: 994 (940); Sandusky: 246 (216); Scioto: 667 (781); Seneca: 814 (736); Shelby: 388 (283); Stark: 813 (810); Summit: 146 (153); Trumbull: 1,116 (1,123); Tuscarawas: 2,127 (1,996); Union: 298 (281); Van Wert: 230 (175); Vinton: 900 (943); Warren: 286 (264); Washington: 1,464 (1,411); Wayne: 801 (696); Williams: 624 (546); Wood: 333 (273); Wyandot: 716 (596).

2019 total: 63,493

2018 total: (60,752)