Hunting News

Strong season start with 16,095 deer harvested

Strong season start with 16,095 deer harvested

By Ohio Department of Natural Resources

The 2021 white-tailed deer archery hunting season is off to a strong start with 16,095 deer harvested through Oct. 17. The average harvest total for the same date during the past three years is 20,112 deer taken. Deer archery season began, Sept. 25 and is open until Feb. 6, 2022.

Ohio’s top 10 counties for deer harvested during the first 23 days of the 2021-22 deer season include Coshocton (643), Trumbull (535), Tuscarawas (529), Ashtabula (522), Holmes (489), Licking (466), Knox (411), Guernsey (403), Muskingum (372), and Richland (328).

“We are excited to see Ohio’s deer hunters return to the woods again this fall,” said Kendra Wecker, Division of Wildlife chief. “Many of Ohio’s hunters have been practicing all summer with their bows in preparation for deer season. Deer tend to be highly active during October and November, making these months popular for many bowhunters.”

The number of hunters pursuing deer with archery equipment continues to grow. During the 2020-21 deer season, 48% of deer were taken with archery equipment, including 33% using a crossbow and 15% using a vertical bow. Overall, archery hunters harvested more than 93,000 deer last season, the highest total on record.

Deer hunting occurs in all 88 counties and an estimated 310,000 hunters participate.

In 2020, nearly 410,000 deer permits were purchased or issued. Hotspots for deer hunting are found mostly in the eastern or south-central Ohio. Coshocton County led the state with 6,715 deer taken during the 2020-21 season.

Hunters harvested 197,735 deer during the 2020-21 season. Among this total were 80,003 bucks, accounting for 40% of the total harvest. Does represented 48% of the harvest with 94,771 taken, while 19,629 button bucks were taken, for 10%. Bucks with shed antlers and bucks with antlers less than 3 inches long accounted for 3,332 deer, or 2% of the harvest.

Deer harvest numbers are posted each Wednesday throughout the hunting season and can be found on the Deer Harvest Summary page at wildohio.gov.

Ohio offers many more opportunities for hunters to pursue deer. Young hunters have a chance to harvest a deer during the youth gun weekend, Nov. 20-21. The deer gun season is Nov. 29 through Dec. 5, and again on Dec. 18-19. Deer muzzleloader season is Jan. 8, through Jan. 11, 2022. Find complete details in the 2021-22 Ohio Hunting Regulations.

The free HuntFish OH mobile app can be downloaded to conveniently purchase fishing and hunting licenses, check game, view wildlife area maps and much more. HuntFish OH mobile app is available for Android and iOS users and can be found in the app store. Users can access the Division of Wildlife’s online system to check harvested deer while out in the field, even without a Wi-Fi connection.

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