Ohio hunters check in 15,203 deer during gun season

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COLUMBUS — The extra weekend of gun hunting for white-tailed deer in Ohio concluded on Sunday, Dec. 20, with 15,203 deer taken by hunters, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

Over the last three years, hunters checked an average of 12,461 deer during the same two-day period.

After 71,650 deer were checked by Ohio hunters during the weeklong deer-gun season, Nov. 30-Dec. 6, the total harvest during for all nine days of the 2020 gun hunting season was 86,858 deer. Hunters harvested an average of 78,027 deer during the nine days of gun hunting over the past three years. Deer hunting occurs in all 88 counties and an estimated 310,000 hunters participated during Ohio’s deer-gun seasons. Ohio hunters have purchased 399,466 deer permits through Dec. 20.

“Hunting license and deer permit sales are on the upswing this year as more people are going out to deer hunt in Ohio,” said Division of Wildlife Chief Kendra Wecker. “Our state’s deer herd is in excellent condition and it is great that this valuable resource is doing so well.”

The top 11 counties for deer taken during the two-day deer gun season include: Tuscarawas (598), Ashtabula (572), Coshocton (521), Knox (442), Licking (442), Carroll (422), Guernsey (421), Harrison (369), Columbiana (367), Muskingum (364), and Trumbull (364). Hunters checked in 94 deer in Crawford County.

Through Dec. 20, Ohio archery hunters have taken 82,125 deer and Ohio’s youth hunters checked 5,795 whitetails during the two-day youth season, Nov. 21-22. Hotspots for deer hunting are found mostly in the eastern regions, including Ashtabula, Coshocton, Tuscarawas, Muskingum, Guernsey, and Knox counties.

Ohio still offers more deer hunting opportunities including muzzleloader season, open Jan. 2-5, 2021 and archery season, open through Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021. Find more information about deer hunting in the 2020-2021 Hunting and Trapping Regulations and at wildohio.gov. Past year’s harvest summaries and weekly updated harvest reports can be found on the Deer Harvest Summary page.

Deer hunters are reminded to download the HuntFish OH mobile app, which allows hunters to check in their deer while in the field, even without a Wi-Fi connection. Users can also purchase licenses and permits and view wildlife area maps through the app. HuntFish OH is free and available for Android and iOS users through the app store.

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Ohio Department of Natural Resources

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