Ohio's deer hunting season wrapped up with hunters bagging a total of 232,142 white-tailed deer, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). This season's tally is noted as the seventh-highest on record, continuing a streak of hitting over 200,000 for four years straight, while the harvest number represents a slight dip from the previous year's 238,137 deer.
The division highlighted that hunters have contributed around 11 million pounds of venison across Ohio dinner tables and freezers, and for those less fortunate or just plain out of luck hunting wise the Division of Wildlife has spurred more hunters to donate their deer haul via Deer Donation Days, processing more than 5,000 pounds of venison with the help of the ODRC and the Pickaway Correctional Institution meat processing facility, the Division of Wildlife partnered with Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) supports local food banks too for more info on these initiatives interested folk can check out Ohio's wildlife and feeding the hungry websites.
Nevertheless, areas like Athens, Meigs, Morgan, and Washington counties saw a stark decline in deer checks, attributing to a pesky outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) over the summer—affecting the overall numbers. Last season's combined total for these counties was 15,659 compared to this season's 4,289. Straight-walled cartridge rifles reign as the most popular hunting implement, accounting for 34% of the take, and nonresident hunting licenses were snapped up by enthusiasts from all over the U.S, with Pennsylvanians leading the charge on out-of-state permits.
With a leap in the use of either-sex permits, to 138,677, from the previous season's number—now Coshocton County continues to hold the top spot for deer checks, a mantle it has upheld for an impressive 24 years straight, follow the ODNR on social platforms and visit their website for ongoing updates and get prepped for the next hunting season with the HuntFish OH mobile app, they even toss in some nifty venison recipes from the Wild Ohio Harvest Cookbook for that freshly bagged deer.
