# 2018 Week Long Deer Kill Numbers



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2228185757194460&id=737327206280330


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## Fishstix (Aug 16, 2005)

Awful weather kept hunter inside is my guess. I took Friday off work, which appeared to be the best day to be out in the woods other than Sunday. I shot a doe Friday evening, then went back out on Saturday to hunt with all my buddies. Needless to say, it was an easy decision to sit in my truck and listen to OSU sports talk majority of the morning while my buddies sat in the stand and got soaked. I guess that is the benefit of having 2 tags filled...lol.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Have to agree with ya Fishstix.
With the exception of Monday, didn't see nearly the hunters out as usual. And I believe most that stayed until Friday...left that evening.
At least 33 westbound Friday evening looked like a parade of trucks/trailers with quads headed back towards Cols. 
Sunday did not hear a shot all day with the exception of a guy in our group shooting a yote.
Talked to a couple different groups camped down at Wayne Nat. Nine guys in one group,six in the other. As of Thurs., the group of nine had 4...the group of six had 2. The group of nine were pulling out Friday evening.


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## s.a.m (Feb 22, 2016)

Alot of corn still standing as well!


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

There were 4 less hunters hunting my public land area than usual on opening day. Weather definitely drove the less dedicated guys away! Still, the 2 guys that did come out pushed deer to my dad and I just like they do every year. We both got a deer by 9am! 

Hint: 1st guy to the top of the ridge usually gets a shot at a deer. Also, don't take the easy way up the hill along the creek channel. It spreads your scent all the way up the hill! Been hunting this public land for 20 years now and every year, the guy at the top of the ridge gets a shot on opening day. Usually, it's me or my dad.


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

fastwater said:


> Have to agree with ya Fishstix.
> With the exception of Monday, didn't see nearly the hunters out as usual. And I believe most that stayed until Friday...left that evening.
> At least 33 westbound Friday evening looked like a parade of trucks/trailers with quads headed back towards Cols.
> Sunday did not hear a shot all day with the exception of a guy in our group shooting a yote.
> Talked to a couple different groups camped down at Wayne Nat. Nine guys in one group,six in the other. As of Thurs., the group of nine had 4...the group of six had 2. The group of nine were pulling out Friday evening.


I always thought the convoy you see Friday evening on the road were guys heading out for the weekend hunt...guess it could be guys packing it in for the week though too.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Shad Rap said:


> I always thought the convoy you see Friday evening on the road were guys heading out for the weekend hunt...guess it could be guys packing it in for the week though too.


Down this way, the weekend prior to gun season, rt33 eastbound is a nonstop caravan of hunters coming down from Cols. and surrounding areas to hunt. Usually Sunday afternoon of the last day, the caravan starts heading back home westbound. Been that way for at least the last 30+ yrs. that I've been down here. This year with last Sat. monsoon followed by Sun 60+ forecast seems the caravan started early. Covered a lot of ground where I was at Sun and never saw a hunter.


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## killingtime (Apr 29, 2009)

A lot less hunters here in east central perry county. Less gun hunters but more bow hunters earlier in the season.


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## Fishstix (Aug 16, 2005)

This is my first year hunting down in Perry County. I will tell you that I've heard more shots down there this year than I've heard elsewhere over the past couple of years. I am in Southeast Perry County.


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## killingtime (Apr 29, 2009)

Sorry about my post I meant to say west central not east. Your right southeastern perry gets a lot of hunters in that part of the county.


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

I spent 3 days in Hocking county. I heard 3 shots in three days. When I started going there 30 years ago, it sounded like the Marines taking Fallujah. Something sure has changed...

On an unrelated note, I still can't find one of those semi-automatic muzzle loaders the amish use up that way...


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

chadwimc said:


> I spent 3 days in Hocking county. I heard 3 shots in three days. When I started going there 30 years ago, it sounded like the Marines taking Fallujah. Something sure has changed...
> 
> On an unrelated note, I still can't find one of those semi-automatic muzzle loaders the amish use up that way...


