Tuscarawas County ranks third in state for the highest number of deer checked during this year’s deer-gun season.
 
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife reports 2,860 deer were harvested locally between November 26^th and December 2^nd.  That’s down from last year’s total of 3,180. 
 
Neighboring Coshocton County ranks first in the state with 3,119 deer checked during the 2012 gun season followed by Muskingum - 2,927, Tuscarawas – again with 2,860, Guernsey – 2,620, Harrison – 2,370, Licking – 2,271, Washington – 2,163, Knox – 2,159, Belmont – 2,127, and Carroll – 2,062. 
 
Statewide, hunters harvested 86,964 white-tailed deer, which is a slight decrease of 3.7-percent from 2011, when 90,282 were checked.   
 
Hunters still have one weekend of deer-gun hunting, December 15^th and 16^th and archery season remains open through February 3^rd.  The statewide deer-muzzleloader season runs January 5^th through the 8^th. 
 
A list of white-tailed deer checked by hunters during the 2012 week-long, deer-gun hunting season is shown below. The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2012, and the 2011 numbers are in parentheses.

Adams: 1,554 (1,727); Allen: 393 (293); Ashland: 1,240 (1,096); Ashtabula: 2,052 (1,777); Athens: 1,983 (2,059); Auglaize: 362 (192); Belmont: 2,127 (2,431); Brown: 1,094 (1,229); Butler: 350 (345); Carroll: 2,062 (2,252); Champaign: 487 (554); Clark: 226 (276); Clermont: 835 (980); Clinton: 348 (373); Columbiana: 1,686 (1,738); Coshocton: 3,119 (3,690); Crawford: 543 (441); Cuyahoga: 30 (37); Darke: 312 (223); Defiance: 882 (725); Delaware: 620 (594); Erie: 171 (137); Fairfield: 1,040 (1,152); Fayette: 111 (104); Franklin: 176 (170); Fulton: 413 (302); Gallia: 1,747 (1,844); Geauga: 598 (623); Greene: 318 (287); Guernsey: 2,620 (2,982); Hamilton: 244 (298); Hancock: 558 (402); Hardin: 512 (354); Harrison: 2,370 (2,772); Henry: 347 (279); Highland: 1,347 (1,432); Hocking: 1,966 (2,184); Holmes: 1,837 (2,013); Huron: 1,006 (925); Jackson: 1,439 (1,515); Jefferson: 1,830 (2,044); Knox: 2,159 (2,480); Lake: 207 (185); Lawrence: 1,286 (1,574); Licking: 2,271 (2,678); Logan: 755 (760); Lorain: 764 (739); Lucas: 158 (129); Madison: 141 (167); Mahoning: 664 (563); Marion: 410 (320); Medina: 596 (556); Meigs: 1,764 (1,974); Mercer: 318 (203); Miami: 241 (194); Monroe: 1,695 (1,960); Montgomery: 162 (144); Morgan: 1,712 (1,804); Morrow: 844 (851); Muskingum: 2,927 (3,223); Noble: 1,647 (2,028); Ottawa: 86 (81); Paulding: 551 (416); Perry: 1,726 (1,832); Pickaway: 500 (466); Pike: 973 (1,077); Portage: 608 (644); Preble: 323 (267); Putnam: 327 (238); Richland: 1,418 (1,714); Ross: 1,512 (1,723); Sandusky: 224 (195); Scioto: 1,138 (1,224); Seneca: 803 (603); Shelby: 456 (305); Stark: 833 (661); Summit: 163 (151); Trumbull: 1,237 (1,060); Tuscarawas: 2,860 (3,180); Union: 352 (354); Van Wert: 290 (194); Vinton: 1,583 (1,577); Warren: 406 (412); Washington: 2,163 (2,225); Wayne: 784 (644); Williams: 906 (787); Wood: 254 (208); Wyandot: 812 (661). Total: 86,964 (90,282).