Ohio's to-date deer kill lagging but up-coming gun-type seasons could reverse trend

An anemic firearms deer-hunting season is proving a drag on Ohio’s to-date deer kill, though the decline could find itself erased with strong outcomes to a pair of up-coming gun seasons.

That is always a big “if,” of course, given December’s often radical weather mood swings.

Ohio’s to-date statewide deer kill - and based upon the December 4th, 2018 reporting period by the Ohio Division of Wildlife - stands at 132,909 animals, of which 59,943 were antlered deer. The comparable figures for the reporting period through December 5th, 2017 were 145,358 and 63,485, respectively.

The 12,449 difference between the 2017 and 2018 to-date numbers is admittedly large but not insurmountable. It can be chipped away by the up-coming December 15th and 16th, statewide, so-called “bonus” firearms deer-hunting season and the January 5th through 8th statewide muzzle-loading rifle deer-hunting season.

During the 2017 two-day bonus season, hunters in Ohio shot 14,115 deer while during the 2017-2018 muzzle-loading season hunters killed 15, 843 deer.

The long-range forecast by AccuWeather – the nation’s largest private weather forecaster – is calling for near average to slightly above average temperatures for the up-coming bonus season with highs in the mid- to upper 40s and typical-for-December overcast skies. The muzzle-loading season is too far out for any reliable weather forecast.

As for the current to-date data, of Ohio’s 88 counties, only three have to-date deer kill numbers larger than what they experienced to-date in 2017. These counties (with their respective 2017 to-date numbers in parentheses) are: Clark – 573 (530); Greene – 607 (595); and Portage – 1,798 (1,646).

And one county – Ottawa – shows an identical 2017 and 2018 number: 335 animals.

Ohio’s remaining 84 counties show declines. Among them (with their respective 2017 to-date numbers in parentheses) are: Adams – 2,311 (2,600); Ashtabula – 3,849 (3,952); Brown -1,718 (2,019); Butler – 915 (1,094); Coshocton -4,748 (5,130); Fayette -215 (289); Guernsey -3,271 (3,651); Hardin -826 (966); Harrison -2,457 (2,777); Holmes -2,999 (3,260); Lake – 604 (641); Licking – 3,442 (3,874); Madison – 378 (410); Paulding -701 (801); Shelby – 684 (798); Tuscarawas – 3,963 (4,369); Vinton -1,927 (2,237); Washington – 2,423 (2,592); Williams – 1,169 (1,299); and Wood – 696 (743).

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net