Columnist Tom Cross with a small 8-point buck he tagged on the third day of gun season. (Photo by Judy Cross)
Adams County deer hunters bagged 967 deer during the week of Ohio’s gun season, November 27-December 3, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. That is 76 deer less than the number taken (1,043) during the previous gun season (2022) in Adams County. In 2021 Adams County deer hunters tagged 1,042 during the weeklong gun season.
Archery hunters in Adams County have harvested 1,391 deer, up 101 deer from last year at this time. Archery season continues until February 4. The total number of deer taken as of December 5 in Adams County stood at 2,495. Of that number, 1,248 are antlered (bucks) and 1,248 antlerless. So the numbers are pretty much on par with last season showing that Adams Couty’s deer population is holding steady.
Statewide, the seven-day gun season total was 70,118 deer. That’s down 1,814 from last season’s gun season take of 71,932. So far a total of 168,437 deer have been tagged across the Buckeye State.
Locally, Brown County hunters took 832 deer, that is down 90 deer from last season. Highland County deer hunters tagged 1,008 deer, down 77 deer from last year. Pike County had 647 deer checked, that too is down by 84 deer. Scioto County hunters harvested 718 deer, that is 146 deer less than taken last year. Most southwestern Ohio counties had decreases in their respective deer gun harvest with the exception of Clinton County, which is up around 70 plus deer from the previous gun season.
The top counties in the state are the usual line up; Coshocton with 2,441 deer taken, Tuscarawas with 2,260 deer checked, and Ashtabula in Ohio’s snow belt with 2,189 deer tagged.
Sixty percent of the deer checked were taken with straight-walled cartridge rifles, 34 percent with shotguns, four percent with muzzleloaders, and two percent with handguns and archery tackle.
So far 389,181 deer permits were sold, with non-residents buying 37,543 of those permits. Most non-residents hail from Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, North Carolina, and then New York.
Did the weather have any effect on the total deer gun harvest? Probably. The extremely cold weather in southern Ohio and in the wind whipped snow belt of northeastern Ohio proved challenging for some deer hunters. I’ll admit to being in a tree stand at 18 degrees at daylight isn’t for the faint of heart.
