Extra weekend of deer gun season was successful for local hunters
The second portion of Ohio's 2022 white-tailed deer gun hunting season was a success, at least from a bio-management perspective.
Hunters harvested 15,163 deer during the extra weekend of deer gun hunting on Saturday, Dec. 17, and Sunday, Dec. 18, according to data collected by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife.
Local county totals from the weekend of hunting were: Richland, 310; Wayne, 211; Crawford, 115; Ashland, 368; and Holmes, 331.
In the same two-day period over the last three years, hunters brought home an average of 12,944 deer, the ODNR announced in a news release. Hunters took 9,619 deer on the same weekend in 2021.
Local hunters rank among the state's most productive
During the deer gun weekend, hunters harvested 4,418 bucks (29% of deer taken), 8,697 does (57%), and 1,792 button bucks (12%). Bucks with shed antlers and bucks with antlers less than 3 inches long accounted for 256 deer, or 2%.
The top 10 counties for deer taken during the 2022 two-day gun season were: Coshocton (517), Tuscarawas (513), Ashtabula (473), Muskingum (431), Carroll (404), Licking (403), Knox (396), Guernsey (382), Ashland (368), and Columbiana (345). In 2021, Coshocton led the state with 313 deer harvested over these two days.
"Hunting is a way for people to enjoy being outdoors, provide sustainable food for their families, and contribute to Ohio’s legacy of wildlife conservation," Kendra Wecker, ODNR's wildlife chief, said in the news release. "Thank you to all who participated in a safe and successful weekend of deer hunting."
More deer hunting opportunities remain this year
Gun hunters in Ohio this year have checked a total of 97,326 deer, including the 71,932 deer taken during the weeklong gun season from Nov. 28 to Dec. 4. Youth hunters also checked 9,515 deer during their season Nov. 19 and 20, and archery hunters have harvested 85,272 deer through Sunday, Dec. 18, bringing the season total for all manners of harvest to 182,598 deer.
Straight-walled cartridge rifles became legal for deer hunting in Ohio in 2014 and have grown in popularity since then. Over the course of the deer gun weekend, 57% of successful hunters chose a straight-walled cartridge rifle, 34% used a shotgun, 6% selected a muzzleloader, 2% used archery equipment, and less than 1% chose a handgun.
"Ohio’s reputation as an excellent deer hunting state has motivated 281,437 hunters to purchase deer permits as of Sunday, Dec. 18," the news release read. "Out-of-state hunters from Pennsylvania (7,157 licenses sold), Michigan (5,052), West Virginia (3,614), North Carolina (3,202), New York (2,943), and other states boost local economies as they travel to Ohio for a chance at harvesting a Buckeye State whitetail."
White-tail archery season ends Feb. 5. The state's muzzleloader season runs Jan. 7 to Jan. 10.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Hunters harvested 15,163 deer during the extra weekend of gun season
