OHIO OUTDOORS First day of deer hunt down from 2003 total

Other hunting seasons have seen increases so far this year.
COLUMBUS -- Favorable weather conditions made for a good hunt on opening day of Ohio's weeklong deer-gun season. Hunters harvested 40,254 deer on Monday, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. The deer-gun season remains open through Dec. 5.
The preliminary figure from deer check stations throughout the state shows a slight decrease from last year's opening day total of 43,052. Counties reporting the highest numbers of deer checked on Monday included Tuscarawas (1,657), Coshocton (1,639), Guernsey (1,506), Washington (1,387), Muskingum (1,370), Harrison (1,289), Licking (1,192), Holmes (1,159), Jefferson (1,121) and Knox (1,118).
Deer hunting in the state was already off to a good start with both early archery and youth deer-gun season figures up from 2003. When combining the results from the first six-weeks of archery season, the youth season and opening day, a total of 87,893 deer have been killed so far this deer hunting season -- compared to 84,501 last year at this time. In all, hunters took a total of 197,790 deer during all of last year's hunting seasons.
"Deer-gun season is a very enjoyable week for thousands of Ohio's hunters -- a time to be together with family and friends," said Steven A. Gray, chief of the ODNR Division of Wildlife. "Opening day was a great start to another memorable Ohio deer-gun season."
East-central Ohio has been the state's top deer hunting region for many years. Good habitat and a rich hunting tradition in the area sustain its reputation as a deer hunting "hot spot."
Increasingly, out-of-state hunters are feeling the lure of hunting Ohio's whitetails. In 2003, non-resident hunting license sales were up 13 percent from the previous year. Many out-of-state hunters cite the health and quality of Ohio's deer herd as the reason for making the Buckeye State their deer-hunting destination.
Approximately 400,000 hunters are expected to participate in the statewide deer-gun season this week. The statewide deer population was estimated to be 700,000 prior to the start of the fall hunting seasons.
Deer hunting contributes an estimated $266 million to Ohio's economy each year and helps to support thousands of jobs. Venison is delicious and nutritious meat, low in fat and cholesterol. It is the number one wild game served by hunters in Ohio. Deer hunters also contribute thousands of pounds of venison to organizations that help feed less-fortunate Ohio residents through special programs.