I accidentally got to an area Of the site where there was an article written on here about Ohios dwindling deer population and a decrease in people hitting them with cars. I haven't been hunting nearly long enough to know the answer to my question or done the research so this is an honest question. Is the deer population going down in ohio? Is it going down quickly if it is indeed going down? Thanks
Ohio deer population
- Thread starter Steelheadtracker
- Start date
That is a loaded question. From the readings online, guys I talk to locally, and across the state, and what I see from the tree stand. . . I believe the population is going down. The ODNR has been reluctant to admit this in years past. In the last year or so they have made some comments admitting it is going down. A few problems exist here. How are the numbers measured? Who makes up the methods for determining herd numbers? Are these methods accurate?
In a nutshell: Yes, the heard is going down.
In a nutshell: Yes, the heard is going down.
Like Phil said that's a loaded question and I do believe there are different answers for different areas.
Here in SW Ohio I firmly do believe there are more deer. I've owned my farm for 23 years now and I've never seen more deer that now.
However I did start planting food plot in 2013 and this is drawing deer to my farm. In the past 23 yrs. I've never seen more than 3 deer in one group until 2013 and I seen 10 at one time in my food plot. Thus year I seen as many at 14-15 at one time.
So the loaded question is: where the deer here before I planted the food plot in 2013 and just didn't see them? Or is the food plot drawing the deer to my farm and now I see them because of the good food source?
At this time I can't answer these questions. Maybe later after more time.
Here in SW Ohio I firmly do believe there are more deer. I've owned my farm for 23 years now and I've never seen more deer that now.
However I did start planting food plot in 2013 and this is drawing deer to my farm. In the past 23 yrs. I've never seen more than 3 deer in one group until 2013 and I seen 10 at one time in my food plot. Thus year I seen as many at 14-15 at one time.
So the loaded question is: where the deer here before I planted the food plot in 2013 and just didn't see them? Or is the food plot drawing the deer to my farm and now I see them because of the good food source?
At this time I can't answer these questions. Maybe later after more time.
Thanks for the input. I don't mean for it to be a loaded question as I said it's an honest question because I personally dont know the answer.
I didn't mean to load your original question. As some will say in other areas of Ohio the herd is going down but here in SW Ohio I don't think so.
Others will check in.
Others will check in.
Thanks mk111. I just don't want people to think I'm trying to start some sort of debate or argument.
Hortontoter
Senior Member
The numbers in my area of Carroll County have been declining over the last 5 years or so. The does have taken a much bigger hit then the bucks have. My observation is from many hours of seat time and trail camera results.
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The deer population has been declining statewide since around 2008-2009. The sharp decline in harvest numbers despite doubling the number of allowed tags and adding an extra gun season points indisputably to a sharply declining population. Some areas of the state started seeing this decline years ago around 2009. Other areas took longer to begin to show a noticeable decline. The few areas that held on the longest are starting to show a decline also. For instance. I saw a sharp decline in Vinton county around 2008-9. As a result I started hunting champaign county. Just this year I've now started to see the same trend here. Last year ohio had the lowest total harvest in something like 13 years. This is despite adding extra tags, the addition of a bonus gun season that added 20% more days afield with a gun. Sunday hunting was just allowed in 1998. Yet we just had a harvest last season that was the worst in well over a decade.
If you removed the extra tags, the two day early muzzleloader, and the Sunday hunting. I'm willing to bet Ohio would have the worst harvest seen since before all of that was added. So while we've added tons of opportunity, we've still seen a decline. This means that if that "tons of opportunity" was removed the decline would be much much more noticeable.
Now. Where there is desert there is usually an oasis. You will still hear of people who have little issues with the deer population. These are typically spots where the hunter had a lot of control over the property. Like MK11 above, he owns the farm, works hard to make it attractive to deer, has little pressure, and if I remember correctly (correct me if I'm wrong buddy) Doesn't really bow hunt but rather only gun. Can you still create a little slice of heaven for deer? Sure. Are they getting rare to find naturally? Without a doubt.
Hunting in ohio is still without a doubt good, but its gone downhill considerably from where it was just 6 years ago.
If you removed the extra tags, the two day early muzzleloader, and the Sunday hunting. I'm willing to bet Ohio would have the worst harvest seen since before all of that was added. So while we've added tons of opportunity, we've still seen a decline. This means that if that "tons of opportunity" was removed the decline would be much much more noticeable.
Now. Where there is desert there is usually an oasis. You will still hear of people who have little issues with the deer population. These are typically spots where the hunter had a lot of control over the property. Like MK11 above, he owns the farm, works hard to make it attractive to deer, has little pressure, and if I remember correctly (correct me if I'm wrong buddy) Doesn't really bow hunt but rather only gun. Can you still create a little slice of heaven for deer? Sure. Are they getting rare to find naturally? Without a doubt.
Hunting in ohio is still without a doubt good, but its gone downhill considerably from where it was just 6 years ago.
I have bow hunted in earnest the last 3 yrs. I have over 150 yrs. of bow hunting in 2014.
However I come to the conclusion that since I put the food plot in 2013 next to my pinch point hunting woods I have changed the buck travel routes on my farm. I past years I would see 3-7 bucks per day going through my woods. But in the 19 days during the rut of 2014 I have pictures of only 2 bucks. One was a little forkhorn and a nice 10 pt.
Now the bucks travel through my food plot and the neighbors hay field next to the plot. They just travel from the brush then through the 2 fields then back into the brush looking for does. The peak day of the rut when I seen 14 bucks chasing does and just cruising through these 2 fields there was not one picture of bucks through the woods.
