Ohio 2025 muzzleloader deer season results are in

Hunters checked 13,476 white-tailed deer Jan. 4 to 7 during Ohio’s muzzleloader hunting season.

This total accounts for all deer taken with muzzleloaders or archery equipment during the annual four-day season, according to a Jan. 8 news release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.

Last year, hunters checked 12,714 deer during the muzzleloader season. Over the past three years, hunters bagged an average of 13,081 deer in the same timeframe, according to the release.

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Hunters checked 3,629 antlered deer (27% of deer tagged) and 9,847 antlerless deer (73%), a category that includes does (8,127) and button bucks (1,445). Hunters checked 172 bucks with shed antlers and 103 bucks with antlers shorter than 3 inches, according to the release.

The division's stats show the 10 counties with the highest totals during the muzzleloader season as follows:

1. Coshocton (544)
2. Muskingum (462)
3. Tuscarawas (450)
4. Guernsey (440)
5. Carroll (430)
6. Knox (407)
7. Licking (373)
8. Harrison (351)
9. Washington (334)
10. Columbiana (321)

As of Jan. 7, hunters in Ohio had tagged 225,911 deer during the 2024-25 season. For the third consecutive year, the season total surpassed 200,000. Deer checked by season includes the following:

• Archery: 97,421. Archery season is open until Sunday, Feb. 2.
• Youth gun: 10,449
• Gun season: 87,192
• Additional gun weekend: 17,373
• All deer checked with a gun, which includes deer taken during controlled hunts: 128,546

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