FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2000

COLUMBUS, OH – As many as 175,000 bowhunters are expected to participate in the statewide archery deer hunting season that opens October 7, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

Last year, archers killed 29,319 deer during a four-month season that was open October through January, just 71 deer short of the record harvest of 29,390 set in 1994. Crossbow hunters took a record 16,946 deer and longbow hunters added another 12,373 deer to last season’s harvest total. Archers accounted for 23 percent of the 126,770 deer taken during Ohio’s combined archery, primitive and gun seasons.

Counties where crossbow hunters took most deer last season included Licking, Muskingum, Hocking, Summit and Trumbull. The top longbow deer counties last season included Licking, Hocking, Muskingum, Hamilton and Athens.

"These counties likely will again produce high harvest figures for archery deer hunters this fall. We estimate that Ohio’s deer herd is up an average of 10 to 15 percent statewide from last year and it should be another excellent season for deer hunters," said Mike Tonkovich, deer management project leader for the ODNR Division of Wildlife.

This year’s 117-day statewide archery deer season will remain open daily October 7 through January 31, 2001, including Sundays and during the one-week firearms deer season that begins November 27. Legal hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

A deer permit ($20) is required in addition to a valid hunting license to hunt deer in Ohio. In a 27-county region of southeast and east-central Ohio, designated as deer Zone C, hunters may take a second deer by purchasing an additional deer permit. The Division of Wildlife eliminated its special management deer permit in favor of simplifying the permit process. State law allows hunters to take only one antlered buck per year, regardless the type of deer season, deer permit, or hunting implement used for deer hunting.

Hunters may purchase up to four urban deer permits at a cost of $10 each to take an antlerless deer only within the urban zones or during a special controlled hunt. The urban deer zones are located in and around Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Toledo, Dayton and Cincinnati. Urban zone boundaries remain unchanged from last year.

Ohio is divided into three primary deer hunting zones. A limit of one deer may be taken in Zone A (13 counties) or Zone B (48 counties). An additional deer may be taken in Zone C. Hunters instead may elect to take two deer within Zone C. Deer zone bag limits may not be added together.

Archery deer hunters also may participate in the special early primitive deer season held October 23-28 on the Salt Fork, Shawnee and Wildcat Hollow public hunting areas in addition to the statewide primitive season that will be open December 27-30. Longbows and crossbows may be used to take deer during the statewide deer gun season November 27 through December 3.

Additional rules are contained in the 2000-2001 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest that is available where licenses are sold.

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For Further Information Contact
John Wisse, ODNR Division of Wildlife
(614) 265-6539
-or-
Mike Tonkovich, ODNR Division of Wildlife
(740) 664-2745