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Maryland Deer Firearms Opening Day Harvest Up 29%

Wind, Rain Hamper Overall Weekend

Photo of doe in the woodsThe Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced that hunters reported 8,061 deer taken on opening day of the 2019 Maryland firearm season, Nov. 30. This represents a 29% increase over last year’s Saturday opener. The overall weekend harvest of 9,201 was down 9% from 2018 due to nearly non-stop rain and wind across the state on Sunday.

The harvest total includes 4,248 antlered and 4,953 antlerless deer, including 147 antlered and 126 antlerless sika deer. The two-week deer firearm season runs through Dec. 14.

“Rain once again plagued hunters this year for part of the opening weekend, but many hunters took advantage of a dry Saturday and were still able to put venison in the freezer,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul Peditto said. “The strong antlerless harvest for the weekend is reassuring, and is vital for managing deer numbers in the state.”

Hunters in Region A — Allegany, Garrett, and western Washington counties — harvested 878 antlered deer. Hunters in Region B — the rest of the state — harvested 3,370 antlered and 4,953 antlerless deer.

Junior hunters enjoyed excellent deer hunting weather and harvested 2,423 deer during the Junior Deer Hunt Days on November 16 – 17. The harvest was 12% higher than the official harvest of 2,164 last year. Juniors registered 1,471 antlered and 952 antlerless deer.

Maryland Unofficial Results of Junior Deer Hunt (Nov. 16-17, 2019) and
Opening Weekend Firearm Deer Season (Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, 2019)
County Junior Hunt Opening Weekend Firearm Season
        Saturday   Sunday   Total
  Antlered Antlerless Junior
Total		 Antlered Antlerless Total Antlered Antlerless Total  
Allegany 132 50 182 253 0 253 37 0 37 290
Ann Arundel 11 10 21 70 109 179 6 17 23 202
Baltimore 24 10 34 151 259 410 * * * 410
Calvert 14 6 20 46 78 124 3 7 10 134
Caroline 37 45 82 110 212 322 21 32 53 375
Carroll 101 68 169 333 472 805 29 30 59 864
Cecil                    
whitetail 52 39 91 134 264 398 24 37 61 459
sika 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Charles 55 34 89 121 143 264 18 29 47 311
Dorchester                    
whitetail 32 27 59 95 93 188 25 41 66 254
sika 12 21 33 99 82 181 39 38 77 258
Frederick 154 78 232 428 529 957 44 70 114 1,071
Garrett 249 118 367 363 0 363 62 0 62 425
Harford 22 17 39 122 217 339 8 18 26 365
Howard 15 9 24 79 91 170 * * * 170
Kent 54 36 90 144 248 392 16 34 50 442
Montgomery 41 36 77 102 164 266 6 12 18 284
Prince George’s 12 9 21 86 91 177 * * * 177
Queen Anne’s 46 39 85 159 234 393 11 32 43 436
Somerset 44 47 91 76 165 241 19 38 57 298
whitetail 44 47 91 76 165 241 19 38 57 298
sika 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
St. Mary’s 24 29 53 78 97 175 13 20 33 208
Talbot 40 32 72 94 181 275 9 36 45 320
Washington 122 45 167 352 166 518 44 35 79 597
Wicomico                    
whitetail 85 78 163 104 160 264 26 45 71 335
sika 3 1 4 4 5 9 2 1 3 12
Worcester                    
whitetail 90 68 158 148 247 395 32 74 106 501
sika 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 2
Total 1,471 952 2,423 3,754 4,307 8,061 494 646 1,140 9,201
*Sunday hunting not permitted.                       
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