I really don't think my food plot for the last 2 years caused much of a increase in the deer numbers. But the food plot surely increase my sightings of deer. My thoughts on the increase deer here is the fact that my adjoining neighbor has 100 ac. of high quality hay fields in the last 5 yrs.
So like Jackalope said these 2 factors have created a little slice of deer heaven here for me and the kids.
However I come to the conclusion that since I put the food plot in 2013 next to my pinch point hunting woods I have changed the buck travel routes on my farm. I past years I would see 3-7 bucks per day going through my woods. But in the 19 days during the rut of 2014 I have pictures of only 2 bucks. One was a little forkhorn and a nice 10 pt.
Now the bucks travel through my food plot and the neighbors hay field next to the plot. They just travel from the brush then through the 2 fields then back into the brush looking for does. The peak day of the rut when I seen 14 bucks chasing does and just cruising through these 2 fields there was not one picture of bucks through the woods.
I really don't think my food plot for the last 2 years caused much of a increase in the deer numbers. But the food plot surely increase my sightings of deer. My thoughts on the increase deer here is the fact that my adjoining neighbor has 100 ac. of high quality hay fields in the last 5 yrs.
So like Jackalope said these 2 factors have created a little slice of deer heaven here for me and the kids.
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I too live in the SW part of the state like MK111(Frank) but the next county over to the east in Warren and have watch the herd in my area dwindle considerably over the last 5-6 years. During all my traveling my deer sightings are but a fraction of what I saw back in the mid to late 2000's.
As ole Si would say, "........and that's a fact Jack!"
My explainanation would be:
1) over harvesting
2) yotes
3) diseases(EHD and blue tongue)
..........not to mention poaching,kill permits,vehicle collisions,etc.....
They are a resource that has been depleted greatly! Lots of people are also out of work and too save money have thrown extra venison in the freezer as well.
Just my opinion....
As ole Si would say, "........and that's a fact Jack!"
My explainanation would be:
1) over harvesting
2) yotes
3) diseases(EHD and blue tongue)
..........not to mention poaching,kill permits,vehicle collisions,etc.....
They are a resource that has been depleted greatly! Lots of people are also out of work and too save money have thrown extra venison in the freezer as well.
Just my opinion....
I'm in Washington County and we have WAY less deer than we did 5-10 years ago. From my cameras and time afield, I'd say we are down 50%. We are the largest land mass county in Ohio and used to kill more than 6K deer annually. We are half that now. We get bombarded by people from WV, PA and MD during gun season and it has impacted deer numbers. Many local people poach and party hunt, that's had an impact. We've had EHD cases twice in the last 7 years.
Our DNR has glorified and promoted the slaughtering of our deer herd. They undervalue the herd and encourage NR hunters to come here in masses to contribute to the destruction. (They are not solely responsible for the decline, but no doubt contribute to the problem.) Things aren't good and are getting worse.
Our DNR has glorified and promoted the slaughtering of our deer herd. They undervalue the herd and encourage NR hunters to come here in masses to contribute to the destruction. (They are not solely responsible for the decline, but no doubt contribute to the problem.) Things aren't good and are getting worse.
Big_Holla
Senior Member
Meigs County on our land we have less does this year than last.......and we didn't hunt any last year.
angelzd28
Junior Member
Il throw my two cents in from my corner of the state, Tuscarawas County. We have always had good deer numbers here by evidence of being in the top 5 for deer kills every year. Now with that being said my grandpas farm (northwest Tcounty) over the last ten years has declined in deer numbers and quality, mostly due to the fact of having the amish slaughter everything surrounding our farm. I rarely hunt there giving more chances to my cousins who have recently just picked up hunting. I do have a great spot at my FIL in central Tcounty where the deer herd is abundant and I almost always see 5 to 10 deer every sit and have killed two good bucks the last two years with sightings of other big deer on close properties. With all that being said, I really do think it is county dependant and the number of hunters per county, along with a very liberal tag limit. Also Tcounty has almost no public land which helps because not everyone allows hunting. Not so in other counties where public hunting gets hammered by NR and every swinging dick hunter heading into the woods. I do believe we still have a good deer hunting state, BUT the numbers are definetley going down statewide.
yotehunter
Member
Me and my Dad hunted yesterday all day both sitting and a couple small pushes, we seen two deer all day. In the past in these same spots it would be nothing to see fifteen to twenty deer by noon just sitting in stands. Allen counties numbers are way down IMO. And yet we are still a 3 deer county, I hate to see what the next five years will bring. I did shoot a doe yesterday against my better judgment. But my family will go through three deer easy in a year. But I will not shoot another doe in my area this year I promise you that. I guess it depends on what side of the spectrum you are on about Ohio's deer count. This is just my 2 cents of a area that I hunt.
All of us in our my have noticed a great decline the last 5 yrs and we actually have very low gun pressure in our area, so like Ric said some could be disease but I really think the coyotes kill many more fawns than we think. Also if you look back to 2009-10 season we had a record kill of over 261,000 deer killed and last season was 191,000 with this years prediction at 185,000 to be killed. Also they are predicting a gun kill this week of 65 to 75 thousand to be killed, a steep decline from past gun seasons. So overall their are just a lot less deer out there and seems it is still rapidly declining in most areas. I have not shot a doe off our family farm and wont this year but took one on another farm and may take another one at my buddy's farm as he has a good population there. I also believe if you have the time to take some coyotes out of your hunting area it is one of the best things you can do to help your herd out.
I totally agree with everything posted. I guess we're lucky here for the present time.
Update: I'm changing my story on deer sighting. I'm seeing way less. Can't let the correct info out. LOL
Update: I'm changing my story on deer sighting. I'm seeing way less. Can't let the correct info out. LOL
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