ODNR: Ohio hunters take almost 214,000 deer in 2023-24

Ohio’s hunters checked 213,928 white-tailed deer during the 2023-24 deer hunting season that concluded Feb. 4, according to a Feb. 5 news release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.

The final total represents all deer harvested during archery, gun, muzzleloader, and youth seasons since Sept. 9, 2023.

During the season, hunters took an estimated 12 million pounds of venison.

This is the second year in a row that Ohio’s deer harvest has surpassed 200,000, and the 12th time overall (all since 2002), according to the release. This season’s count was the highest in more than a decade (217,018 harvested in 2012-13).

Ohio’s statewide deer harvest, by year:

• 2023-24, 213,928
• 2022-23, 210,973
• 3-year average (2020-2022), 201,890

Ohio’s 2023-24 statewide deer harvest, by individual season:

• Archery, 100,951 (first season to exceed 100,000)
• Weeklong and two-day gun seasons, 85,587
• Four-day muzzleloader season, 12,712
• Two-day youth season, 10,039
• Controlled firearm hunts, 4,639

Top 10 counties for 2023-24 harvest:

1. Coshocton, 7,740. (Last season, Coshocton County also led the state with 7,590 deer checked.)
2. Tuscarawas, 7,023
3. Ashtabula, 5,887
4. Muskingum, 5,789
5. Knox, 5,625
6. Licking, 5,429
7. Holmes, 5,324
8. Guernsey, 5,220
9. Carroll, 5,038
10. Trumbull, 4,703

Most popular hunting implements:

1. Crossbow, 75,462 (35%)
2. Straight-walled cartridge rifle, 60,333 (28%)
3. Shotgun, 31,901 (15%)
4. Vertical bow, 29,696 (14%)
5. Muzzleloader, 16,010 (8%)
6. Handgun, 526 (less than 1%)

Deer harvest:

• Does, 99,584 (46.5%)
• Antlered bucks, 92,051 (43%)
• Button bucks, 18,973 (9%)
• Bucks with shed antlers or antlers shorter than 3 inches, 3,320 (1.5%)

Permit sales:

Ohio hunters were issued 415,710 deer permits across all hunting seasons, according to the release. Hunters from all 50 U.S. states purchased deer permits for use during the 2023-24 seasons. States outside Ohio with the highest nonresident permit sales include:

1. Pennsylvania, 8,808
2. Michigan, 5,874
3. North Carolina, 4,029
4. West Virginia, 3,893
5. New York, 3,699

Last year, hunters generated $1.9 billion in economic spending in Ohio, according to a recent report released by the Wildlife Management Institute, Responsive Management, and Southwick Associates. The research found that 5% of Ohio’s adults, about 500,000 individuals, participate in hunting, with 91% of those hunters taking part in deer hunting.