COLUMBUS — Ohio’s 2021 white-tailed deer archery hunting season is off to a strong start with 16,095 deer harvested through Oct. 17, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. 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).
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. Hot spots for deer hunting are found mostly in eastern or south-central Ohio. Coshocton County led the state with 6,715 deer taken during the 2020-21 season.
Deer harvest summaries 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 Dec. 18-19. Deer muzzleloader season is Jan. 8 through Jan. 11, 2022. Find complete details in the 2021-22 Ohio Hunting Regulations.
Landowners can now receive an incentive to allow hunters access during specific hunting seasons through the Ohio Landowner and Hunter Access Partnership Program. Visit the Ohio Landowner and Hunter Access Partnership Program page at wildohio.gov to sign up as a landowner or hunter.
Ohio deer checked through Oct. 17
An Ohio county list of all white-tailed deer checked by hunters through Oct. 17 is shown below. The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2021, and the three-year average of deer harvested from 2018 to 2020 is in parentheses.
A three-year average provides a better overall comparison to this year’s harvest numbers, eliminating year-to-year variation because of weather, misaligned season dates, crop harvest and other unavoidable factors. Harvest numbers below are raw data and subject to change.
Adams: 302 (292); Allen: 102 (126); Ashland: 235 (355); Ashtabula: 522 (631); Athens: 226 (279); Auglaize: 72 (108); Belmont: 150 (194); Brown: 195 (266); Butler: 205 (217); Carroll: 292 (326); Champaign: 104 (147); Clark: 76 (102); Clermont: 297 (352); Clinton: 30 (67); Columbiana: 308 (328); Coshocton: 643 (716); Crawford: 104 (121); Cuyahoga: 187 (259);
Darke: 70 (83); Defiance: 99 (179); Delaware: 149 (232); Erie: 76 (123); Fairfield: 167 (201); Fayette: 15 (23); Franklin: 64 (118); Fulton: 45 (86); Gallia: 151 (183); Geauga: 218 (302); Greene: 80 (117); Guernsey: 403 (389); Hamilton: 258 (367); Hancock: 130 (151); Hardin: 80 (145); Harrison: 291 (290); Henry: 49 (72); Highland: 186 (232); Hocking: 199 (253); Holmes: 489 (536); Huron: 140 (242);
Jackson: 194 (266); Jefferson: 147 (139); Knox: 411 (487); Lake: 124 (171); Lawrence: 83 (142); Licking: 466 (573); Logan: 163 (257); Lorain: 215 (321); Lucas: 87 (142); Madison: 36 (61); Mahoning: 253 (282); Marion: 67 (89); Medina: 276 (331); Meigs: 236 (276); Mercer: 69 (90); Miami: 71 (117); Monroe: 84 (149); Montgomery: 105 (143); Morgan: 180 (227); Morrow: 142 (162); Muskingum: 372 (398);
Noble: 253 (282); Ottawa: 40 (61); Paulding: 83 (112); Perry: 171 (203); Pickaway: 33 (50); Pike: 130 (141); Portage: 303 (343); Preble: 97 (123); Putnam: 65 (114); Richland: 328 (420); Ross: 183 (246); Sandusky: 86 (130); Scioto: 130 (181); Seneca: 149 (210); Shelby: 81 (112); Stark: 302 (381); Summit: 268 (287);
Trumbull: 535 (617); Tuscarawas: 529 (580); Union: 100 (127); Van Wert: 43 (61); Vinton: 163 (195); Warren: 110 (160); Washington: 139 (202); Wayne: 243 (284); Williams: 156 (204); Wood: 81 (119); Wyandot: 104 (134). 2021 total: 16,095.
Three-year average: (20,112).
