EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
COLUMBUS – Ohio’s hunters checked 213,928 white-tailed deer during the 2023-24 deer hunting season that concluded on Sunday, Feb. 4, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
The final total represents all deer taken during archery, gun, muzzleloader, and youth seasons since Sept. 9, 2023.
During the Ohio deer seasons hunters took an estimated 12 million pounds of venison.
This nutritious meat was enjoyed by their friends and families, and hunters donated some of this meat to food banks around Ohio.
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). This season’s count was the highest in more than a decade (217,018 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
Coshocton: 7,740. (Last season, Coshocton County also led the state with 7,590 deer checked.)
Tuscarawas: 7,023
Ashtabula: 5,887
Muskingum: 5,789
Knox: 5,625
Licking: 5,429
Holmes: 5,324
Guernsey: 5,220
Carroll: 5,038
Trumbull: 4,703
Most popular hunting implements
Crossbow: 75,462 (35%)
Straight-walled cartridge rifle: 60,333 (28%)
Shotgun: 31,901 (15%)
Vertical bow: 29,696 (14%)
Muzzleloader: 16,010 (8%)
Handgun: 526 (less than 1%)
Deeer 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. Hunters from all 50 U.S. states purchased deer permits for use during the 2023-24 seasons.
States outside of Ohio with the highest nonresident permit sales include:
Pennsylvania (8,808)
Michigan (5,874)
North Carolina (4,029)
West Virginia (3,893)
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.
Check out the Wild Ohio Harvest Community for kitchen inspiration on how to prepare this season’s deer.
The Wild Ohio Harvest Cookbook shares imaginative venison recipes, or join an upcoming venison preparation class for hands-on experience.
Keep up with the Division of Wildlife on Facebook and Instagram for instant news stories, outdoor recreation ideas, local wildlife information, wildlife photos, and so much more. Visit wildohio.gov to find locations to hunt, fish, trap, and view wildlife.
In preparation for the 2023-24 hunting seasons, download the free HuntFish OH mobile app to purchase licenses and permits, check game, and view wildlife area maps.
Deer harvest by county
A county list of all white-tailed deer harvested during the 2023-24 deer hunting seasons is shown below.
The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2023-24, and the three-year average of deer taken from 2020-2022 is in parentheses.
A three-year average provides a better overall comparison to this year’s harvest numbers, eliminating year-to-year variation because of weather, misaligned season dates, crop harvest, and other unavoidable factors.
Numbers below are raw data and subject to change.
Adams: 3,100 (3,088); Allen: 1,479 (1,129); Ashland: 4,074 (3,780); Ashtabula: 5,887 (5,482); Athens: 2,924 (3,352); Auglaize: 1,334 (1,117); Belmont: 3,607 (2,952); Brown: 2,440 (2,581); Butler: 1,254 (1,504); Carroll: 5,038 (4,395); Champaign: 1,575 (1,475); Clark: 870 (816); Clermont: 2,346 (2,593); Clinton: 904 (708); Columbiana: 4,229 (3,685); Coshocton: 7,740 (7,175); Crawford: 1,538 (1,408); Cuyahoga: 912 (938); Darke: 1,066 (933); Defiance: 2,298 (2,011); Delaware: 1,712 (1,669); Erie: 1,015 (964); Fairfield: 2,059 (2,165); Fayette: 449 (353); Franklin: 794 (844); Fulton: 1,078 (932); Gallia: 2,618 (2,697); Geauga: 2,708 (2,294); Greene: 895 (919); Guernsey: 5,220 (4,995); Hamilton: 1,168 (1,370); Hancock: 1,974 (1,658); Hardin: 1,653 (1,472); Harrison: 4,516 (3,648); Henry: 1,009 (937); Highland: 2,883 (2,878); Hocking: 2,573 (2,784); Holmes: 5,324 (4,974); Huron: 2,855 (2,569); Jackson: 2,676 (2,843); Jefferson: 3,065 (2,389); Knox: 5,625 (5,338); Lake: 1,163 (1,025); Lawrence: 1,738 (1,732); Licking: 5,429 (5,420); Logan: 2,319 (2,232); Lorain: 2,629 (2,418); Lucas: 791 (771); Madison: 642 (639); Mahoning: 2,409 (2,071); Marion: 1,060 (994); Medina: 2,721 (2,698); Meigs: 2,964 (3,347); Mercer: 1,137 (962); Miami: 975 (896); Monroe: 2,878 (2,564); Montgomery: 843 (870); Morgan: 3,281 (3,245); Morrow: 2,176 (1,901); Muskingum: 5,789 (5,494); Noble: 3,416 (3,263); Ottawa: 731 (604); Paulding: 1,497 (1,327); Perry: 2,804 (2,767); Pickaway: 954 (738); Pike: 1,778 (1,910); Portage: 2,932 (2,662); Preble: 1,116 (1,088); Putnam: 1,275 (965); Richland: 4,169 (3,889); Ross: 2,749 (3,025); Sandusky: 1,181 (1,097); Scioto: 2,195 (2,228); Seneca: 2,448 (2,137); Shelby: 1,359 (1,183); Stark: 3,627 (3,355); Summit: 1,745 (1,799); Trumbull: 4,703 (4,086); Tuscarawas: 7,023 (6,496); Union: 1,228 (1,122); Van Wert: 798 (649); Vinton: 1,708 (2,176); Warren: 1,065 (1,181); Washington: 3,797 (3,528); Wayne: 2,986 (2,659); Williams: 2,156 (1,954); Wood: 1,225 (1,093); Wyandot: 1,835 (1,816).
2023-24 total: 213,928
3-year average total: 201,890