Ohio's deer hunters continue to struggle adding numbers to the leader board

Ohio’s deer hunters continue to struggle in collecting heads for the wall and venison for the freezer.

The state’s to-date deer kill as of October 18th totals 15,600 animals. For the comparable period last year hunters had killed 20,752 deer.

And the 15,600 figure also represents an increase of only 3,576 animals noted as being killed between the October 12^th and October 19^th reporting dates. In 2015 the difference for approximately the same period was 6,546 animals, based on figures supplied by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

So far only two counties have breached the 500-plus deer kill threshold – Coshocton with 502 reported animals being taken, and Trumbull County with 557 animals reportedly as being shot.

Last year the state had five counties with to-date kill tallies in excess of 500 animals each, including two with harvests exceeding 600 animals each. Those five counties in 2015 and their then-respective to-date numbers were Ashtabula – 583 deer; Coshocton – 524 deer; Hamilton – 527 deer; Licking – 655 deer; and Trumbull – 613 deer.

So how are these same five traditional Top Guns faring thus far in 2016? Here are their respective to-date numbers: Ashtabula County – 489 deer; the fore-mentioned Coshocton County – 502 deer; Hamilton County – 329 deer; Licking County – 465 deer; and the fore-mentioned Trumbull County – 557 deer.

Other noteworthy October 18^th county to-date deer kill figures (with their respective October 20^th 2015 to-date deer kill figures in parentheses) are: Adams – 267 (441); Ashland – 269 (332); Athens – 247 (323); Brown – 153 (247); Clermont – 267 (417); Columbiana – 259 (336); Cuyahoga (The only one of Ohio’s 88 counties to record a respective to-date reported increase kill from 2015 to 2016) – 234 (178);  Delaware – 196 (273); Geauga – 256 (297); Guernsey – 329 (364); Harrison – 253 (336); Hocking – 220 (333); Holmes – 356 (439); Knox – 375 (496); Lake – 166 (181); Lorain – 339 (435); Mahoning – 240 (297); Medina – 244 (292); Muskingum – 318 (357); Noble – 185 (232); Perry – 177 (230); Pike – 128 (218); Portage – 294 (346); Preble – 87 (133); Richland – 306 (397); Ross – 188 (312); Sandusky – 92 (126); Stark – 290 (392); Scioto – 152 (312); Shelby – 84 (142); Summit – 242 (314); Tuscarawas – 341 (456); Vinton – 160 (229); Washington – 177 (221); Wayne – 219 (258); Williams – 190 (238).

As of October 18^th, 25 of Ohio’s 88 counties had deer kill figures still stuck in double digits. Last year the comparable to-date tally showed just 13 counties had recorded deer kills in double digits.

Among the to-date also-rans (in alphabetical order and with their respective 2015 to-date kills in parentheses) are: Fayette – 19 (33); Clinton – 48 (86); Madison – 36 (68); Henry – 41 (55); Ottawa – 44 (65); Pickaway – 48 (63); Van Wert – 40 (41).

All of Ohio’s 88 counties did post gains between the October 11^th reporting date and the October 18^th reporting date. The smallest gain was noted in Pickaway County where just five additional deer were reportedly taken there between the October 11^th reporting date and the October 18^th reporting date.

- By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net