Ohio's to-date deer kill-harvest up and encouraging over like to-date 2018 numbers

With computerized check-in numbers still in their very early reporting stage, the results of Ohio’s to-date deer kill is showing initial improvement over the corresponding 2018-2019 figures.

And the promise of a much better all-seasons’ tally is encouraging wildlife biologists with the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

In all - and as of October 8^th - the Wildlife Division’s on-line check-in deer-kill (harvest in agency parlance) stood at 8,599 deer, among which were 2,696 antlered deer. For the period ending October 10th, 2018 the figures were 7,072 and 2,160, respectively, and all but a tiny number performed by archery tackle.

Consequently, the gains recorded were 22 percent and 26 percent, also respectively, says Ohio Division of Wildlife officials.

All of which should – though by no means is guaranteed – bode well for the reminder of Ohio’s still very-long 2019-2020 all-seasons deer kill, says Mike Tonkovich, the Wildlife Division’s deer management administrator.

“I’m half joking when I say this, but a hunter may have to work hard at NOT killing a deer this year,” Tonkovich said with a chuckle.

To further illustrate just how much the early to-date deer kill fortunes have changed between 2018 and 2019, of Ohio’s 88 counties only 10 have posted declines. These counties were – and as of October 8th – Brown, Fayette, Franklin, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Madison, Meigs, Union, and Vinton. And none of these counties were off by any large value.

Of the gainers, among the significant ones (with their respective October 10^th, 2018 numbers in parentheses for comparison) were: Ashtabula - 286 (255); Geauga – 149 (110); Guernsey – 142 (112); Holmes – 254 (183); Knox – 192 (158); Lucas – 80 (43); Mahoning - 142 (97); Marion -39 (16); Putnam – 66 (28); Richland – 174 (132); Summit – 138 (89); Trumbull with the highest to-date deer kill – 336 (275); Tuscarawas – 238 (174); and Washington – 83 (47).

Tonkovich has several theories regarding the current to-date deer kill/harvest increase when laid next to its 2018 counterpart.

“What I can say is that we are in a better place than we were last year this time,” Tonkovich said. “We saw a larger carry-over of deer to this year that were not taken during the 2018-2019 season.”

Another key factor, says Tonkovich, has nothing to do with the number of deer inhabiting Ohio’s farms, forests, suburbs, and even swampland. Instead, the wet and cold spring resulted in the state seeing about one-third less field crops such as corn being planted, Tonkovich says.

“And we’re seeing an increase in the early harvesting of those crops, too,” Tonkovich says.

The translation is that with less standing corn out there the deer have fewer hiding places and less cultivated crops to dine on, Tonkovich said.

“So corn isn’t – and won’t be - an issue this season,” he said.

Oak mast might be a different matter, however. While surveys of several public hunting areas do suggest about two-thirds of the available red-black oak trees on them do have acorns, it appears these trees are bearing less mast, also says Clint McCoy, the Wildlife Division’s lead deer research biologist.

As a result, if Ohio’s deer kill-harvest trend continues than the all-deer-hunting-seasons’ final tally may very well reach 185,000 animals, up from last year’s 172,049 animals, says Tonkovich.

Also, last year the Wildlife Division issued 399,306 deer permits of all kinds, a drop from the 429,006 issued during the 2017-2018 deer-hunting season. The largest number of all deer-hunting permits issued by the Wildlife Division since at least the 20027-2008 deer-hunting season was the 624,908 documents issued during the 2009-2010 season. Not since before at least the 2007-2008 deer-hunting season has Ohio issued fewer than 400,000 deer permits of all kinds.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk4@Gmail.com