Even with the best of hunting weather on Saturday, Ohio’s 420,000 deer chasers couldn’t make up for all of the ground lost during the gun season’s first four weather-miserable days.
However, the deficit shrank from 39 percent on Opening Day, Nov. 28, to 17 percent on Friday, Dec. 2, to “only” 14 percent when the seven-day season concluded on Sunday.
In all, the state’s deer herd was trimmed by 90,282 animals. For the 2010, seven-day firearms deer-hunting season, sportsmen killed 105,034 deer.
Hunters “clearly took advantage of the weather” as the week progressed, though the total deer killed numbers don’t reflect significant gains when compared to Saturday, 2010, said Mike Tonkovich, the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s deer management administrator.
On Saturday, Ohio’s deer hunters checked in 16,677 animals compared 16,463 deer taken on the gun season’s lone Saturday in 2010.
“While other factors may have been at work, it is clear that extreme weather – good or bad – on key harvest days can have a significant impact on the bottom line,” Tonkovich said. “I do have to say - on speculation only - that more hunters were out on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday than usual; likely people who were hunting locally and not traveling to a deer camp. With tags in their pocket, guys are going to find a way to fill them.”
Hunters still have a weekend of firearms deer hunting season left; Dec. 17 and 18. Weather-determining this hunt could yield a kill of around 20,000 animals.
However, Tonkovich says that before eliminating this season the state would trim bag limits or place further antlerless permit restrictions.
“Based on way the season has gone so far I don’t see making this recommendation,” Tonkovich says.
The statewide muzzle-loader deer-hunting season will be held January 7 through 10, 2012. Participants in this season also typically shoot about 20,000 deer.
Meanwhile, the state’s archery hunters have until Feb. 5, 2012 to fill their remaining deer tags. For the late season archery hunters can be called on to kill an additional 20,000 deer as well.
“The big picture has to be the major goal and we won’t know that until all of the dust settles at the end of the hunting year,” Tonkovich said.
As far as implement type used during this year’s firearms deer-hunting season, the breakdown was: 75,896 deer taken with shotguns, 405 with crossbows, 213 with longbows, 12,150 with muzzle-loaders, 1,050 with handguns, and remainder were killed by unknown implement type, Tonkovich said as well.
Also, says Matt Ortman, the Wildlife Division administrator in charge of the state’s hunter education program, reports that the seven-day season saw only six non-fatal hunting accidents, officially called “incidents.” Last year that figure was eight.
O
hio’s last fatal firearms deer-hunting incident was in 2009, Ortman said also.
Here is the county-by-county 2011 seven-day firearms deer-hunting season kill with their respective 2010 figures in parenthesis:
Adams – 1,727 (1,639); Allen – 293 (440); Ashland – 1,096 (1,350); Ashtabula – 1,777 (2,400); Athens – 2,059 (2,147); Auglaize – 192 (245); Belmont – 2,431 (2,736); Brown – 1,229 (1,423); Butler – 345 (401); Carroll – 2,252 (2,952); Champaign – 554 (613); Clark – 276 (295); Clermont – 980 (1,215); Clinton – 373 (391); Columbiana – 1,738 (2,391); Coshocton – 3,690 (4,288); Crawford – 441 (568); Cuyahoga – 37 (38); Darke – 223 (265); Defiance – 725 (910); Delaware – 594 (696); Erie – 137 (157); Fairfield – 1,152 (1,258); Fayette – 104 (114); Franklin – 170 (142); Fulton – 302 (438); Gallia – 1,844 (1,899); Geauga – 623 (738); Greene – 287 (293); Guernsey – 2,982 (3,309); Hamilton – 298 (306); Hancock – 402 (576); Hardin – 354(567); Harrison – 2,772 (3,547); Henry –279 (505); Highland – 1,432 (1,527); Hocking – 2,184 (2,138); Holmes – 2,013 (2,529); Huron – 925 (1,007); Jackson – 1,515 (1,742); Jefferson – 2,044 (2,564); Knox – 2,480 (3,141); Lake – 185 (178); Lawrence – 1,574 (1,449); Licking – 2,678 (3,003); Logan – 760 (845); Lorain – 739 (863); Lucas – 129 (164); Madison – 167 (185); Mahoning – 563 (672); Marion – 320 (428); Medina – 556 (633); Meigs – 1,974 (1,941); Mercer – 203 (248); Miami – 194 (212); Monroe – 1,960 (2,180); Montgomery – 144 (117); Morgan – 1,804 (1,962); Morrow – 851 (1,007); Muskingum – 3,223 (3,683); Noble – 2,028 (2,229); Ottawa – 81 (88); Paulding – 416 (610); Perry – 1,832 (2,126); Pickaway – 466 (570); Pike – 1,077 (1,102); Portage – 644 (740); Preble – 267 (253); Putnam – 238 (364); Richland – 1,714 (2,169); Ross – 1,723 (1,792); Sandusky – 195 (214); Scioto – 1,224 (1,250); Seneca – 603 (849); Shelby – 305(376); Stark – 661 (744); Summit – 151 (198); Trumbull – 1,060 (1,305); Tuscarawas – 3,180 (4,038), Union – 354 (391); Van Wert – 194 (358); Vinton – 1,577 (1,579); Warren – 412 (451); Washington – 2,225 (2,555); Wayne – 644 (869); Williams –787 (1,001); Wood – 208 (305); Wyandot – 661 (838); Total – 90,282 (105,034).
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com
Twiter: @Fieldkorn
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