Deer season concluded on Sunday, Feb. 7.
The final harvest totals represent all deer taken during archery, gun, muzzleloader, and youth hunting seasons that began Sept. 26, 2020. An average of 180,921 deer were harvested during the last three years.
Since September 2020, hunters harvested 94,691 deer with archery equipment, while 86,853 deer were taken with firearms during the weeklong and two-day gun seasons. In addition, 9,708 deer were harvested with muzzleloaders. Young hunters found success during the two-day youth season with 5,795 deer harvested.
“We are pleased to see an increased number of deer taken this season as Ohio’s hunters spent more time in the woods during the fall and winter,” said Division of Wildlife Chief Kendra Wecker. “Hunting provides a great connection to the outdoors as well as a direct link to a healthy and natural food source.”
The top 10 counties for deer harvested during the 2020-2021 deer season include: Coshocton (6,791), Tuscarawas (6,158), Ashtabula (5,662), Licking (5,549), Knox (5,247), Muskingum (5,172), Holmes (4,833), Guernsey (4,809), Carroll (4,123), and Trumbull (4,015).
Deer hunting occurs in all 88 counties and an estimated 310,000 hunters participated during Ohio’s deer seasons, and more than 409,809 deer permits were purchased or issued. Hotspots for deer hunting are found mostly in the eastern regions.
Coshocton County leads the state in total deer harvests over the last five years, with 6,715 deer taken during the 2019-2020 season.
Across all deer seasons, hunters harvested 80,003 bucks, accounting for 40% of the total harvest. Does represented 48% of the harvest with 94,771 taken, while 19,629 button bucks were taken, for 10%. Bucks with shed antlers and bucks with antlers less than 3 inches long accounted for 3,332 deer, or 2% of the harvest.
Editor’s Note: A county list of all white-tailed deer checked by hunters during the 2020-2021 deer hunting seasons is shown below. The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2020-2021, and the three-year average of deer harvested from 2017 to 2019 is in parentheses.
Adams: 2,947 (2,989); Allen: 1,075 (992); Ashland: 3,698 (3,195); Ashtabula: 5,662 (4,970); Athens: 3,185 (3,511); Auglaize: 1,006 (877); Belmont: 2,932 (2,827); Brown: 2,683 (2,369); Butler: 1,617 (1,375); Carroll: 4,123 (3,748); Champaign: 1,397 (1,192); Clark: 785 (730); Clermont: 2,717 (2,393); Clinton: 649 (761); Columbiana: 3,453 (3,075); Coshocton: 6,791 (6,438); Crawford: 1,363 (1,200); Cuyahoga: 997 (955); Darke: 883 (742); Defiance: 2,228 (1,650); Delaware: 1,641 (1,500); Erie: 996 (1,065); Fairfield: 2,179 (1,873); Fayette: 328 (327); Franklin: 901 (752); Fulton: 924 (749); Gallia: 2,438 (2,426); Geauga: 2,229 (1,863); Greene: 960 (808); Guernsey: 4,809 (4,522); Hamilton: 1,498 (1,575); Hancock: 1,654 (1,252); Hardin: 1,507 (1,291); Harrison: 3,647 (3,489); Henry: 910 (730); Highland: 2,910 (2,503); Hocking: 2,634 (3,093); Holmes: 4,833 (4,177); Huron: 2,578 (2,256); Jackson: 2,595 (2,881); Jefferson: 2,229 (1,886); Knox: 5,247 (4,554); Lake: 1,046 (844); Lawrence: 1,695 (1,713); Licking: 5,549 (4,820); Logan: 2,222 (2,054); Lorain: 2,513 (2,154); Lucas: 831 (749); Madison: 622 (515); Mahoning: 2,029 (1,938); Marion: 1,009 (869); Medina: 2,715 (2,078); Meigs: 3,187 (3,032); Mercer: 880 (721); Miami: 845 (800); Monroe: 2,494 (2,456); Montgomery: 882 (724); Morgan: 3,130 (3,040); Morrow: 1,860 (1,539); Muskingum: 5,172 (4,950); Noble: 3,189 (2,951); Ottawa: 617 (491); Paulding: 1,336 (1,034); Perry: 2,630 (2,592); Pickaway: 625 (783); Pike: 1,763 (1,902); Portage: 2,501 (2,360); Preble: 1,076 (993); Putnam: 936 (775); Richland: 3,937 (3,409); Ross: 3,071 (2,925); Sandusky: 1,154 (871); Scioto: 2,110 (2,170); Seneca: 2,073 (1,906); Shelby: 1,090 (993); Stark: 3,238 (2,836); Summit: 1,732 (1,479); Trumbull: 4,015 (3,586); Tuscarawas: 6,158 (5,575); Union: 1,117 (940); Van Wert: 623 (515); Vinton: 2,110 (2,540); Warren: 1,243 (1,175); Washington: 3,233 (3,239); Wayne: 2,626 (2,239); Williams: 1,952 (1,604); Wood: 1,142 (963); Wyandot: 1,919 (1,523).
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