With just five days left in the season, Ohio's deer kill is 16,000 animals behind 2018

With only five days and change left in Ohio’s combined 2018-2019 deer-hunting season, the state’s deer kill remains 15,678 animals behind where it was last year at the same time.

Indeed, only an additional 2,164 deer were taken between the January 22nd and January 29th 2019 reporting periods.

Also, last year at this time 21 counties had to-date deer kills of at least three thousand animals each. To date this season that figure stands at just 13 counties. Then, too, last year at this point in the season Ohio had four counties with deer kills of all least four thousand animals each. To date this year that number is only two counties.

And given the horrifically cold weather that all of Ohio is undergoing and expected to continue until the season closure this weekend, the tally race to the finish line very likely will collapse before arrival.

Some of the counties with noteworthy declines when stacked up to their comparable and respective 2018 to-date numbers are: Adams – off 291 animals; Ashtabula – off 230 animals; Carroll – off 485 animals; Coshocton – off 585 animals; Guernsey – off 512 animals; Harrison – off 503 animals; Holmes – off 242 animals; Lake – off 87 animals; Muskingum – off 676 animals; Richland – off 291 animals; Tuscarawas – off 554 animals; and Washington – off 246 animals.

A few counties – and it’s only been a few – are currently still bucking the downward trend. Among these counties are Greene – up 16 animals; and Medina – up 40 animals.

A pair of other counties that started out beating their to-date deer kill numbers have also fallen on hard times of late. Now down as well are Geauga County – off eight deer; and Portage County – off 23 deer.

Even if these two counties experience good hunting over the next five days they likely will remain in the deficit column. Geauga County deer hunters will need to kill an additional 27 animals to best last year’s unofficial season-ending total. In Portage County that figure would have to be 44 additional deer.

-  Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net