OHIO — Hunters topped the 2023-24 season by checking 238,137 white tailed deer during the 2024-25 hunting season that concluded Sunday, Feb. 2.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife released the final total, which represents all deer bagged during archery, gun, muzzleloader and youth seasons that began Sept. 14, 2024.
It's the fourth-highest number of deer taken on record and the highest number of deer bagged since the 2010-11 hunting season. In the 2023-24 season, hunters checked 213,927 deer. The three-year average, between 2021-2023, is 207,295.
Through the hunting, there were approximately 12 million pounds of venison collected.
ODNR also shared how the deer were bagged by individual season:
- Archery: 106,269
- Weeklong and two-day gun seasons: 104,565
- Four-day muzzleloader season: 13,476
- Two-day youth season: 10,449
- Controlled firearm hunts: 3,378
The top 10 counties for deer hunting were Coshocton, with 8,196 deer bagged; Tuscarawas, with 7,373; Knox, with 6,730; Muskingum, with 6,269; Ashtabula, with 6,042; Guernsey, with 5,762; Carroll, with 5,759; Licking, with 5,754; Holmes, with 5,684; and Richland, with 5,028.
The types of deer checked this season were 115,683 does, 97,618 antlered bucks, 21,689 button bucks and 3,147 bucks with shed antlers or antlers shorter than 3 inches.
ODNR said there were hunters who purchased licenses from all 50 states for the 2024-25 season with the highest nonresident license sales coming from Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, North Carolina and New York.
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