Ohio harvests 13,617 deer in muzzleloader exclusive season
Hunters checked 13,617 white-tailed deer during Ohio’s muzzleloader season, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. This season in Ohio also includes archery equipment, so a pure muzzleloader number is not recordable.
Over the last three years, an average of 11,429 deer were taken during the muzzleloader season. In 2022, hunters checked 12,912 during the January season.
Deer hunters found success in all 88 of Ohio’s counties during the muzzleloader season. The top 10 counties for harvest were Coshocton (518), Muskingum (468), Tuscarawas (452), Knox (397), Licking (390), Guernsey (375), Washington (345), Carroll (338), Meigs (335), and Ashtabula (288). Coshocton County was top in the state during the 2022 season with 489 deer harvested.
In Fayette County, 26 white-tailed deer were harvested, compared to a three-year average (2020, 2021, 2022) of 17.
During the 2023 muzzleloader season, hunters took 3,154 bucks (23% of deer taken), 8,421 does (62%), and 1,532 button bucks (11%). Bucks that shed their antlers and bucks with antlers less than 3 inches in length accounted for 510 deer, or 4% of the total harvest.
As of Tuesday, Jan. 10, 406,919 permits have been issued for deer hunting in Ohio.
Hunters interested in tracking the season’s harvest can view weekly deer harvest reports at wildohio.gov. The Division of Wildlife posts deer harvest numbers each Wednesday throughout the hunting season. A final report is also posted after the conclusion of the archery season.