ODNR Weekly Deer Harvest Reports

[Boone]

Check this out.....


http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/Hun...eerharvestcomparison/tabid/24154/Default.aspx

The Division of Wildlife is now posting harvest statistics weekly. This is one advantage of the newer check in system. Looks like harvest is up so far in most places. However, I can't remember how the weather was early last season.

What do you think?

 

[brock ratcliff]

Pretty cool stats. Last year we had a lot of crops on even through gun season. This year we have about 50% off already. That will affect numbers in the short term.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Nice to be able to keep an eye of things that's for sure...

 

[Dannmann801]

Bloodbath in Licking and Coshocton

 

[DJK Frank 16]

Hardin County up 120%... wow!

 

[bowhunter1023]

I fully expect the entire year to be up if the crops keep coming off and the weather trends continue. With the rut being more defined, it will be a much better year in terms of harvest from November 1 to November 15 than it was last year with little doubt I believe. The DNR should be happy...

 

[Boone]

I eyed the Geauga/Portage county stats (up about 20%) because I will be hunting there this evening and I know we lost some (maybe a lot) to the EHD outbreak there, at least at the place I hunt. We'll see, thats for sure.

 

[LonewolfNopack]

I hunt primarily in Highland county, and the harvest rates so far in Highland county prove what I have been saying, that the population has dropped tremendously. We have more bowhunters this year than I have ever seen in my life, yet in the first two weeks of season with AWESOME hunting weather, we killed only a percentage of a point more deer so far this year in comparison to last year.

So my question is, for those of you who are hunting in those counties who have killed almost double the amount of deer so far this year in comparison to last, are there really that many more deer? Or is there some other factors going on here? I do not think great weather alone would cause the deer harvest double in the first 8 days of season, but I could be wrong.

I do know some counties have switched to more Liberal zones, and that could have something to do with some of these. How about the Southeastern Ohio counties though that have stayed the same?

 

[Huckleberry Finn]

Hardin County up 120%... wow!

Because that's sustainable!

 

[hickslawns]

Lwnopack- seems my hunting areas are spotty. I am seeing more hunters as well. Some places I am seeing more deer, others I am seeing less. Not worried because we never have had high density. Cautiously watching and only shooting does where the populations are constant or up. Time will tell. When the corn is all off it could get ugly. We might see a drop in the future if we have another up year like the last couple.

 

[jagermeister]

Carroll County harvests are up 49.68% so far. I can't say for certain whether the population is up for the entire county, but I can say that I think it's way up on the property that I hunt... Based on my trail cam captures and observations from hunting on opening weekend.

 

[finelyshedded]

Fast out of the gate but it WILL slow the Fugg down! It's just like opening day of gun with beautiful weather and cool temps. Reality will rear its ugly head after gun season is over IMO.

 

[Jackalope]

I haven't seen more hunters I'm just seeing them early. Usually they don't show up until the end of October through November. It coincides with the crops coming off and the weather getting colder. The crops ar just about all off and the temps have been cold. I haven't been pestered by one mosquito where most years I get ate up the first few weeks of season. I think that's why you guys are seeing more hunters and bigger numbers this year.

 

[finelyshedded]

Fast out of the gate but it WILL slow the Fugg down! It's just like opening day of gun with beautiful weather and cool temps. Reality will rear its ugly head after gun season is over IMO.

Just wanted to bump this thread back up toward the first page. After talking to a few still out there hitting it hard in the treestand and reading some of the posts of those I know are some great hunters and hearing the same low deer sightings over and over I felt an obligation to resurface this thread. I'd be very interested as to where the harvest totals stand up to this point as compared to the past 10 seasons or so.

Weather,temperatures and hunter numbers can NOT be used for excuses this year for what I believe will be another low deer harvest season. IMO

 

[RedCloud]

According to the latest season over last there was only 5 counties reporting a decrease in harvest compaired to last year.

For the first 47 days of the 2012 hunting season here is the report.

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/portals/9/pdf/deer harvest/111412deerharvest.pdf

 

[jagermeister]

According to the latest season over last there was only 5 counties reporting a decrease in harvest compaired to last year.

For the first 47 days of the 2012 hunting season here is the report.

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/portals/9/pdf/deer harvest/111412deerharvest.pdf

Very interesting so far. I'm really curious as to how youth season and the regular gun seasons stack up to last years totals. Although, even those stats may or may not be a good reference... I know there are a ton of guys bowhunting these days, many of which have drastically reduced their hours afield during the gun seasons. I really wish more people would submit their hunter surveys to the ODNR... Hunter effort is one variable that I don't think is understood well enough yet.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Dang. Fayette is up to 88 deer killed. That is a shade more than 50% of the next worst county. Funny thing is I rarely see deer anywhere up there anymore, except the property I'm hunting. Seeing fawns this year is exciting as heck to me because we didn't for the last several years. Apparently coyote control can have a bigger impact than one would first imagine! GO KILL SOME YOTES! BTW, I have had 145 deer sightings from the stand this year, in the worst county in the State!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Very interesting so far. I'm really curious as to how youth season and the regular gun seasons stack up to last years totals. Although, even those stats may or may not be a good reference... I know there are a ton of guys bowhunting these days, many of which have drastically reduced their hours afield during the gun seasons.

The youth season this year simply could not have been better, weather wise. I gotta believe there will be a fairly high kill.

 

[DJK Frank 16]

The youth season this year simply could not have been better, weather wise. I gotta believe there will be a fairly high kill.

I agree, if we get that good of weather up here during gun season, I expect I high number of kills as well. This is the first year I can think of in a while where almost all of the corn is gone. The deer drivers should be able to really get them moving up here in NW Ohio. Push them to one woods, line up regroup, and drive them again. In years past they would drive them to corn fields and that would be it. That won't be the case this year.

 

[ImpalaSSpeed96]

You will not justify to me that deer numbers are down if harvest rates increase every year. So what you're saying is that one magic year, we're just going to see almost no deer killed? I'm far from a biologist expert, but my common sense works pretty well.

Coming from a state where harvest regularly resound in the 50k range, from a much smaller area, and ridiculously liberal bag limits, i.e. none, the deer numbers remain constant. How many of you guys shoot your max limit of deer in the state, or zone for that matter?

Ohio is regarded as one of the best managed states from all my reading. In my best years I only killed 5-7 deer a year, when I hunted every day, and didn't have to travel to kill them (not in OH). I just don't understand how more deer are being harvested if there are less to choose from.