I have hunted Hocking County for many years as well. We used to always hear some Ak47 or SKS volleys opening day. I haven’t heard that for quite awhile now.


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## fishmeister (Jul 29, 2004)

Only two counties with more deer this year than last, Geauga and Lake.


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

Muddy said:


> I have hunted Hocking County for many years as well. We used to always hear some Ak47 or SKS volleys opening day. I haven’t heard that for quite awhile now.


I’m in Hocking and we heard all kinds of shooting many days last week. Not sure why guys want to dump mags during gun week but they sure did.


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## Straley (Jul 14, 2012)

If I’m understanding it right the two bouns gun days and muzzleloader your not aloud to shoot does on public land


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

I hunted SE Perry county (Monroe Township) and there were plenty of hunters and shots fired every day I was out. I hunted Monday, Tuesday, Friday-Sunday. Saturday like most places it rained all day and was very wet. I filled my buck tag in bow season down there so drove township roads; hit the local Eagles club Sat night for football games and talked with the locals. Sunday hunters were out heavy in the areas I hunt - more action than Monday and Tuesday. They got 2 does off the southern tract I hunt and both the neighboring land north and south took a doe also - all on Sunday by 2pm. Guys were driving public land east of me and private land south of me most of the morning. I heard a lot of shooting down there. Not as much as back in the days in Muskingum, but quite a bit of shots fired in SE Perry this year.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

I hunt southern Clermont and I bet we didn't hear 10 different people shoot in the 4 half days we hunted. It used to be we'd here more shots than that before legal shooting time when the starting time was 7:00 on opening day.


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

Straley said:


> If I’m understanding it right the two bouns gun days and muzzleloader your not aloud to shoot does on public land


Correct, and you can't harvest them with archery equipment on public land either. No doe may be harvested on public land for the rest of the season.


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## chadwimc (Jun 27, 2007)

crappiedude said:


> I hunt southern Clermont and I bet we didn't hear 10 different people shoot in the 4 half days we hunted. It used to be we'd here more shots than that before legal shooting time when the starting time was 7:00 on opening day.


I hunted my land for two days outside of Felicity. I didn't hear *ANY* shots.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

chadwimc said:


> I hunted my land for two days outside if Felicity. I didn't hear *ANY* shots.


I hunt near you.
I swear it gets quieter and quieter out there every year during gun season. I just don't see nearly the amount of hunters around we used to see.


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## floater99 (May 21, 2010)

Ive noticed a big decline in hunting pressure around us in morgan cty I heard abt 20 shots all week I think a lot of guys are getting my age and are not able to handle the terrain as well anymore the loss of young hunters doesn't help bad weather low deer numbers ???


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## MagicMarker (Mar 19, 2017)

I think the decline has more to do with less access to ground to hunt. Here in western Ohio we don't have access to a lot of public land and everything else is getting leased out


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## DLC (May 3, 2007)

Bingo we have a winner


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

The hunting pressure has just changed. It hasn't dropped off. Gun hunting has declined, bow hunting has increased. Go out to any of the big der counties during bow season and you will see plenty of hunting pressure.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)




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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Above is data I started keeping many years ago and update each year. We killed a bunch of the deer herd off in 2006-2010

2001 - 2005 - 1.024 million, average 205,000 a year
2006 - 2010 - 1.223 million, average 245,000 a year
2011- 2015 - .991 million, average 198,000 a year
2016-2017 - 368,000, average 184,000 a year

625,000 tags issued in 2009, 261,000 killed, 42% success rate
429,000 tags issued in 2017, 186,000 killed , 43% success rate.

Archery kill exceeded the gun season week and 2 day gun harvest for the first time in in 2013, it remained that way until last year when the archery harvest dropped a little below the gun season kills.

