COLUMBUS — Ohio hunters checked 87,192 white-tailed deer during the weeklong gun season that concluded Dec. 8, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. This is the highest total since 2011 (90,282).
In 2023, hunters reported 70,103 deer during the seven-day gun season, and the three-year average is 70,806.
During the deer gun week, hunters checked 28,606 antlered deer (33% of the total reported) and 58,586 antlerless deer (67%). Antlerless deer includes does and button bucks.
The top 10 counties for deer taken during the gun season were Coshocton, 2,954 deer (Coshocton County also led the state in 2023 with 2,440 deer checked.); Tuscarawas, 2,673 deer; Knox, 2,525 deer; Muskingum, 2,515 deer; Carroll, 2,399 deer; Ashtabula, 2,281 deer; Guernsey, 2,201 deer; Washington, 1,970 deer; Ashland, 1,893 deer and Licking, 1,860 deer.
Legal hunting equipment during the deer gun season includes shotguns, straight-walled cartridge rifles, muzzleloaders, handguns and archery equipment. Straight-walled cartridge rifles have been legal for deer gun hunting since 2014.
Deer checked by hunting implement includes straight-walled cartridge rifle, 64% (55,611 deer); shotgun, 30% (26,486 deer); muzzleloader, 4% (3,271 deer); archery equipment, 2% (1,357 deer) and handgun, less than 1% (467 deer).
For all deer hunting seasons, archery and firearms hunters have reported 188,931 deer from Sept. 28 to Dec. 8. Hunters had another opportunity to take a deer with a firearm during the additional gun weekend Dec. 21-22.
The muzzleloader season is Jan. 4-7. The archery season remains open until Feb. 2. Find more details in the 2024-25 Hunting and Trapping Regulations.
Hunters interested in tracking the season’s count can view weekly deer harvest reports at wildohio.gov. The Division of Wildlife posts deer hunting results each Wednesday throughout the hunting season. A final report is also posted after the conclusion of the archery season.
