If you participated in this past weekend’s two-day firearms deer-hunting season and failed to see any animals, you were not alone.
And if you actually saw - and shot - a deer, consider yourself very fortunate.
The kill for this year’s two-day hunt was off 14 percent from the same season in 2011, which itself was down 20 percent from the kill during 2010’s two-day gun hunt.
Statewide, 14,365 deer were killed during the just-concluded two-day season. That compares unfavorably with the 16,977 animals shot last year and the 21,376 deer killed during the 2010 two-day season.
As a result, the Wildlife Division is mulling ending the two-day hunt.
In exchange, hunters may get a two-day, antlerless-only, muzzle-loading-only season, possibly in early October, state wildlife officials are saying.
The fact Ohio hunters shot 14-percent fewer deer this past weekend versus what they killed in 2011 “really surprises me,” says Mike Tonkovich, the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s deer management administrator.
“I was really expecting to see increases both with this season as well as our seven-day general gun season,” Tonkovich says.
Reasons for the slippage are possibly many, including items out of the control of deer-management officials, also says Tonkovich.
Among them is the weather with another potential thorn being a worse-than-expected die-off of deer caused by EHD.
“Northeast Ohio was been hit hard by EHD, and we’re still getting calls about deer that have died from this,” Tonkovich says.
Likewise, says Tonkovich, “it’s clear to me that there was light hunting pressure.”
However, quickly adds Tonkovich, at the same time the Friday before the two-day gun season, Ohio’s overall deer kill was 700 animals ahead of where it was last year at the same time.
“People may be hunting harder to see the same number of deer,” Tonkovich says.
Yet Tonkovich says he and his agency fully understand how some Ohio deer hunters may become so annoyed by seeing fewer deer they may turn their backs on buying one tag next season, let alone two.
“That’s possible, but the bar has been raised,” Tonkovich says. “We let the deer population become larger, but hunters need to keep in mind that we have a job to do and that includes bringing the level of quality deer to what we saw in the 1980s.”
At some point in the not-too-distant future, also says Tonkovich, hunters and other constituencies - such as the state’s farmers - will have to come to terms as to what they want in the way of a deer herd.
“We’ll have the opportunity to make a decision; whether people want to see more deer or better quality deer,” he said.
And as the Wildlife Division grapples with management strategies for next year’s deer seasons, several possibilities are open. Among them being an end to December’s two-day firearms deer hunt.
“That’s something that will be discussed, but it’s not a done deal,” Tonkovich said.
So too would be an exploration of creating a statewide two-day, antlerless-only, muzzle-loading-only season in early October.
Possibly gone then would be the two-day, so-called bonus gun hunt in the middle of December.
Having an October muzzle-loading-only hunt would enable the Wildlife Division to continue to manage the state’s deer herd while offering archery deer hunters a firearms-free December, Tonkovich said.
“Obviously, everything is up for debate,” he said.
To aid in helping the Wildlife Division make these
sorts of decision the agency is looking for deer hunters who were
randomly selected to complete the survey they were sent earlier this
autumn.
In all, 20,000 electronic-version surveys were sent along with another 20,000 sent via mail.
Here is the county-by-county list of white-tailed deer checked by hunters during the just-concluded two-day firearms deer-hunting season. The 2011 numbers are in parentheses.
Adams: 267 (323); Allen: 78 (122); Ashland: 234 (252); Ashtabula: 372 (387); Athens: 279 (332); Auglaize: 90 (82); Belmont: 387 (416); Brown: 220 (261); Butler: 101 (102); Carroll: 375 (442); Champaign: 77 (128); Clark: 63 (76); Clermont: 182 (226); Clinton: 63 (84); Columbiana: 320 (324); Coshocton: 489 (593); Crawford: 102 (91); Cuyahoga: 6 (2); Darke: 66 (71); Defiance: 142 (174); Delaware: 102 (143); Erie: 41 (31); Fairfield: 169 (180); Fayette: 16 (23); Franklin: 26 (47); Fulton: 58 (85); Gallia: 230 (233); Geauga: 106 (160); Greene: 60 (74); Guernsey: 382 (446); Hamilton: 47 (91); Hancock: 77 (147); Hardin: 89 (103); Harrison: 390 (477); Henry: 64 (95); Highland: 239 (267); Hocking: 213 (281); Holmes: 286 (303); Huron: 195 (198); Jackson: 235 (215); Jefferson: 312 (369); Knox: 356 (373); Lake: 27 (46); Lawrence: 176 (205); Licking: 444 (483); Logan: 143 (200); Lorain: 181 (173); Lucas: 20 (30); Madison: 45 (50); Mahoning: 102 (176); Marion: 75 (80); Medina: 135 (157); Meigs: 259 (269); Mercer: 61 (57); Miami: 49 (70); Monroe: 203 (281); Montgomery: 23 (18); Morgan: 226 (242); Morrow: 133 (130); Muskingum: 474 (499); Noble: 235 (272); Ottawa: 9 (33); Paulding: 99 (124); Perry: 238 (228); Pickaway: 78 (93); Pike: 154 (161); Portage: 90 (167); Preble: 86 (72); Putnam: 47 (77); Richland: 194 (290); Ross: 214 (265); Sandusky: 54 (60); Scioto: 174 (224); Seneca: 139 (159); Shelby: 99 (97); Stark: 171 (175); Summit: 31 (44); Trumbull: 248 (242); Tuscarawas: 483 (541); Union: 81 (73); Van Wert: 64 (86); Vinton: 221 (231); Warren: 83 (110); Washington: 266 (330); Wayne: 115 (184); Williams: 123 (197); Wood: 70 (76); and Wyandot: 117 (160). Total: 14,365 (16,766).
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @Fieldkorn
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