Kids get it done during Ohio's youth-only firearms deer-hunting season

Some kids – especially those in counties adjacent to Lake Erie or a bit inland - faced adult-sized weather conditions during Ohio’s just-concluded youth-only firearms deer-hunting season.

Even so, Ohio’s Kid Brigade did good; make that, real good.

This year’s two-day youth-only season was held November 21 and 22, and for this sprint the participating young people shot 7,223 deer.

By comparison – a vital yardstick if numbers are to mean anything – the 2014 two-day, youth-only firearms deer-hunting season saw 6,453 deer killed. For the 2013 hunt that statistic was 6,640.

The county-by-county kill for this year (with their respective 2014 youth-only firearms deer-hunting season figures in parentheses) include:  Adams: 170 (103); Allen: 44 (32); Ashland: 149 (127); Ashtabula: 147 (167); Athens: 169 (104); Auglaize: 52 (43); Belmont: 167 (135); Brown: 100 (98); Butler: 25 (31); Carroll: 140 (145); Champaign: 47 (64); Clark: 20 (23); Clermont: 65 (68); Clinton: 37 (31); Columbiana: 122 (121); Coshocton: 258 (282); Crawford: 37 (56); Cuyahoga: 0 (Also zero); Darke: 21 (39); Defiance: 75 (66); Delaware: 42 (30); Erie: 17 (19); Fairfield: 79 (68); Fayette: 18 (10); Franklin: 8 (13); Fulton: 30 (24); Gallia: 124 (92); Geauga: 39 (46); Greene: 18 (25); Guernsey: 188 (191); Hamilton: 13 (18); Hancock: 50 (42); Hardin: 58 (47); Harrison: 183 (127); Henry: 20 (26); Highland: 132 (114); Hocking: 125 (71); Holmes: 203 (218); Huron: 85 (96); Jackson: 135 (99); Jefferson: 117 (107); Knox: 182 (207); Lake: 8 (also 8, which coincidentally also was the 2013 youth-only season kill); Lawrence: 69 (75); Licking: 182 (168); Logan: 82 (76); Lorain: 56 (55); Lucas: 15 (4); Madison: 19 (17); Mahoning: 65 (63); Marion: 31 (also 31); Medina: 38 (40); Meigs: 171 (143); Mercer: 47 (32); Miami: 29 (35); Monroe: 128 (96); Montgomery: 7 (14); Morgan: 143 (103); Morrow: 52 (55); Muskingum: 200 (187); Noble: 114 (78); Ottawa: 18 (14); Paulding: 49 (42); Perry: 128 (83); Pickaway: 41 (23); Pike: 83 (60); Portage: 104 (40); Preble: 43 (39); Putnam: 38 (51); Richland: 116 (112); Ross: 162 (120); Sandusky: 15 (30); Scioto: 127 (71); Seneca: 95 (78); Shelby: 67 (65); Stark: 64 (72); Summit: 9 (10); Trumbull: 81 (also 81); Tuscarawas: 226 (220); Union: 36 (38); Van Wert: 38 (30); Vinton: 102 (75); Warren: 35 (26); Washington: 145 (141); Wayne: 79 (77); Williams: 48 (47); Wood: 28 (38); Wyandot: 79 (65); Total: 7,223 (6,453).

In looking at the data it can be seen that most Lake Erie-shoreline Ohio counties saw declines from their 2014 youth-only deer season kills when superimposed over their respective 2014 youth-only firearms deer-hunting season kills.

It would not be a stretch to say that the weekend’s generally gruesome mix of snow squalls, foot-stomping temperatures, and uncharitable winds was a leading cause in the decline of the deer kills in nearly all northern Ohio counties, particularly those counties in Northeast Ohio.

The National Weather Service even included a couple of weather advisories during this period; the heads-up notices would have been sufficient enough to chase many adult deer hunters indoors, let alone eligible young people age 17 and younger.

Other interesting items – the interesting being simply because they are interesting – is the three-consecutive-year string of eight deer killed in Lake County during the youth-only seasons.

Almost ditto for neighboring Cuyahoga County where during the 2013 youth-only season a single deer was taken but none either in 2014 or during this year’s youth-only season.

A little bit of a brow riser were places like Ross County where youth hunters produced a 42-deer jump during this year’s season from its 2014 youth-only gun season kill (120 animals).

Put Athens County on that list as well, demonstrated with 2015’s 65-deer kill increase over its 2014 youth-only gun season kill (104 deer).

Adams County young guns went one better: Producing a 67 deer kill rise over its 2014 youth-only season kill (103 deer).

 

Hocking County’s rise is perhaps even more remarkable. Here we see a jump of about 70 percent or so from the county’s 2014 reported youth-only gun season kill of 71 deer.

And in the run-up of losers and winners it appears that 51 of Ohio’s 88 counties saw increases to their respective comparable 2015 to 2014 youth-only firearms deer-hunting seasons.

Just how any of this will help shape the outcome of the up-coming statewide general firearms deer-hunting season is almost certainly a matter of conjecture. After all, many of the top-producing counties during the youth-only season are also many of the same big deer kill producers during the general gun season.

Yet these same top gun counties also tend to be short on human residency; raising the question of whether an adult really did take a youngster to an out-of-the-way deer camp or if the adult was the actual shooter of the animal.

Yes, this topic has been debated without end and without mercy. Yet proponents of this theory have not been able to provide empirical evidence that such illegal behavior is actually happening on a wide scale.

Until they do, let’s toast the youngsters for having had a great season. Crummy lake-effect storm fronts not-withstanding, of course.

 

By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net

 

Jeff is the retired News-Herald reporter who  covered the earth sciences, the area's three county park systems and the outdoors for the newspaper. During his 30 years with The News-Herald Jeff was the recipient of more than 125 state, regional and national journalism awards. He also is a columnist and features writer for the Ohio Outdoor News, which is published every other week and details the outdoors happenings in the state.