Maryland Deer
Travis Smola

DNR Says Maryland Deer Hunters Harvested 77,000 Animals Last Season

Maryland hunters saw slightly less success due to weather conditions.

The numbers are in for Maryland's 2018-19 deer seasons, and harvest numbers are down slightly.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced 77,382 deer were harvested across all seasons from Sept. 2018 to Jan. 2019. That number is down approximately 11 percent from last year's harvest of 86,542 animals.

The numbers break down like this: 44,249 antlerless whitetail deer, 29,699 antlered whitetail deer, 1,825 antlerless sika deer, and 1,609 antlered sikas.

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The DNR is saying several major rain and ice storms may have affected deer activity and played a role in the reduced harvest numbers this season.

"Poor weather dampened success on prime Saturdays, especially during the firearms season this year," Paul Peditto, the Wildlife and Heritage Service Director said in an MDNR press release.

He also stated in the release that the opening of Sunday hunting in several new counties did help to make up for the lack of harvest on some of those key Saturday dates. Maryland saw approximately 8,500 harvest happen on a Sunday this year.

Maryland is just one of several states where hot debate over hunting on a Sunday still rages.

The top three counties as far as harvest numbers were Frederick, Carroll, and Garrett Counties with 6,545, 5,421, and 4,973 total harvests respectively.

The eastern part of the state had much more success in 2018 and '19 as harvests in the western part of the state decreased slightly by three percent.

At the same time, the state's western hunters had better luck getting a buck. They harvested 5,608 antlered deer compared to 4,097 antlerless ones. Over the rest of the state, antlerless harvests outnumbered antlered ones.

In one bit of good news, the DNR said button buck harvests decreased statewide by 25 percent.

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