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DNR Posts Early Deer, Turkey Numbers

November 18th, 2018 by WCBC Radio

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced today that hunters harvested 18,805 deer during the early portion of the archery and muzzleloader seasons.

The harvest was a 16 percent decline from last year’s official harvest of 22,250, which was largely attributable to abnormally warm and wet weather that caused poor hunting conditions.

The two-month harvest included 9,695 deer taken during the archery season and 8,967 harvested during the October muzzleloader season. An additional 143 deer were reported during managed hunts. Hunters harvested 631 antlered and 557 antlerless sika deer as part of the total.

Hunters harvested 683 deer on the Sundays open to archery hunting during the period, accounting for 7 percent of the total archery harvest.

Maryland Early Season Deer Harvest (September – October), 2017 & 2018
  Antlered Antlerless Total
  2017 2018 % Change 2017 2018 % Change 2017 2018 % Change
Allegany 532 453 -14.8 337 369 9.5 869 822 -5.4
Anne Arundel 276 270 -2.2 605 445 -26.4 881 715 -18.8
Baltimore 523 460 -12 1,305 941 -27.9 1,828 1,401 -23.4
Calvert 148 154 4.1 325 268 -17.5 473 422 -10.8
Caroline                  
whitetail 111 129 16.2 346 327 -5.5 457 456 -0.2
sika 1 0 * 1 1 * 2 1 *
Carroll 512 449 -12.3 943 775 -17.8 1,455 1,224 -15.9
Cecil 303 266 -12.2 650 549 -15.5 953 815 -14.5
Charles 259 252 -2.7 554 349 -37 813 601 -26.1
Dorchester                  
whitetail 135 121 -10.4 337 232 -31.2 472 353 -25.2
sika 527 576 9.3 521 518 -0.6 1,048 1,094 4.4
Frederick 595 549 -7.7 1,142 900 -21.2 1,737 1,449 -16.6
Garrett 926 707 -23.7 563 567 0.7 1,489 1,274 -14.4
Harford 353 353 0 796 650 -18.3 1,149 1,003 -12.7
Howard 219 185 -15.5 647 418 -35.4 866 603 -30.4
Kent 250 266 6.4 499 406 -18.6 749 672 -10.3
Montgomery 391 328 -16.1 1,072 752 -29.9 1,463 1,080 -26.2
Prince George’s 222 215 -3.2 529 390 -26.3 751 605 -19.4
Queen Anne’s 228 217 -4.8 555 458 -17.5 783 675 -13.8
Saint Mary’s 213 201 -5.6 563 339 -39.8 776 540 -30.4
Somerset                  
whitetail 104 125 20.2 263 202 -23.2 367 327 -10.9
sika 2 4 * 6 3 * 8 7 *
Talbot 146 150 2.7 349 299 -14.3 495 449 -9.3
Washington 516 491 -4.8 652 632 -3.1 1,168 1,123 -3.9
Wicomico                  
whitetail 149 173 16.1 433 317 -26.8 582 490 -15.8
sika 27 44 * 30 23 * 57 67 *
Worcester                  
whitetail 157 187 19.1 383 331 -13.6 540 518 -4.1
sika 14 7 * 5 12 * 19 19 *
Total 7,839 7,332 -6.5 14,411 11,473 -20.4 22,250 18,805 -15.5
*Small sample size.

Turkey hunters reported taking 97 wild turkeys during the one-week fall season. The harvest was slightly lower than last year. Harvest numbers for each of three participating counties were: Allegany, 31; Garrett, 50; and Washington, 16. The fall turkey season was extended to include an additional Sunday this year. Hunters took advantage of the opportunity and reported harvesting 11 turkeys Nov. 4.

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