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Muzzleloader Season
Ohio Hunters
Harvest more than 13,000 Deer
COLUMBUS, OH – Hunting is the best and most effective management tool
for maintaining Ohio’s healthy deer population. Hunters harvested
13,726 white-tailed deer during Ohio’s 2015 muzzleloader season, Jan.
2-5, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
Hunters have checked 167,013 deer so far in all 2014-2015 hunting
seasons, compared to 182,861 at the same point last year. Hunters
harvested 16,464 deer during the 2014 deer-muzzleloader season.
In the last few years, through increased deer harvests, dramatic
strides have been made in many counties to approach acceptable
populations. The effectiveness of these management efforts are
reflected in the decreased number of deer checked this season. During
the 2013-2014 hunting season, Ohio hunters checked 191,459 deer. Bag
limits were reduced in 46 counties prior to the 2014-2015 deer hunting
season, and antlerless permits were eliminated in 29 counties.
Counties reporting the highest number of checked deer during the 2014
muzzleloader season: Coshocton (553), Muskingum (445), Meigs (404),
Guernsey (395), Belmont (393), Licking (390), Tuscarawas (363), Carroll
(341), Washington (340) and Athens (335).
Ohio ranks fifth nationally in resident hunters and 11th in the number
of jobs associated with hunting-related industries. Hunting has a more
than $853 million economic impact in Ohio through the sale of
equipment, fuel, food, lodging and more, according to the National
Shooting Sports Foundation’s Hunting in America: An Economic Force for
Conservation publication.
The ODNR Division of Wildlife remains committed to properly managing
Ohio’s deer populations through a combination of regulatory and
programmatic changes. The goal of Ohio’s Deer Management Program is to
provide a deer population that maximizes recreational opportunities,
while minimizing conflicts with landowners and motorists. This ensures
that Ohio’s deer herd is maintained at a level that is both acceptable
to most, and biologically sound.
Find more information about deer hunting in the Ohio 2014-2015 Hunting
and Trapping Regulations or at wildohio.gov. An updated deer harvest
report is posted online each Wednesday. Archery season remains open
through Sunday, Feb. 1.
Ohio’s first modern day deer-gun season opened in 1943 in three
counties, and hunters harvested 168 deer. Deer hunting was allowed in
all 88 counties in 1956, and hunters harvested 3,911 deer during that
one-week season.
ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural
resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.gov.
Editor’s Note: A list of white-tailed deer checked by hunters during
the 2015 muzzleloader hunting season, Jan. 2-5, is shown below. The
first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for
2015, and the 2014 numbers are in parentheses.
Adams: 277 (296); Allen: 57 (46); Ashland: 253 (283); Ashtabula: 323
(313); Athens: 335 (485); Auglaize: 38 (41); Belmont: 393 (561); Brown:
245 (233); Butler: 85 (104); Carroll: 341 (458); Champaign: 85 (83);
Clark: 33 (55); Clermont: 168 (153); Clinton: 64 (52); Columbiana: 206
(379); Coshocton: 553 (630); Crawford: 59 (53); Cuyahoga: 3 (1); Darke:
28 (22); Defiance: 97 (74); Delaware: 53 (101); Erie: 37 (27);
Fairfield: 141 (192); Fayette: 20 (27); Franklin: 29 (31); Fulton: 23
(30); Gallia: 281 (283); Geauga: 94 (96); Greene: 48 (58); Guernsey:
395 (652); Hamilton: 40 (60); Hancock: 63 (42); Hardin: 99 (80);
Harrison: 321 (513); Henry: 32 (16); Highland: 243 (254); Hocking: 284
(362); Holmes: 264 (336); Huron: 147 (150); Jackson: 249 (265);
Jefferson: 266 (472); Knox: 311 (391); Lake: 30 (20); Lawrence: 173
(229); Licking: 390 (511); Logan: 128 (130); Lorain: 126 (142); Lucas:
23 (16); Madison: 31 (27); Mahoning: 141 (162); Marion: 45 (42);
Medina: 114 (137); Meigs: 404 (425); Mercer: 29 (28); Miami: 37 (45);
Monroe: 244 (278); Montgomery: 33 (24); Morgan: 316 (361); Morrow: 88
(90); Muskingum: 445 (593); Noble: 272 (341); Ottawa: 24 (17);
Paulding: 62 (51); Perry: 229 (294); Pickaway: 77 (47); Pike: 180
(187); Portage: 81 (109); Preble: 55 (100); Putnam: 26 (22); Richland:
241 (227); Ross: 301 (287); Sandusky: 51 (43); Scioto: 199 (196);
Seneca: 122 (98); Shelby: 60 (82); Stark: 167 (202); Summit: 30 (48);
Trumbull: 234 (222); Tuscarawas: 363 (592); Union: 41 (57); Van Wert:
22 (25); Vinton: 243 (392); Warren: 65 (91); Washington: 340 (402);
Wayne: 137 (140); Williams: 86 (69); Wood: 47 (34) and Wyandot: 91
(69). Total: 13,726 (16,464).
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