Deer Gun Season Numbers Down From Last Year; ODNR Releases County-By-County Deer Haul

Hunters checked 65,485 white-tailed deer during Ohio’s 2014 gun hunting season, Dec. 1-7, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

In the Northeast Ohio counties surrounding Cleveland and Akron, the highest deer take occurred in Stark County south of Akron (759) and Lorain County west of Cleveland (646).

That was still significantly below more rural counties to the south (with the exception of far northeast Ashtabula County, which came in fifth place for the most deer taken).

Counties reporting the highest number of checked deer during the 2014 gun season: Coshocton (2,308), Muskingum (2,084), Tuscarawas (2,074), Guernsey (1,788), Ashtabula (1,730), Knox (1,727), Licking (1,655), Harrison (1,491), Carroll (1,477) and Belmont (1,428).

In the Akron-Cleveland area, the take, in order of highest to lowest, was Stark (759), Lorain (646), Wayne (639), Medina (567), Geauga (470), Portage (451), Lake (138), Summit (122) and Cuyahoga (24).

In nearly all the counties, the deer take during gun season this year was significantly down from last year’s deer gun season. A typical decline could be seen in Geauga County, with 509 deer taken last year and 470 this year.

For the first time in modern history, rifles using specific straight-walled cartridges were allowed during Ohio’s deer-gun season. Gun hunters took advantage of the new opportunity and checked 5,360 deer with straight-walled cartridge rifles.

According to the ODNR, hunters have checked 148,830 deer so far in all 2014 hunting seasons, compared to 162,720 at the same point last year. Hunters harvested 75,408 deer during the 2013 deer-gun season, as compared to 65,485 this year.

The ODNR attributed the declines in deer take this year, and in recent years, to improved herd management. “In the last few years, through increased harvests, dramatic strides have been made in many counties to bring those populations closer toward their goal, and the effectiveness of these herd-management efforts are reflected in the number of deer checked this season. Once a county’s deer population is near goal, harvest regulations are adjusted to maintain the population.”

According to the ODNR release, 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.