Deer gun season underway in Ohio
Over 1 million hunters took to the woods on Day 1
Ohio hunters took to the woods Monday morning as the first day of deer gun season kicked off. More than one-million hunters purchased licenses and tags for the 2015 season.
Day 1 was slow in the meat processing plants, but the numbers are expected to climb in the coming days. As most hunters hunt in groups, they usually do not turn in their harvest until the following day.
It already has been a busy year. To date, Marrow County has seen 594 deer registered – 329 antlered deer and 265 antlerless deer between archery and youth seasons. Crawford County has seen 416 deer harvested – 211 antlered deer and 205 antlerless deer.
Richland County has one of the highest numbers in the state with 1,352 deer harvested – 657 antlered deer and 695 antlerless deer. Ohio hunters have registered 76,161 deer already in 2015.
The biggest haul came during youth season last week when the youngsters harvested 7,223 deer in Ohio.
Marion County is among the lowest in totals with 360 deer taken. The two highest harvesting counties are Licking and Coshocton. Licking is No. 1 with 2,319 total deer – 1,104 antlered deer and 1,215 antlerless deer. Coshocton comes in at No. 2 with 2,106 total – 1,191 antlered deer and 915 antlerless deer.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will be releasing Day 1 totals on Tuesday afternoon due to hunters having the ability to register their deer online until noon of the following day.
Last year deer gun season saw 65,484 deer harvested in the state.
jfurr@gannett.com
419-610-5034
Twitter:@JakeFurr11