23,000 Deer Harvested in Maryland during Early Hunting Season

Turkey Harvest Declines 13 Percent from Last Year

Maryland hunters harvested more deer during early hunting season compared to this time last year. Department of Natural Resources biologists attribute the increased harvest to a scarcity of acorns across most of the state, causing deer to move more in search of food.

Hunters wrapped up the early portions of the archery and muzzleloader deer seasons by harvesting an estimated 23,048 deer during September and October ─ five percent higher than last year’s harvest of 21,965.

The two-month harvest includes 12,213 deer taken during the archery season (7,107 taken with vertical bows and 5,106 taken with crossbows) and 10,715 harvested during the October muzzleloader season. An additional 120 deer were reported during managed deer hunts.

Compared to last year, the antlered harvest increased 16 percent from 6,604 deer to 7,637, and the antlerless harvest increased from 15,361 to 15,411. Included in these totals are 523 antlered and 550 antlerless sika deer.

Turkey hunters reported taking 116 wild turkeys (Allegany County 36; Garrett 49; Washington 31) during the one week fall season that ended on Nov. 7. The harvest was 13 percent lower than the 2014 harvest of 134. Reasons for the drop in the turkey harvest are unclear, but the numbers reflect a long term decline in hunter participation in this season.

For detailed information on hunting seasons and bag limits, visit www.eregulations.com/maryland/hunting.