Based on to-date animal and bird kill numbers, both Ohio’s deer and fall wild-turkey hunters are driving in forth gear with the tachometer approaching the red line.
As of October 26th, Ohio-licensed hunters – nearly all of them being archery hunters as is explained later - have shot 31,325 antlered and antlerless animals. For the same period in 2021 through October 26th, the number was 24,393.
The state’s licensed fall turkey hunters can gobble as well. Using the same October 26th timeline, 462 wild turkeys have been shot thus far. The comparable 2021 figure was 293 wild turkeys: or 169 fewer birds.
As of October 26th, the statewide archery harvest is up about 10 percent over the three-year average, “so as predicted, the harvest has come back down to earth after an incredibly fast start,” said Clint McCoy, the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s chief deer management biologist.
“Cooler than normal temperatures almost certainly played a role in getting out of the gates so fast this year,” McCoy says.
Fully 83 of Ohio’s 88 counties recorded gains when their 2022 to-date numbers are laid side-by-side with their respective 2021 to-date figures. Some counties by significant numbers, too.
To illustrate, here are a number of counties with increased to-date deer kill figures (with their respective 2021 numbers in parentheses): Adams – 425 (410); Ashtabula County – 977 (730); Brown – 343 (293); Carroll – 630 (429); Geauga – 505 (324); Highland – also 358 (281); Knox – 754 (645); Lake – 230 (189); Morgan – 366 (265); Muskingum – 667 (548); and Scioto – 313 (199).
Also, three counties have all ready exceeded deer kills of at least one thousand animals. They were) with their respective 2021 numbers in parentheses): Coschocton – 1,209 (967); Trumbull – 1,075 (781); and Tuscarawas – 1,046 (797). No county last year to-date had reached – let alone, exceeded – one thousand animals.
Even so, say McCoy, thus far, there are 50 counties where the archery harvest is currently up more than 5 percent, and 13 counties where the harvest is down more than 5 percent.
Consequently, “it’s a bit of a mixed bag,” McCoy says.
“There is a fairly interesting disparity, too, between the antlered deer harvest - up 1 percent - and the antlerless deer harvest - up 15.6 percent so far. I’m not quite sure what to make of it, other than the fact that counties where harvest regulations were loosened (bag limits increased) have shown large gains in antlerless harvest over the 3-year average, McCoy said.
The five counties where 2022 to-date kill numbers are below their respective 2021 to-date numbers were (with their respective 2021 numbers in parentheses): Butler – 246 (290); Hamilton – 328 (339); Hocking – 285 (294); Vinton – 199 (231); and Warren – 136 (164).
Also, says McCoy, the Wildlife Division has confirmed via laboratory testing the presence of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in 46 counties this year, “far more than ever before.”
“However, while widespread geographically, it appears that the majority of those counties were NOT hit with severe mortality. But, as is often the case with EHD outbreaks, there were a few areas of the state where deer mortality was significant,” McCoy says as well.
These so-called “hot spots” are showing up in the harvest with significant deficits,” McCoy says.
Several southwestern counties experienced significant EHD activity which seems to be reflected in their to-date harvest. Among them were Preble, Butler, Warren, Montgomery, and Hamilton counties, McCoy said.
“Another ‘hot-spot’ was identified in southeast Ohio, and we’re seeing what I suspect is some evidence of an impact to harvest there, as well, namely, Vinton, Athens and Hocking counties,” McCoy says.
“It’s still pretty early and we’ll see how things continue to shake out as most of our traditionally high-harvest days are coming over the next month or so, McCoy said.
Note, too, that the Ohio Division of Wildlife this year is using two sets of numbers for the 2022-2023 deer-hunting season. One is for “Archery Harvest” and the other is for “Total Harvest.”
Not to be alarmed but the Wildlife Division conducted a special early gun season October 8th through the 10th in an effort to contain chronic wasting disease as well as jump-start the archery deer hunting season, beginning September 10th instead of the September 24th date for the rest of Ohio’s 85 counties.
For comparison's sake only the TOTAL 2022 to-date deer kill numbers (with their respective 2021 archery-only numbers in parentheses) are used: Hardin County – 358 (145); Marion County – 242 (101); and Wyandot County – 470 (171).
Regarding the to-date wild turkey fall hunting season, that program is likewise experiencing a stellar performance, says Mark Wiley, the Wildlife Division’s lead wild turkey management biologist.
Our harvest as of October 25th was 462 turkeys. At approximately the same point in the 2021 season, 293 turkeys had been checked,” Wiley said.
Wiley explained that it’s possible the to-date 2022 fall kill is higher “because turkey numbers are better than they were in 2021.”
“Our poult index would support that hypothesis,” Wiley said.
Typically, fall harvest trends mirror the poult index – or the number of poults per hen, says Wiley.
Also, says Wiley, fall turkey hunters “may be attempting to harvest a bird earlier this year since the season is shorter.”
"We may end the season with a fall wild turkey harvest total very close to 2021 even with the 2022 season being shorter,” Wiley said.
- By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net
JFrischk4@gmail.com
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