Hunters took 23,056 deer during Ohio's four-day muzzleloader season, Dec. 27-30, with Tuscarawas County again leading the state with 930 deer checked, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. Last year, a preliminary total of 27,749 deer was taken during muzzleloader season.
During the last two decades, Ohio's muzzleloader season has consistently grown in popularity. Twenty years ago, the statewide muzzleloader season accounted for 5 percent of the total deer kill, and today it constitutes 12 percent of the total annual deer harvest.
Counties reporting the highest number of deer checked during the muzzleloader season included: Tuscarawas 930, Washington 836, Jefferson 775, Coshocton 715, Harrison 714, Meigs 709, Holmes 700, Licking 696, Athens 693 and Guernsey 680.
Hunters have killed a preliminary total of 190,718 deer across the state since Ohio's deer hunting seasons opened on Oct. 1. Archery hunters took 41,859 deer during the first six weeks of the statewide archery season, which continues through Jan. 31. In its third year, the youth season resulted in the bagging of 8,722 deer. Hunters checked 116,855 deer during the statewide deer-gun season. Another 226 deer were taken during the early muzzleloader deer season on three specific hunting areas.
Hunters who wish to share their success can submit a photo of themselves and the deer they killed this year. The web address is ohiodnr.com/wildlife/hunting/deer/deerpics_05.
The following is a list of deer checked and tagged by hunters during statewide muzzleloader deer hunting season. The number taken during the 2004 season is marked in parenthesis.
Adams 245 (297); Allen 99 (101); Ashland 579 (662); Ashtabula 353 (520); Athens 693 (832); Auglaize 65 (78); Belmont 610 (750); Brown 382 (354); Butler 135 (139); Carroll 317 (417); Champaign 199 (186); Clark 98; (153); Clermont 327 (411); Clinton 97 (108); Columbiana 425 (502); Coshocton 715 (883); Crawford 131 (152); Cuyahoga 14 (12); Darke 38 (75); Defiance 91 (116); Delaware 163 (339); Erie 65 (111); Fairfield 298 (323); Fayette 47 (80); Franklin 78 (112); Fulton 42 (43); Gallia 417 (466); Geauga 240 (307); Greene 78 (97); Guernsey 680 (741); Hamilton 110 (124); Hancock 98 (75); Hardin 95 (37); Harrison 714 (920); Henry 35 (24); Highland 375 (302); Hocking 573 (544); Holmes 700 (734); Huron 213 (243); Jackson 462 (581); Jefferson 775 (843); Knox 560 (736); Lake 73 (159); Lawrence 333 (359); Licking 696 (684); Logan 205 (229); Lorain 171 (259); Lucas 51 (104); Madison 36 (61); Mahoning 141 (272); Marion 50 (57); Medina 127 (154);Meigs 709 (692); Mercer 45 (65); Miami 35 (23); Monroe 654 (628); Montgomery 84 (37); Morgan 256 (448); Morrow 149 (225); Muskingum 517 (654); Noble 328 (524); Ottawa 18 (31); Paulding 65 (111); Perry 433 (604); Pickaway 141 (221); Pike 190 (233); Portage 168 (273); Preble 122 (92); Putnam 78 (90); Richland 258 (255); Ross 466 (569); Sandusky 43 (66); Scioto 214 (347); Seneca 160 (182); Shelby 101 (90); Stark 286 (402); Summit 104 (188); Trumbull 334 (587); Tuscarawas 930 (1,114); Union 116 (176); Van Wert 51 (41); Vinton 224 (261); Warren 160 (215); Washington 836 (910); Wayne 158 (176); Williams 89 (123); Wood 81 (67); Wyandot 139 (161). Total 23,056 (27,749).
