Numbers are in for Ohio’s weeklong deer gun season
Numbers are in for Ohio’s weeklong deer gun season
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio’s weeklong white-tailed deer gun hunting season concluded on Sunday, Dec. 3, with hunters taking 70,118 deer, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. Last year, hunters took 71,931 deer during the gun week. The three-year average for deer harvest during the seven-day gun season is 71,322. An additional weekend of deer gun hunting will happen on Dec. 16-17.
During the deer gun week, hunters checked 25,044 antlered deer (36% of the harvest) and 45,074 antlerless deer (64%), a category which includes does and button bucks. In Meigs County, 1,049 were checked in this year which down from last year’s 1,221.
The top 10 counties for deer taken during the week of gun season were: Coshocton (2,441), Tuscarawas (2,260), Ashtabula (2,189), Muskingum (2,076), Knox (1,880), Carroll (1,864), Guernsey (1,798), Washington (1,582), Licking (1,570), and Harrison (1,533). Coshocton County also led the state in 2022 with 2,457 deer checked.
Straight-walled cartridge rifles have become more popular since becoming legal for deer gun hunting in 2014. This year, straight-walled cartridge rifles were used to harvest 60% of the deer checked during the seven-day gun season. Shotguns accounted for 34% of the total. In addition, 4% were taken with a muzzleloader, 1% with archery equipment, and 1% with a handgun.
This year, 389,181 deer permits have been issued through Sunday, Dec. 3. Nonresidents have purchased 37,543 hunting licenses, many of them to enjoy Ohio’s terrific deer hunting opportunities. The most popular states that hunters traveled to Ohio from include Pennsylvania (7,078 nonresident licenses), Michigan (4,733), West Virginia (3,560), North Carolina (3,105), and New York (2,852).
In the 2023 deer season, archery and firearms hunters have taken a total of 167,732 deer through Sunday, Dec. 3. Hunters have another opportunity to harvest a deer with a firearm during the bonus gun weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 16-17. The muzzleloader season is Jan. 6-9, 2024. The archery season remains open through Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. Find more details in the 2023-24 Hunting and Trapping Regulations.
Successful deer hunters can check their game using the HuntFish OH mobile app, available for free in the Android and Apple app stores. Users can also explore public hunting areas, purchase hunting licenses or deer permits, see county bag limits, and so much more. Beyond the app, hunters can check game by visiting ohiogamecheck.com, calling 1-877-TAG-IT-OH (1-877-824-4864), visiting a license sales agent, or calling 1-866-703-1298 (landowner operator-assisted; fees apply).
Last year, hunters generated $1.9 billion in economic spending in Ohio, according to a recent report released by the Wildlife Management Institute, Responsive Management, and Southwick Associates. The research found that 5% of Ohio’s adults, about 500,000 individuals, participate in hunting, with 91% of those hunters taking part in deer hunting.
A county list of all white-tailed deer checked by hunters during the 2023 deer gun hunting week is shown below. The first number following the county’s name shows the deer harvest numbers for 2023, and the three-year average from 2020, 2021, and 2022 is in parentheses. A three-year average provides a better overall comparison to this year’s numbers, eliminating year-to-year variation because of weather, misaligned season dates, timing of the crop harvest, and other unavoidable factors. Numbers below are raw data and subject to change.
Adams: 967 (1,037); Allen: 458 (399); Ashland: 1,420 (1,473); Ashtabula: 2,189 (2,064); Athens: 1,083 (1,277); Auglaize: 476 (440); Belmont: 1,345 (1,199); Brown: 832 (937); Butler: 276 (344); Carroll: 1,864 (1,777); Champaign: 487 (479); Clark: 232 (214); Clermont: 583 (689); Clinton: 307 (232); Columbiana: 1,464 (1,383); Coshocton: 2,441 (2,380); Crawford: 631 (653); Cuyahoga: 53 (46); Darke: 344 (343); Defiance: 907 (903); Delaware: 427 (426); Erie: 297 (317); Fairfield: 663 (774); Fayette: 144 (136); Franklin: 189 (169); Fulton: 435 (396); Gallia: 1,023 (1,136); Geauga: 753 (633); Greene: 216 (258); Guernsey: 1,798 (1,902); Hamilton: 114 (146); Hancock: 646 (644); Hardin: 540 (608); Harrison: 1,533 (1,365); Henry: 431 (462); Highland: 1,008 (1,119); Hocking: 1,004 (1,111); Holmes: 1,507 (1,605); Huron: 1,153 (1,168); Jackson: 937 (1,018); Jefferson: 1,088 (890); Knox: 1,880 (1,979); Lake: 203 (175); Lawrence: 655 (689); Licking: 1,570 (1,772); Logan: 740 (785); Lorain: 735 (730); Lucas: 114 (129); Madison: 159 (209); Mahoning: 621 (589); Marion: 344 (395); Medina: 683 (727); Meigs: 1,049 (1,221); Mercer: 400 (406); Miami: 261 (255); Monroe: 1,184 (1,145); Montgomery: 163 (197); Morgan: 1,294 (1,333); Morrow: 746 (697); Muskingum: 2,076 (2,173); Noble: 1,215 (1,288); Ottawa: 191 (180); Paulding: 563 (564); Perry: 1,046 (1,130); Pickaway: 335 (267); Pike: 647 (677); Portage: 685 (694); Preble: 323 (327); Putnam: 462 (406); Richland: 1,357 (1,378); Ross: 959 (1,090); Sandusky: 322 (336); Scioto: 718 (761); Seneca: 970 (908); Shelby: 452 (429); Stark: 1,040 (970); Summit: 210 (207); Trumbull: 1,446 (1,202); Tuscarawas: 2,260 (2,240); Union: 398 (390); Van Wert: 300 (277); Vinton: 590 (854); Warren: 259 (325); Washington: 1,582 (1,491); Wayne: 917 (882); Williams: 733 (739); Wood: 413 (370); Wyandot: 583 (782).
2023 total: 70,118
3-year average total: 71,322
