OHIO — Deer gun season has begun, and it’s a week-long where many hunters go out in the field to pursue white-tail deer.

Officials from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said last year hunters harvested 95,927 deer throughout the entire year and they expect that number to increase in 2024.

What You Need To Know

  • ODNR said more than 95,000 deer were harvested last year

  • The average amount of deer harvested between 2021 to 2023 is 93,207

  • Officials said everyone who goes out hunting this week should wear hunting orange 

  • Officials also said another big concern is to make sure people get a permit

Karen Norris got into hunting in her early twenties. But she said one type of deer hunting has already started a few months ago.

“Archery started at the end of September,” Norris said. “It’s exciting. It’s a different type of hunting implement. It gives you a little bit more advantage.”

During the main gun week alone in 2023, hunters brought in 70,103 deer. There’s a 2-day gun hunting season in December which brought in 15,125, according to the ODNR.

The average amount of deer harvested between 2021 to 2023 is 93,207, according to ODNR. 

Many hunters, like Norris or Nick Radabaugh, use deer hunting season to stock the freezer. Radabaugh said he’s been hunting for approximately 20 years but it’s been only over the last few that he began deer hunting.

“Wanted to have another way of bringing home some food for my family to eat,” Radabaugh said. “Grocery prices keep getting higher.”

Officials said they’re concerned when it comes to safety.

One of the most important things is that everyone who goes out hunting this week should wear hunting orange and familiarize themselves with what they can and cannot do.

Tony Zerkle, wildlife officer supervisor, said this color is required by the law.

“A big thing that we see out there is folks wearing some variation of hunter orange. Sometimes it even includes brown,” Zerkle said. “You can’t take high-powered rifles out in the woods.”

Once a hunter kills a deer, harvest isn’t over. It requires several steps to load the animal.

“The big part is getting to the deer as soon as you can and field dressing it, which is basically removing most of the guts and the stomach,” Radabaugh said.

Officials said another big concern is to make sure people get a permit and to follow up with those landowners to make sure they still have their permission to hunt there.

Every year, millions of hunters set out goals.

For Norris, it’s more than just a deer in the freezer.

“It’s a sense of accomplishment,” Norris said.