It looks like the year 2024 is shaping up to be a hugely successful one for juniors in Ohio! Hunters ages 17 and younger have already checked 10,449 white-tailed deer during Ohio’s youth gun hunting season, which took place over a single weekend (Nov. 16-17), according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. Most states have a youth hunting season, the point of which is to allow young people an extra "shot" at success before the rifle hunting season starts for everyone else.
The Division of Wildlife issued 42,209 youth deer permits through Sunday, Nov. 17, but of course those permits remain valid through the "regular" hunting season as well, through Feb. 2, 2025. What's interesting here is that just about a quarter of those permits have already been filled, over the course of a single weekend. Youth hunters checked 6,042 antlered and 4,407 antlerless deer during the weekend. In 2023, hunters harvested 10,033 deer during the two-day youth gun season. The three-year average from 2021 to 2023 is 9,061 deer.
The top 10 counties for deer taken during Ohio’s 2024 youth season include: Tuscarawas (354), Knox (314), Coshocton (303), Guernsey (291), Muskingum (284), Holmes (268), Licking (253), Washington (227), Harrison (223), and Carroll (218).
Youth hunting seasons are also available for small game, wild turkey, and waterfowl. Anyone interested in learning to hunt or becoming a mentor to a new hunter can visit Wild Ohio Harvest for information on how to get started, hunting-related workshops and special hunting opportunities for mentors and new hunters.
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