Ohio's opening day deer kill plunges by more than 25 percent; leaving hunters to ponder "why?"

If Ohio’s woodlots appeared unusually empty and the air was surprisingly quiet on Monday’s start of the state’s seven-day general firearms deer-hunting season a very good reason exists.

Far fewer deer were taken on Monday’s gun deer opener than on the same important shotgun start to the season. In all, 17,512 deer were taken Monday, including 1,805 animals shot with a number of now-legally acceptable straight-walled cartridge-firing rifles.

For the 2013 opener, licensed hunters killed 22,619 deer. In 2014 the state did not permit the use of straight-walled cartridge-firing rifles for deer hunting.

The short of the story may be more about the methodology of how today’s Ohio deer hunters go about their job than it does whether the state’s deer herd is in a nose-dive.

After all, prior to Monday’s firearms deer-hunting season the state’s bucks and does had to run a gauntlet that included an archery season that began way back on September 27,  a two-day/muzzle-loading-only/antlerless-only season October 11 and 12, and a just concluded two-day/youth-only/firearms season November 22 and 23.

Up through November 26 and for the first 60 days of the archery deer-hunting season, 79,994 deer had been taken. The year before (2013) for the first 60 days, 82,228 deer were taken.

Given that nearly 80,000 animals were shot and the deer pressured for more than two months, maybe an approximately 25-percent decline in the opening day kill is excusable.

Then again, the weather in many parts of Ohio for the opener was about as nasty as it gets: a persistent and cold mist that skipped along the edge of rain, a gnawing wind that would curl around the body until it found an opening in your garment, and a sun that simply could not peel back the clouds.

Regardless, the data, statistics, press release comments all will provide fireside debate fodder for the Ohio Division of Wildlife biologists and their hunting constituent base.

Let the arguments commence, which won’t end until the Wildlife Division holds its hunting law game hearings in late winter.

Here is this year’s opening day county-by-county statistics with the comparable 2013 statistics in parentheses:

Adams: 219 (375); Allen: 98 (77); Ashland: 353 (318); Ashtabula: 586 (880); Athens: 305 (529); Auglaize: 77 (99); Belmont: 329 (530); Brown: 183 (262); Butler: 38 (92); Carroll: 451 (698); Champaign: 103 (137); Clark: 39 (56); Clermont: 131 (160); Clinton: 51 (68); Columbiana: 372 (584); Coshocton: 793 (940); Crawford: 161 (140); Cuyahoga: 4 (2); Darke: 53 (44); Defiance: 280 (269); Delaware: 119 (100); Erie: 45 (43); Fairfield: 186 (228); Fayette: 25 (24); Franklin: 19 (25); Fulton: 125 (127); Gallia: 282 (382); Geauga: 124 (153); Greene: 57 (66); Guernsey: 512 (742); Hamilton: 29 (42); Hancock: 127 (89); Hardin: 141 (142); Harrison: 455 (738); Henry: 98 (112); Highland: 230 (294); Hocking: 284 (382); Holmes: 477 (521); Huron: 296 (338); Jackson: 222 (325); Jefferson: 303 (448); Knox: 573 (645); Lake: 35 (30); Lawrence: 142 (276); Licking: 501 (572); Logan: 183 (186); Lorain: 174 (157); Lucas: 17 (27); Madison: 28 (26); Mahoning: 157 (227); Marion: 83 (76); Medina: 139 (146); Meigs: 251 (435); Mercer: 57 (72); Miami: 66 (53); Monroe: 203 (364); Montgomery: 24 (34); Morgan: 272 (387); Morrow: 184 (176); Muskingum: 652 (831); Noble: 234 (402); Ottawa: 17 (25); Paulding: 151 (158); Perry: 326 (419); Pickaway: 78 (102); Pike: 140 (198); Portage: 104 (150); Preble: 46 (73); Putnam: 85 (72); Richland: 337 (314); Ross: 227 (307); Sandusky: 61 (60); Scioto: 113 (264); Seneca: 205 (199); Shelby: 98 (111); Stark: 183 (243); Summit: 18 (23); Trumbull: 331 (482); Tuscarawas: 667 (853); Union: 77 (82); Van Wert: 69 (42); Vinton: 248 (397); Warren: 66 (78); Washington: 350 (497); Wayne: 170 (190); Williams: 286 (340); Wood: 95 (59); Wyandot: 207 (178). Total: 17,512 (22,619).

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 100 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.