Adventure begins with Ohio’s opening day of deer-gun season

Through Dec. 1, 76,822 deer have been taken by Ohio archery hunters. Plus, Ohio’s young hunters checked 6,234 white-tailed deer during the 2019 two-day youth gun season, Nov. 23-24. The deer-gun season is open to Sunday, Dec. 8, as well as Dec. 21-22.

Ohio offers many more opportunities for hunters of all ages to pursue deer. Deer-muzzleloader season is Saturday, Jan. 4, through Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. Deer-archery season is open now through Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. Find complete details in the 2019-2020 Hunting and Trapping Regulations or at wildohio.gov. For summaries of past deer seasons, visit wildohio.gov/deerharvest.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife wants to provide you the tools to get started on a new hunting adventure. Anyone interested in learning to hunt or becoming a mentor to a new hunter can visit the Wild Ohio Harvest Community Page for information on how to get started, hunting-related workshops as well as special hunting opportunities for mentors and new hunters.

Each year, Ohioans take an estimated 171 million outdoor recreation trips and contribute $5.9 billion to the Buckeye State’s economy, according to a report entitled Economic Valuation of Natural Areas in Ohio, recently released by The Ohio State University.

Editor’s Note: A list of all white-tailed deer checked by hunters during opening day of the 2019 deer-gun hunting season is shown below. The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for opening day 2019, and the 2018 opening day harvest numbers are in parentheses. Harvest numbers below are raw data and subject to change.

Adams: 206 (188); Allen: 86 (45); Ashland: 350 (277); Ashtabula: 601 (489); Athens: 314 (283); Auglaize: 74 (61); Belmont: 283 (217); Brown: 180 (153); Butler: 61 (26); Carroll: 377 (340); Champaign: 94 (64); Clark: 23 (38); Clermont: 112 (64); Clinton: 55 (43); Columbiana: 326 (269); Coshocton: 663 (587); Crawford: 121 (112); Cuyahoga: 10 (11); Darke: 54 (50); Defiance: 216 (146); Delaware: 99 (72); Erie: 53 (42); Fairfield: 124 (126); Fayette: 23 (13); Franklin: 24 (29); Fulton: 94 (78); Gallia: 215 (237); Geauga: 103 (113); Greene: 41 (34); Guernsey: 426 (402); Hamilton: 17 (20); Hancock: 91 (80); Hardin: 138 (91); Harrison: 385 (285); Henry: 117 (59); Highland: 195 (183); Hocking: 309 (252); Holmes: 423 (387); Huron: 268 (208); Jackson: 211 (241); Jefferson: 198 (153); Knox: 544 (425); Lake: 27 (35); Lawrence: 113 (153); Licking: 399 (396); Logan: 158 (137); Lorain: 123 (130); Lucas: 20 (24); Madison: 32 (22); Mahoning: 128 (144); Marion: 93 (86); Medina: 113 (109); Meigs: 242 (230); Mercer: 75 (55); Miami: 31 (35); Monroe: 228 (221); Montgomery: 33 (19); Morgan: 311 (276); Morrow: 122 (120); Muskingum: 511 (489); Noble: 246 (283); Ottawa: 25 (15); Paulding: 140 (87); Perry: 233 (244); Pickaway: 77 (51); Pike: 127 (122); Portage: 117 (104); Preble: 43 (41); Putnam: 73 (61); Richland: 302 (261); Ross: 206 (186); Sandusky: 44 (48); Scioto: 103 (126); Seneca: 181 (141); Shelby: 77 (65); Stark: 168 (184); Summit: 17 (23); Trumbull: 344 (284); Tuscarawas: 557 (512); Union: 57 (56); Van Wert: 42 (43); Vinton: 208 (170); Warren: 48 (38); Washington: 362 (321); Wayne: 178 (184); Williams: 210 (150); Wood: 68 (43); Wyandot: 185 (134).

2019 total: 15,501
2018 total: (13,651)