Deer gun season starts Nov. 27; meat can be donated to those in need

The white-tailed deer is perhaps Ohio’s best-known wildlife species, seen in the state’s wildlife areas, parks and nature preserves as well as in the backyards of rural and suburban residents.

Credit: Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Credit: Ohio Department of Natural Resources

The white-tailed deer is perhaps Ohio’s best-known wildlife species, seen in the state’s wildlife areas, parks and nature preserves as well as in the backyards of rural and suburban residents.

The annual white-tailed deer gun hunting season opens later this month in Ohio, and this weekend is the state’s youth gun hunting season.

An avid hunter, Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted last week harvested an eight-point buck in Morrow County with a 10-point crossbow made in Ohio.

“I love crossbow hunting during the fall,” Husted said. “The weather is mild, the trees are beautiful, the harvesting of crops is active, the aroma in the air is refreshing, and there is so much activity in the outdoors with the animals in the forest actively preparing for winter. It’s peaceful and wonderful.”

Husted isn’t the only hunter in the family. Two years ago, his daughter Katie harvested a 12-point buck in Clark County.

Second lady Tina Husted shares the lieutenant governor’s excitement for the harvest.

“Jon’s avid hunting has blessed our family over the years, filling our freezer with high-quality Ohio deer meat that will nourish our family in the winter months,” she said. “I make a mean deer stew, and I’m looking forward to that first meal from this harvest.”

Gun hunters of all ages can participate in the upcoming seven-day gun season from Nov. 27 through Dec. 3, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.

A bonus weekend of gun hunting is Dec. 16-17; muzzleloader season is Jan. 6-9, 2024; and archery season runs through Feb. 4, 2024.

Shotguns, straight-walled cartridge rifles, muzzleloaders, handguns and archery equipment are among legal hunting implements. All hunters are required to wear hunter orange during the gun seasons.

Hunters who harvest a deer and would like to donate the venison through Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry can bring it to one of 26 certified deer processing shops in Ohio, listed at feedingthehungry.org.

Each donated deer is provided to a verified charitable organization that offers food assistance.

One harvested deer yields approximately 50 pounds of venison and 200 meals, according to the ODNR. Hunters who donate their deer are not required to pay for processing.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is shown with an eight-point white-tailed buck he harvested in November 2023 in Morrow County with a 10-point crossbow made in Ohio. CONTRIBUTED

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