COLUMBUS – State officials say good weather last week have helped the deer harvest eclipse last year’s total during the week-long gun season.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said Monday that 73,399 deer were checked in the state during the annual seven-day gun season that ended Sunday.
That’s nearly a 9-percent increase over the 65,484 checked last year, and just below the 75,408 taken in 2013.
Two days of deer-gun season remain, on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29. The muzzleloader season is Jan. 9-12, and archery season remains open through Feb. 7.
Coshocton and Muskingum counties, both in east-central Ohio, led the way in number of deer harvested.
Ohio ranks fifth nationally in resident hunters and 11th in the number of jobs associated with hunting-related industries.
After seeing deer herds rise above goals in many counties, state officials say increased hinting of antlerless harvests deer has led to most of the counties counties at or near goal, prompting the ODNR to reduce bag limits and eliminate antlerless permits in most counties for the 2015-2016 season to help stabilize deer populations.