Poor weather for Ohio's on-going gun deer season blamed for drag on to-date kill

An on-going poor weather-induced firearms deer-hunting season has thus far become a sea anchor on Ohio’s to-date white-tail kill.

As of the weekly reporting period ending November 27th, 97,939 deer have recorded as being taken. That is a 9,174 animal drop from the comparable November 28th, 2017 to-date deer kill of 107,113 animals.

Not expected to help matters much is the fact that for the remainder of this week’s seven-day firearms deer-hunting season lies ahead a forecast of continued poor weather. Everything from high winds to more snow to freezing rain – and coupled with rising temperatures - could conspire to keep the gun harvest below its 2017 total of 72,814 animals. (In 2016 that figure was 66,758 deer, by the way).

However, a possible bright note does exist. Clint McCoy – the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s lead deer management biologist – says that if the gun season’s deer kill does lag but the weather for up-coming two-day “bonus” gun season December 16th and 17th makes a turn for the better, than “we could see a quick recovery in the harvest.”

As it now stands, of Ohio’s 88 counties, only six have to-date increases when compared to their respective and comparable 2017 to-date numbers. These counties (with their 2017 to-date numbers in parentheses) are: Clark – 462 (413); Greene – 477 (443); Medina – 1,131 (1,099); Montgomery – 454 (441); Portage – 1,442 (1,324); and Van Wert – 280 (268).

Among those counties seeing their respective 2018 to-date totals trail their respective 2017 numbers (with the latter in parentheses) are: Adams – 1,732 (1,989); Ashtabula – 2,729 (3,032); Brown – 1,290 (1,443); Fulton – 404 (456); Geauga – 1,052 (1,103); Guernsey – 2,346 (2,682); Hamilton – 984 (1,091); Hocking – 1,596 (1,891); Holmes – 2,316 (2,525); Jefferson – 951 (957); Knox – 2,436 (2,735); Lake – 480 (554); Licking – 2,626 (2,897); Lucas – 442 (466); Muskingum – 2,622 (3,081); Seneca – 974 (1,046); Trumbull – 2,088 (3,144); Tuscarawas – 2,853 (3,144); and Washington – 1,665 (1,842).

To-date in 2017, Ohio had four counties with at last three thousand deer as being reported killed each: Ashtabula – 3,032; Coshocton – 3,9023; Muskingum – 3,081; and Tuscarawas – 3,144. This year that number is only one, Coshocton County with 3,581.

Interestingly perhaps and in spite of the general downturn in the number of deer being taken thus far, the 2017 to-date roster featured 19 counties with fewer the five hundred animals each. This year that to-date figure stands at only 20 counties.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net