We are basically back to harvest levels very similar to 2002, 2003 with less participation in tags issued. That would lead me to believe that the deer population is somewhat close to previous levels established as the goal by the ODNR in 2006 and that hunters are more efficient today than they have ever been at harvesting a deer.


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## dugworm (May 23, 2008)

Quiet in Morgan co. Big Musky Bucket area.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

Lundy said:


> Archery kill exceeded the gun season


Good info like always.
What I find interesting is the increase in success in crossbow harvest.
With both gun and vertical bow harvest numbers seemed to rise until 2010 and then both steadily declined after that. Crossbow success however seems to have kept improving.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I don't think you can call the increase in crossbows harvest numbers a results of increased success. There just isn't enough data available published from the ODNR to make any assessment on success rate of crossbow versus vertical. You can certainly see the reported crossbow harvest increase but we don't know if that equates to an increase in success rate of crossbow hunters or just an increase in crossbow hunters or a combination of both. I would lean towards just more new bowhunters taking up crossbows. I am sure the increase in archery hunting has also lead to the decline in gun harvest in that many if not most gun hunters also bow hunt.


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## TheKing (Apr 15, 2004)

Lundy said:


> Above is data I started keeping many years ago and update each year. We killed a bunch of the deer herd off in 2006-2010
> 
> 2001 - 2005 - 1.024 million, average 205,000 a year
> 2006 - 2010 - 1.223 million, average 245,000 a year
> ...


Are there statistics on how the average age of tag holders has changed over time?


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I have no data to determine the average age of the tag holders. I'm sure the ODNR has that data and would know. The big influx in the harvest for 2006 to 2010 was due the stated intent by the ODNR to reduce the deer population numbers through an increased bag limit and reduced antlerless tag cost that resulted in huge increase in tag purchases and harvest.


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## Tinknocker1 (May 13, 2013)

not trying to high jack the thread but it's a good place to ask did anybody jump any grouse ?


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

Tinknocker1 said:


> not trying to high jack the thread but it's a good place to ask did anybody jump any grouse ?


1 grouse and 1 woodcock


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## Tinknocker1 (May 13, 2013)

bobk said:


> 1 grouse and 1 woodcock


sweet and a woodcock .... thanks for the report !


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

Tinknocker1 said:


> sweet and a woodcock .... thanks for the report !


My neighbor boy shot his first woodcock this year. I had to tell him what it was and that he was allowed to shoot it (he had all the proper tags). He was pretty excited.










Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk


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## Tinknocker1 (May 13, 2013)

Misdirection said:


> My neighbor boy shot his first woodcock this year. I had to tell him what it was and that he was allowed to shoot it (he had all the proper tags). He was pretty excited.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


that's awesome thanks for sharing !


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Lundy said:


> I don't think you can call the increase in crossbows harvest numbers a results of increased success. There just isn't enough data available published from the ODNR to make any assessment on success rate of crossbow versus vertical. You can certainly see the reported crossbow harvest increase but we don't know if that equates to an increase in success rate of crossbow hunters or just an increase in crossbow hunters or a combination of both. I would lean towards just more new bowhunters taking up crossbows. I am sure the increase in archery hunting has also lead to the decline in gun harvest in that many if not most gun hunters also bow hunt.


Well, I'm an old bowhunter who finally went over to the dark side since my shoulders are basically shot. Same with a couple of friends of mine. I couldn't practice enough to stay really sharp. Throw a dozen arrows out of the vertical bow and my shoulders would scream at me for 2-3 days. 

And I think your last sentence is spot on. The original reasons I took up the bow was that the season was longer, and seemed "quieter" somehow. If you were successful you didn't have to deal with the "pumpkin army"! I was never a game hog, so if I already had a deer, I wouldn't go out. I might go out and bow hunt again after gun, but I didn't seem to have the same level of motivation. I'm a meat hunter, and if I had venison to eat I was happy.


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