COLUMBUS — Ohio hunters checked 15,163 deer during the extra weekend of deer gun hunting Dec. 17 and Dec. 18, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. In the same two-day period over the last three years, hunters checked an average of 12,944 deer. Hunters took 9,619 deer on the same weekend in 2021.
Deer hunting occurs in all 88 Ohio counties, although the eastern counties typically record the highest harvest totals. The top 10 counties for deer taken during the 2022 two-day gun season were Coshocton (517), Tuscarawas (513), Ashtabula (473), Muskingum (431), Carroll (404), Licking (403), Knox (396), Guernsey (382), Ashland (368) and Columbiana (345). In 2021, Coshocton led the state with 313 deer harvested over these two days.
Following the weekend season, gun hunters have checked a total of 97,326 deer this year, including 71,932 deer taken from Nov. 28 to Dec. 4. In addition, youth hunters checked 9,515 deer Nov. 19-20, and archery hunters have harvested 85,272 deer through Dec. 18, bringing the season total for all implements to 182,598 deer.
During the deer gun weekend, hunters harvested 4,418 bucks (29% of deer taken), 8,697 does (57%), and 1,792 button bucks (12%). Bucks with shed antlers and bucks with antlers less than 3 inches long accounted for 256 deer, or 2%. Straight-walled cartridge rifles became legal deer hunting implements in Ohio in 2014 and have grown in popularity since then.
Over the course of the deer gun weekend, 57% of successful hunters chose a straight-walled cartridge rifle, 34% used a shotgun, 6% selected a muzzleloader, 2% used archery equipment, and less than 1% chose a handgun.
Hunters still looking to harvest a deer can take part in the ongoing archery season, which continues until Feb. 5 or the state’s muzzleloader season, Jan. 7-10. Check the 2022-23 Hunting and Trapping Regulations for more information about deer hunting.
Weekly reports and yearly summaries can be found on the Deer Harvest Summary page at wildohio.gov. The free HuntFish OH app is available for deer hunters to check game, buy licenses and permits, view wildlife area maps, and more. Notably, hunters can check game even without cell signal and display licenses and permits digitally via the app.
County list of white-tailed deer harvested
A county list of all white-tailed deer harvested during the 2022 two-day deer gun hunting season is shown.
The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2022, and the three-year average of deer taken in 2019, 2020 and 2021 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, crop harvest and other unavoidable factors.
Numbers are raw data and subject to change. Adams: 253 (186); Allen: 100 (80); Ashland: 368 (280); Ashtabula: 473 (448); Athens: 265 (208); Auglaize: 94 (68); Belmont: 282 (224); Brown: 182 (169); Butler: 89 (102); Carroll: 404 (340); Champaign: 122 (100); Clark: 60 (44); Clermont: 181 (153); Clinton: 55 (50); Columbiana: 345 (284); Coshocton: 517 (423); Crawford: 115 (88); Cuyahoga: 15 (14);
Darke: 59 (60); Defiance: 145 (147); Delaware: 102 (82); Erie: 59 (59); Fairfield: 159 (146); Fayette: 22 (18); Franklin: 53 (37); Fulton: 57 (49); Gallia: 187 (154); Geauga: 154 (135); Greene: 51 (64); Guernsey: 382 (327); Hamilton: 38 (47); Hancock: 119 (104); Hardin: 106 (108); Harrison: 283 (265); Henry: 60 (52); Highland: 229 (188); Hocking: 233 (173); Holmes: 331 (312); Huron: 207 (187); Jackson: 215 (170); Jefferson: 227 (171); Knox: 396 (352); Lake: 40 (45); Lawrence: 102 (108); Licking: 403 (354); Logan: 184 (156); Lorain: 187 (156); Lucas: 16 (22);
Madison: 49 (51); Mahoning: 173 (142); Marion: 84 (79); Medina: 221 (166); Meigs: 230 (227); Mercer: 77 (60); Miami: 48 (56); Monroe: 177 (182); Montgomery: 52 (39); Morgan: 226 (180); Morrow: 152 (117); Muskingum: 431 (298); Noble: 230 (198); Ottawa: 47 (39); Paulding: 106 (90); Perry: 227 (163); Pickaway: 92 (48); Pike: 145 (94); Portage: 175 (156); Preble: 85 (80); Putnam: 55 (47); Richland: 310 (256); Ross: 217 (189);
Sandusky: 61 (56); Scioto: 152 (148); Seneca: 161 (167); Shelby: 77 (86); Stark: 272 (205); Summit: 66 (57); Trumbull: 342 (296); Tuscarawas: 513 (439); Union: 63 (68); Van Wert: 56 (34); Vinton: 149 (145); Warren: 68 (73); Washington: 274 (224); Wayne: 211 (168); Williams: 159 (131); Wood: 61 (69); Wyandot: 143 (112). 2022 total: 15,163
The three-year average total is 12,944.
