COLUMBUS — The two-day special youth hunting season concluded with 9,515 deer harvested Nov. 19-20, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
Each fall, hunters 17 and younger take to the woods with a nonhunting adult for a special weekend of deer gun hunting.
The top 10 counties for deer taken during Ohio’s youth season include the following: Tuscarawas (411); Coshocton (364); Muskingum (286); Holmes (277); Knox (272); Guernsey (250); Washington (247); Harrison (229); Licking (228) and Carroll (194).
The Division of Wildlife has issued 39,186 youth deer permits. Unused youth permits are also valid for all remaining Ohio deer hunting seasons. Youth hunters checked 5,126 bucks, 3,461 does, and 928 button bucks. In 2021, hunters harvested 7,632 deer during the two-day youth gun season. The three-year average is 6,559 deer.
All of Ohio’s youth hunting opportunities are available to anyone who is 17 years old or younger during the season dates. Youth hunting seasons are also available for small game, wild turkey, and waterfowl.
Anyone interested in learning to hunt or becoming a mentor to a new hunter can visit the Wild Ohio Harvest Community Page for information on how to get started, hunting-related workshops, and special hunting opportunities for mentors and new hunters.
Gun hunters of all ages can participate in the upcoming seven-day gun season, Nov. 28 through Dec. 4. A bonus gun weekend will follow Dec. 17-18; muzzleloader season will run from Jan. 7-10, 2023. Bowhunters can hunt until Feb. 5, 2023.
All hunters, regardless of implement, are required to wear hunter orange during the gun seasons. Find complete details in the 2022-23 hunting and trapping regulations.
Visit wildohio.gov to find out more.
Deer checked by youth hunters by county
An Ohio county list of all white-tailed deer checked Nov. 19-20 by youth hunters using a shotgun, straight-walled cartridge rifle, muzzleloader, or handgun is shown.
The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2022, and the three-year average of deer taken from 2019 to 2021 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.
Adams: 138 (87); Allen: 77 (46); Ashland: 192 (145); Ashtabula: 178 (134); Athens: 172 (112); Auglaize: 71 (46); Belmont: 183 (120); Brown: 99 (72); Butler: 38 (39); Carroll: 194 (123); Champaign: 59 (42); Clark: 32 (19); Clermont: 48 (54); Clinton: 46 (31); Columbiana: 188 (121); Coshocton: 364 (270); Crawford: 62 (51); Cuyahoga: 2 (1); Darke: 71 (33); Defiance: 126 (94); Delaware: 47 (25); Erie: 46 (21); Fairfield: 82 (55); Fayette: 30 (19); Franklin: 18 (11); Fulton: 41 (32);
Gallia: 176 (98); Geauga: 102 (52); Greene: 29 (25); Guernsey: 250 (176); Hamilton: 7 (8); Hancock: 90 (68); Hardin: 81 (60); Harrison: 229 (143); Henry: 54 (37); Highland: 156 (120); Hocking: 92 (76); Holmes: 277 (228); Huron: 146 (102); Jackson: 159 (95); Jefferson: 146 (83); Knox: 272 (199); Lake: 18 (11); Lawrence: 127 (53); Licking: 228 (137); Logan: 100 (80); Lorain: 80 (62); Lucas: 10 (7); Madison: 20 (20); Mahoning: 50 (38); Marion: 38 (36); Medina: 80 (58); Meigs: 178 (132); Mercer: 59 (39); Miami: 32 (26); Monroe: 155 (96); Montgomery: 23 (13); Morgan: 170 (114); Morrow: 77 (58); Muskingum: 286 (182);
Noble: 153 (110); Ottawa: 19 (14); Paulding: 99 (68); Perry: 142 (85); Pickaway: 48 (30); Pike: 100 (52); Portage: 84 (78); Preble: 41 (36); Putnam: 59 (52); Richland: 174 (119); Ross: 158 (130); Sandusky: 47 (30); Scioto: 120 (78); Seneca: 139 (97); Shelby: 78 (43); Stark: 114 (74); Summit: 14 (12); Trumbull: 106 (83); Tuscarawas: 411 (257); Union: 51 (36); Van Wert: 56 (27); Vinton: 89 (74); Warren: 29 (24); Washington: 247 (144); Wayne: 119 (95); Williams: 82 (50); Wood: 44 (44); Wyandot: 91 (82). 2022 Total: 9,515
The three-year average total is 6,559.
Harvest numbers are raw data and subject to change.
