COLUMBUS — Ohio hunters harvested 15,469 white-tailed deer during the extra weekend of deer gun hunting, Dec. 16-17, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. During the two-day gun weekend over the last three years, hunters checked an average of 13,329 deer. In 2022, the weekend total was 15,164.
The top 10 counties for deer taken during the 2023 two-day gun season were Coshocton (534), Tuscarawas (505), Ashtabula (470), Carroll (414), Knox (412), Muskingum (410), Licking (392), Holmes (359), Ashland (359) and Guernsey (348). Coshocton County led the state last year with 517 deer taken during the extra gun weekend.
During the gun weekend, hunters checked 4,408 bucks (29% of the harvest), 9,130 does (59%) and 1,639 button bucks (11%). Bucks with shed antlers and bucks with antlers less than 3-inches long accounted for 1% of the harvest, or 292 deer.
Straight-walled cartridge rifles have become increasingly popular since becoming legal for Ohio deer hunting in 2014. Over the weekend, 9,586 deer were taken with straight-walled cartridge rifles, or 62% of the total. Additionally, 30% of the weekend’s successful hunters used a shotgun, 5% used a muzzleloader, 2% used archery equipment and less than 1% used a handgun.
Following the weekend, gun hunters have checked a total of 96,136 deer this year, including 10,039 deer checked by youth hunters Nov. 18-19. Archery hunters have harvested 89,823 deer through Dec. 17, bringing the season total for all implements to 185,959 deer.
Ohio’s reputation as an excellent deer hunting state has motivated 402,389 hunters to obtain deer permits for this season as of Dec. 17. Out-of-state hunters from Pennsylvania (7,373 licenses sold), Michigan (5,104), West Virginia (3,699), North Carolina (3,239), New York (2,942) and other states boost local economies.
Hunters still looking to harvest a deer can take part in the ongoing archery season, which continues until Feb. 4, or the state’s muzzleloader season, Jan. 6-9. 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.
