COLUMBUS – Ohio’s 2020 white-tailed deer archery hunting season has proven to be bountiful for many Buckeye State hunters, with 74,892 deer taken through Tuesday, Nov. 25, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
This is an 11% increase from the average harvest total from the same date during the past three seasons, which is 67,318.
The top 10 counties for deer taken by archery hunters so far during Ohio’s 2020 archery hunting season are Coshocton (2,689), Licking (2,232), Tuscarawas (2,146), Ashtabula (2,021), Knox (1,910), Holmes (1,856), Muskingum (1,806), Trumbull (1,748), Guernsey (1,599), and Richland (1,505).
Deer tend to be highly active during October and November because of the breeding season, making these months popular for many Ohio bowhunters. Participation remains high for all hunters, with 299,573 permits sold or issued through Wednesday, Nov. 24. Ohio’s deer-archery season began in September and is open until Feb. 7, 2021.
Ohio is a popular hunting destination for many out-of-state hunters. The top five states for purchasing a nonresident hunting license in Ohio are Pennsylvania (6,954 permits sold), Michigan (4,515), West Virginia (3,321), North Carolina (2,955), and New York (2,335).
Young hunters harvested 5,795 deer during the youth gun season Nov. 21-22.
A county list of all white-tailed deer checked by archery hunters through Wednesday, Nov. 25 is below. The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2020; the second number (in parentheses) is the three-year average for 2017-19.
Adams: 1,227 (1,230); Allen: 387 (420); Ashland: 1,257 (1,108); Ashtabula: 2,021 (1,735); Athens: 1,121 (1,212); Auglaize: 381 (351); Belmont: 873 (822); Brown: 988 (895); Butler: 732 (688); Carroll: 1,284 (1,115); Champaign: 561 (511); Clark: 360 (353); Clermont: 1,165 (1,104); Clinton: 250 (308); Columbiana: 1,229 (1,024); Coshocton: 2,689 (2,410); Crawford: 464 (373); Cuyahoga: 663 (600); Darke: 332 (293); Defiance: 686 (502); Delaware: 832 (736); Erie: 415 (377); Fairfield: 818 (714); Fayette: 126 (120); Franklin: 456 (389); Fulton: 350 (270); Gallia: 798 (741); Geauga: 981 (814); Greene: 435 (365); Guernsey: 1,599 (1,462); Hamilton: 834 (946); Hancock: 582 (454); Hardin: 493 (436); Harrison: 1,248 (1,126); Henry: 300 (232); Highland: 1,006 (934); Hocking: 928 (1,090); Holmes: 1,856 (1,593); Huron: 834 (716); Jackson: 1,012 (1,066); Jefferson: 735 (605); Knox: 1,910 (1,611); Lake: 542 (438); Lawrence: 676 (586); Licking: 2,232 (1,922); Logan: 837 (813); Lorain: 1,132 (925); Lucas: 467 (425); Madison: 250 (210); Mahoning: 873 (820); Marion: 360 (279); Medina: 1,137 (875); Meigs: 1,105 (986); Mercer: 337 (285); Miami: 394 (389); Monroe: 704 (652); Montgomery: 466 (393); Morgan: 990 (974); Morrow: 697 (568); Muskingum: 1,806 (1,638); Noble: 1,098 (959); Ottawa: 259 (210); Paulding: 474 (332); Perry: 897 (815); Pickaway: 224 (272); Pike: 667 (746); Portage: 1,124 (989); Preble: 487 (434); Putnam: 351 (317); Richland: 1,505 (1,300); Ross: 1,116 (1,091); Sandusky: 500 (401); Scioto: 834 (828); Seneca: 722 (634); Shelby: 418 (376); Stark: 1,359 (1,176); Summit: 946 (837); Trumbull: 1,748 (1,469); Tuscarawas: 2,146 (1,852); Union: 466 (408); Van Wert: 225 (180); Vinton: 755 (910); Warren: 573 (553); Washington: 959 (900); Wayne: 1,107 (876); Williams: 753 (588); Wood: 438 (395); Wyandot: 518 (441).
2020 Total: 74,892
Three-Year Average Total: (67,318)
The deer-gun season is Monday, Nov. 30, through Sunday, Dec. 6, as well as Dec. 19-20. Deer-muzzleloader season is Saturday, Jan. 2, through Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. Deer-archery season is open now through Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021.
Find complete details in the 2020-2021 Ohio Hunting Regulations or at wildohio.gov.
Wild turkeys
Ohio hunters checked 1,063 wild turkeys during the 2020 fall hunting season, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. The 2020 fall wild turkey season was open in 70 counties from Oct. 10-Nov. 29. The 2020 total represents a 1% decrease from the average harvest during the past three years, which is 1,078 wild turkeys.
The top 10 counties for wild turkeys taken during the fall 2020 hunting season include: Ashtabula (52), Coshocton (37), Trumbull (36), Guernsey (28), Licking (28), Clermont (27), Geauga (27), Gallia (26), Holmes (26), and Tuscarawas (26).
A county list of all wild turkeys checked by hunters during the 2020 fall hunting season is below. The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2020, and the three-year average of turkeys taken in 2017, 2018, and 2019 is in parentheses.
Adams: 16 (14); Allen: 6 (7); Ashland: 10 (15); Ashtabula: 52 (37); Athens: 24 (15); Belmont: 20 (24); Brown: 15 (10); Butler: 15 (10); Carroll: 19 (24); Champaign: 4 (4); Clermont: 27 (21); Columbiana: 19 (27); Coshocton: 37 (51); Crawford: 2 (4); Cuyahoga: 4 (4); Defiance: 8 (13); Delaware: 7 (10); Erie: 7 (7); Fairfield: 7 (8); Franklin: 3 (4); Fulton: 10 (11); Gallia: 26 (27); Geauga: 27 (25); Guernsey: 28 (34); Hamilton: 6 (10); Hancock: 5 (4); Hardin: 4 (4); Harrison: 23 (27); Henry: 4 (3); Highland: 24 (25); Hocking: 20 (14); Holmes: 26 (27); Huron: 9 (9); Jackson: 18 (18); Jefferson: 21 (17); Knox: 20 (20); Lake: 10 (8); Lawrence: 17 (12); Licking: 28 (26); Logan: 7 (7); Lorain: 8 (11); Lucas: 13 (12); Mahoning: 10 (13); Medina: 14 (15); Meigs: 22 (20); Monroe: 23 (22); Morgan: 10 (19); Morrow: 10 (11); Muskingum: 20 (20); Noble: 16 (24); Paulding: 3 (6); Perry: 15 (17); Pike: 12 (12); Portage: 14 (15); Preble: 7 (8); Putnam: 2 (5); Richland: 22 (23); Ross: 19 (16); Scioto: 14 (17); Seneca: 7 (6); Stark: 18 (19); Summit: 9 (12); Trumbull: 36 (25); Tuscarawas: 26 (35); Vinton: 20 (14); Warren: 10 (5); Washington: 25 (17); Wayne: 14 (8); Williams: 8 (20); Wyandot: 1 (4).
2020 Total: 1,063
Three-Year Average Total: 1,078
