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Maryland Hunters Harvest 86,542 Deer in 2017-2018 Season

Frederick County Led Statewide Totals

Photo of deer at sunset taken by Paul Kane

Photo by Paul Kane

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced today that hunters harvested 86,542 deer during the combined archery, firearms and muzzleloader seasons, from Sept. 8, 2017, through Jan. 31, 2018.

The harvest exceeded the 2016-2017 total by more than 1,000 deer. Included in the statewide total were 7,204 deer taken on Sundays.

“Sunday hunting continues to be an important component in managing Maryland’s deer population,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul Peditto said.

“Nearly 10 percent of the total harvest occurred on Sundays, a remarkable number given the limited number of Sunday hunting days available, and the fact that three of our highest deer density counties did not have Sunday hunting opportunities.”

The 2017-2018 statewide harvest included: 30,247 antlered and 53,135 antlerless white-tailed deer; and 1,423 antlered and 1,737 antlerless sika deer.

The harvest in deer management Region A (Western Maryland) increased 18 percent, from 8,490 deer last year to 10,003 this year. Hunters in these counties reported 6,237 antlered and 3,766 antlerless deer.

Hunters in Region B (the remainder of the state) harvested 76,539 deer, nearly the same as last year’s harvest of 76,703. A total of 25,433 antlered and 51,106 antlerless deer were reported in this region.

Frederick County led the harvest totals again this year with 7,354 deer, followed by Carroll County with 5,896 and Baltimore County at 5,559. Garrett and Montgomery counties rounded out the top five with 5,349 and 4,783 deer, respectively.

Maryland Reported Antlered and Antlerless Deer Harvest for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Hunting Seasons
  Antlered Antlerless Total
County ’16-’17 ’17-’18 % Change ’16-’17 ’17-’18 % Change ’16-’17 ’17-’18 % Change
Allegany 1,662 2,078 25 1,245 1,283 3.1 2,907 3,361 15.6
Anne Arundel 900 978 8.7 1,890 2,001 5.9 2,790 2,979 6.8
Baltimore 1,628 1,754 7.7 3,739 3,805 1.8 5,367 5,559 3.6
Calvert 614 558 -9.1 1,253 1,130 -9.8 1,867 1,688 -9.6
Caroline                  
whitetail 918 756 -17.6 2,033 1,824 -10.3 2,951 2,580 -12.6
sika 0 1 * 1 1 * 1 2 *
Carroll 2,002 2,116 5.7 3,661 3,780 3.3 5,663 5,896 4.1
Cecil 1,099 1,261 14.7 2,311 2,442 5.7 3,410 3,703 8.6
Charles 1,096 1,166 6.4 2,000 2,246 12.3 3,096 3,412 10.2
Dorchester                  
whitetail 896 678 -24.3 1,820 1,482 -18.6 2,716 2,160 -20.5
sika 1,185 1,306 10.2 1,459 1,622 11.2 2,644 2,928 10.7
Frederick 2,680 2,666 -0.5 4,876 4,688 -3.9 7,556 7,354 -2.7
Garrett 2,623 3,335 27.1 1,719 2,014 17.2 4,342 5,349 23.2
Harford 1,103 1,211 9.8 2,537 2,466 -2.8 3,640 3,677 1
Howard 685 738 7.7 1,715 1,689 -1.5 2,400 2,427 1.1
Kent 1,232 1,156 -6.2 2,182 2,270 4 3,414 3,426 0.4
Montgomery 1,505 1,457 -3.2 3,368 3,326 -1.2 4,873 4,783 -1.8
Prince George’s 832 828 -0.5 1,645 1,560 -5.2 2,477 2,388 -3.6
Queen Anne’s 1,141 1,189 4.2 2,583 2,701 4.6 3,724 3,890 4.5
Saint Mary’s 852 845 -0.8 1,760 1,847 4.9 2,612 2,692 3.1
Somerset                  
whitetail 718 649 -9.6 1,598 1,540 -3.6 2,316 2,189 -5.5
sika 5 2 * 2 7 * 7 9 *
Talbot 812 671 -17.4 1,981 1,830 -7.6 2,793 2,501 -10.5
Washington 2,062 2,135 3.5 2,674 2,458 -8.1 4,736 4,593 -3
Wicomico                  
whitetail 931 952 2.3 2,189 2,275 3.9 3,120 3,227 3.4
sika 74 85 * 66 83 * 140 168 *
Worcester                  
whitetail 1,051 1,070 1.8 2,539 2,478 -2.4 3,590 3,548 -1.2
sika 20 29 * 21 24 * 41 53 *
Total 30,326 31,670 4.4 54,867 54,872 0 85,193 86,542 1.6
*Small sample size                  

Several counties on the Eastern Shore, including Caroline, Dorchester and Talbot, saw declines that were likely related to an outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease. The virus is carried by biting midges and can spread quickly through localized deer populations. While deer numbers may be lower in these areas in the short term, the population is expected to rebound quickly in the coming years.

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