ODNR Expands Deer Check System

Landowners can check deer using mobile devices

COLUMBUS, OH – An enhanced website will offer Ohio hunters a quick and easy way to check harvested white-tailed deer with their smartphones, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

The enhanced site at www.ohiogamecheck.com was made available when the 2013-2014 deer-archery season began on Saturday, Sept. 28.

The mobile-friendly site is available for all hunters to check deer, including landowners not required to purchase a deer permit. A valid email address and phone number are required to use the website on a mobile device.

A new tagging procedure administered by the ODNR Division of Wildlife requires hunters to make their own game tag to attach to a deer. Game tags can be made of any material (cardboard, plastic, paper, etc.) as long as it contains the hunter’s name, date, time and county of the kill. Go to the Deer Hunting Resources page at www.wildohio.com for more information on changes to the game check process.

All hunters must then report their deer harvest using the automated game-check system. Hunters have three options to complete the game check:

• Online at www.ohiogamecheck.com;
• Call 877-TAG-ITOH (824-4864);
• Visit a license agent. A list of agents can be found at www.wildohio.com or by calling 800-WILDLIFE (945-3543).

Game-check transactions are available online and by telephone seven days a week, including holidays. Landowners exempt from purchasing a deer permit, and other people not required to purchase a deer permit, cannot use the 877-TAG-ITOH option, but they can use the new enhanced Internet site.

Deer hunting in Ohio continues to be a popular activity for many who enjoy the outdoors. Ohio hunters checked 218,910 deer during the 2012-2013 season. 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.

ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at www.ohiodnr.gov.