It’s just one state, but the success bow, crossbow and firearms hunters had here in 2022 is a sign that whitetail hunting is alive and well. 

And there will be a lot of venison to go around!

The good news is coming from Ohio — a place that has long been known as a trophy deer hunting state. Although overall harvest numbers have lagged for nearly a decade, hunters turned those tables this past hunting season, eclipsing an overall harvest of 200,000 whitetails for the first time in nearly a decade.

Buckeye State hunters have harvested 201,292 deer thus far for the 2022 season (final numbers have not been reported yet), marking the first time since 2012 that state hunters exceeded 200,000. After decades of languishing as a mediocre state for overall numbers, Ohio eclipsed the 200K mark for the first time in 2002. (204,652 deer taken by archers and gun hunters). That set off an unprecedented run of 10 record harvests over the next 11 deer seasons.

Ohio’s high-water mark came in 2009 with a harvest of 261,314 deer — 91,521 by archers and 169,793 by gun hunters. In Ohio, archery season consists of both longbow, compound and crossbow hunters. That year also marked the state’s individual record for gun-hunting harvest. Before 2004, the state averaged just 25,000 bow-kills per season and about 120,000 gun-kills.

“Ohio is a premier whitetail hunting destination, but it is more a crown jewel for resident deer hunters,” said Deer & Deer Hunting Editor Daniel Schmidt. “What I find most fascinating is the state achieves these harvest numbers with a relatively low hunter population.”

Ohio is home to 7.92 million acres of forested land, yet it has about 350,000 deer hunters (205,000 archers). By comparison, nearby Michigan has about 750,000 deer hunters.

Here’s a closer look at Ohio’s recent whitetail results: