COLUMBUS — Hunters harvested 71,932 white-tailed deer during the 2022 gun week that concluded Dec. 4, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
In the same weeklong period over the past three years, hunters checked an average of 68,534 deer. In 2021, the weeklong number was 70,381. Deer gun season opens again for the weekend of Dec. 17-18.
During the deer gun week, hunters checked 26,355 bucks (37% of the harvest), 36,546 does (51%), and 7,983 button bucks (11%). Bucks that had already shed their antlers or bucks with antlers less than 3 inches in length accounted for 1% of deer taken (1,048).
Deer hunting occurs in all 88 Ohio counties, as it has since the first statewide season in 1979. The top 10 counties for deer taken during the week of gun season were Coshocton (2,457), Muskingum (2,326), Tuscarawas (2,321), Ashtabula (1,987), Knox (1,909), Carroll (1,902), Guernsey (1,848), Licking (1,729), Washington (1,628) and Holmes (1,521). Coshocton County also led the state in 2021 with 2,403 deer checked.
Straight-walled cartridge rifles have become more popular since becoming legal for deer gun hunting in 2014. This year, straight-walled cartridge rifles were used to harvest 55% of the deer checked during the seven-day gun season.
Shotguns accounted for 38% of the total. In addition, 5% were taken with a muzzleloader, 1% with archery equipment, and less than 1% with a handgun.
All deer harvested in Ohio are required to be checked in the Ohio Wildlife Licensing System. Deer harvest reporting has been required since 1962. This mandatory reporting gives the Division of Wildlife a long-term data set that aids wildlife biologists in monitoring deer health, distribution and relative abundance.
Thus far in the 2022 deer season, 164,589 deer have been checked by archery and gun hunters. Archery hunters have taken 82,729 of those deer (50%). Youth hunters harvested 9,515 deer during the youth gun weekend, Nov. 19-20. This year, 376,617 deer permits have been sold through Dec. 4.
Nonresidents have purchased 38,109 hunting licenses, many of them to enjoy Ohio’s terrific deer hunting opportunities. The most popular states that hunters traveled to Ohio from include Pennsylvania (6,969 nonresident licenses), Michigan (4,914), West Virginia (3,546), North Carolina (3,129), and New York (2,870).
White-tailed deer checked during gun week by county
An Ohio county list of white-tailed deer checked during the 2022 gun week that concluded Dec. 4, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, 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: 1,043 (1,002); Allen: 442 (372); Ashland: 1,440 (1,418); Ashtabula: 1,987 (2,036); Athens: 1,250 (1,282); Auglaize: 503 (386); Belmont: 1,204 (1,197); Brown: 922 (896); Butler: 270 (352); Carroll: 1,902 (1,635); Champaign: 500 (438); Clark: 214 (203); Clermont: 652 (658); Clinton: 270 (227); Columbiana: 1,446 (1,293); Coshocton: 2,457 (2,336); Crawford: 669 (618); Cuyahoga: 45 (48); Darke: 365 (304); Defiance: 923 (851); Delaware: 428 (413); Erie: 271 (296); Fairfield: 737 (729); Fayette: 164 (128); Franklin: 162 (153); Fulton: 387 (370);
Gallia: 1,280 (1,037); Geauga: 603 (608); Greene: 265 (247); Guernsey: 1,848 (1,864); Hamilton: 119 (151); Hancock: 658 (587); Hardin: 520 (620); Harrison: 1,365 (1,380); Henry: 532 (411); Highland: 1,085 (1,038); Hocking: 1,151 (1,126); Holmes: 1,521 (1,587); Huron: 1,158 (1,109); Jackson: 1,135 (970); Jefferson: 930 (843); Knox: 1,909 (1,934); Lake: 163 (170); Lawrence: 751 (667); Licking: 1,729 (1,701); Logan: 758 (766); Lorain: 661 (698); Lucas: 130 (124); Madison: 191 (201);
Mahoning: 548 (571); Marion: 312 (419); Medina: 724 (675); Meigs: 1,270 (1,156); Mercer: 431 (363); Miami: 257 (242); Monroe: 1,218 (1,093); Montgomery: 183 (181); Morgan: 1,387 (1,285); Morrow: 706 (648); Muskingum: 2,326 (2,056); Noble: 1,331 (1,234); Ottawa: 177 (162); Paulding: 544 (543); Perry: 1,183 (1,075); Pickaway: 321 (263); Pike: 731 (644); Portage: 683 (661); Preble: 315 (317); Putnam: 461 (354);
Richland: 1,300 (1,338); Ross: 1,076 (1,063); Sandusky: 333 (307); Scioto: 864 (696); Seneca: 945 (864); Shelby: 483 (397); Stark: 1,030 (899); Summit: 187 (193); Trumbull: 1,104 (1,206); Tuscarawas: 2,321 (2,176); Union: 374 (364); Van Wert: 283 (260); Vinton: 786 (892); Warren: 289 (324); Washington: 1,628 (1,436); Wayne: 858 (863); Williams: 770 (691); Wood: 359 (362); Wyandot: 719 (781). 2022 Total: 71,932
The three-year average total is 68,534.
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