The statewide archery season began Sept. 28 and continues until Feb. 2, 2025.
The 10 most successful harvest dates this season for bow hunters have been: (These dates do not include the most recent youth gun hunt)
- Saturday, Nov. 9 (5,390 deer)
- Saturday, Nov. 2 (5,047)
- Friday, Nov. 8 (3,636)
- Sunday, Nov. 3 (3,392)
- Saturday, Oct. 26 (2,753)
- Thursday, Nov. 7 (2,483)
- Friday, Nov. 1 (2,460)
- Sunday, Oct. 27 (2,236)
- Saturday, Oct. 19 (2,166)
- Saturday, Sept. 28 (1,778)
Ohio’s top 10 counties for deer harvested during the first seven weeks of the 2024 deer season include: Coshocton (2,318), Tuscarawas (1,995), Knox (1,882), Ashtabula (1,863), Holmes (1,755), Trumbull (1,687), Licking (1,663), Muskingum (1,592), Richland (1,451), and Guernsey (1,424).
Hunters ages 17 and younger checked 10,449 white-tailed deer during Ohio’s youth gun hunting season on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 16-17, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
The top 10 counties for deer taken during Ohio’s 2024 youth season include: Tuscarawas (354), Knox (314), Coshocton (303), Guernsey (291), Muskingum (284), Holmes (268), Licking (253), Washington (227), Harrison (223), and Carroll (218).
Youth hunters checked 6,042 antlered and 4,407 antlerless deer during the weekend. In 2023, hunters harvested 10,033 deer during the two-day youth gun season. The three-year average from 2021 to 2023 is 9,061 deer.
Based on historic harvest records, bowhunters can expect some terrific hunting in the coming weeks. In 2023, bowhunters were highly successful on Saturday, Nov. 18 (2,286 deer checked), Sunday, Nov. 19 (1,546), Saturday, Nov. 25 (1,247), Friday, Nov. 24 (1,210), and Sunday, Nov. 26 (828).
The statewide gun season is Monday, Dec. 2 through Sunday, Dec. 8, and again Dec. 21-22. Deer muzzleloader season is Jan. 4-7, 2025.
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