In Knox County, hunters harvested 412 deer during the two-day gun weekend, as reported by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. This total positioned the county as fifth in the state.

According to a press release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife, hunters across the state harvested 15,469 white-tailed deer during an additional weekend of deer gun hunting on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 16-17. The top ten counties for deer taken were: Coshocton (534), Tuscarawas (505), Ashtabula (470), Carroll (414), Knox (412), Muskingum (410), Licking (392), Holmes (359), Ashland (359), and Guernsey (348).

The ODNR Division of Wildlife press release also revealed that hunters checked 4,408 bucks, which constituted 29% of the harvest. Does made up 59% of the harvest with 9,130 taken. Button bucks accounted for 11% of the total with 1,639 harvested. Meanwhile, bucks with shed antlers and those with antlers less than three inches long accounted for only 1%, or 292 deer.

The press release further stated that gun hunters using straight-walled cartridge rifles accounted for 9,586 of the deer taken - approximately 62% of the total. Thirty percent of hunters used a shotgun while muzzleloaders were used by only five percent. Archery equipment was used by two percent and less than one percent used a handgun.

According to the 2022-23 Hunting and Trapping Regulations, hunters can participate in the ongoing archery season until Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024 or they can take part in the state’s muzzleloader season from Jan.6-9, 2024.