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Strong Opening Weekend for Maryland Deer Firearm Season

Mixed Weather Still Yields Success for Many Hunters

Photo of large buck in a field next to a tree

Photo by Steve Edwards, submitted to 2018 Maryland DNR Photo Contest.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced that hunters reported 10,116 deer taken on the opening weekend of the 2022 Maryland firearm season, Nov. 26-27. Despite bad weather on Sunday, the overall harvest was just 3% lower than last year’s official opening weekend harvest of 10,446 deer. 

The harvest total included 5,090 antlered and 4,697 antlerless white-tailed deer, and 162 antlered and 167 antlerless sika deer. The two-week deer firearm season runs through Dec. 10.

“Hunters experienced excellent deer hunting conditions across the state on Saturday, but rain across most of Maryland slowed the harvest on Sunday,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul Peditto said. “The weekend harvest was still strong, and hunters have plenty of time remaining in the season to put some venison in their freezers.”

Hunters in Region A, which includes Allegany, Garrett, and western Washington counties, harvested 1,142 antlered deer, an 11% increase. Hunters in Region B, comprising the rest of the state, harvested 4,110 antlered and 4,864 antlerless deer. The antlered harvest was up 5% while the antlerless harvest declined 11% from last year in the region.

Junior hunters harvested 2,056 deer during the Junior Deer Hunt Days Nov. 12-13. The harvest was 4% higher than the official harvest of 1,972 last year. Juniors registered 1,412 antlered and 644 antlerless deer.

Unofficial results by county are as follows:

County Junior Hunt,
Nov. 12-13, 2022		 Opening Weekend Firearm Season,
Nov. 26-27, 2022
        Saturday   Sunday  

Weekend
Total
  Antlered Antlerless Junior
Total		 Antlered Antlerless Total Antlered Antlerless Total  
Allegany 139 44 183 312 0 312 72 0 72 384
Anne Arundel 9 3 12 48 67 115 11 22 33 148
Baltimore 26 9 35 201 239 440 * * * 440
Calvert 10 4 14 60 81 141 14 14 28 169
Caroline 39 32 71 154 253 407 26 63 89 496
Carroll 105 55 160 451 450 901 62 70 132 1,033
Cecil 45 24 69 141 179 320 44 30 74 394
Charles 25 22 47 125 101 226 18 33 51 277
Dorchester                    
whitetail 49 24 73 128 133 261 20 51 71 332
sika 19 10 29 99 121 220 44 33 77 297
Frederick 161 60 221 541 474 1,015 97 64 161 1,176
Garrett 279 85 364 478 0 478 87 0 87 565
Harford 36 10 46 167 207 374 18 25 43 417
Howard 11 5 16 91 99 190 * * * 190
Kent 46 23 69 150 245 395 16 49 65 460
Montgomery 42 21 63 132 159 291 11 14 25 316
Prince George’s 17 5 22 65 68 133 * * * 133
Queen Anne’s 43 18 61 176 232 408 17 29 46 454
Somerset                    
whitetail 35 30 65 101 139 240 16 33 49 289
sika 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
St. Mary’s 20 18 38 83 96 179 17 20 37 216
Talbot 34 24 58 113 181 294 11 39 50 344
Washington 111 38 149 447 182 629 70 31 101 730
Wicomico                    
whitetail 61 44 105 113 173 286 24 62 86 372
sika 3 0 3 13 10 23 5 2 7 30
Worcester                    
whitetail 46 36 82 120 211 331 42 79 121 452
sika 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
Total 1,412 644 2,056 4,510 4,101 8,611 742 763 1,505 10,116
*Sunday hunting not permitted.                       
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