DNR Maryland Deer Firearms Opening Day Harvest Up 29%

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Wind, Rain Hamper Overall Weekend​

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced that hunters reported 8,061 deer taken on opening day of the 2019 Maryland firearm season, Nov. 30. This represents a 29% increase over last year’s Saturday opener. The overall weekend harvest of 9,201 was down 9% from 2018 due to nearly non-stop rain and wind across the state on Sunday.

The harvest total includes 4,248 antlered and 4,953 antlerless deer, including 147 antlered and 126 antlerless sika deer. The two-week deer firearm season runs through Dec. 14.

“Rain once again plagued hunters this year for part of the opening weekend, but many hunters took advantage of a dry Saturday and were still able to put venison in the freezer,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul Peditto said. “The strong antlerless harvest for the weekend is reassuring, and is vital for managing deer numbers in the state.”

Hunters in Region A — Allegany, Garrett, and western Washington counties — harvested 878 antlered deer. Hunters in Region B — the rest of the state — harvested 3,370 antlered and 4,953 antlerless deer.

Junior hunters enjoyed excellent deer hunting weather and harvested 2,423 deer during the Junior Deer Hunt Days on November 16 – 17. The harvest was 12% higher than the official harvest of 2,164 last year. Juniors registered 1,471 antlered and 952 antlerless deer.

Maryland Unofficial Results of Junior Deer Hunt (Nov. 16-17, 2019) and Opening Weekend Firearm Deer Season (Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, 2019)​

County	Junior Hunt​	Opening Weekend Firearm Season​
				Saturday		Sunday		Total
	Antlered	Antlerless	Junior Total	Antlered	Antlerless	Total	Antlered	Antlerless	Total
Allegany	132	50	182	253	0	253	37	0	37	290
Ann Arundel	11	10	21	70	109	179	6	17	23	202
Baltimore	24	10	34	151	259	410	*	*	*	410
Calvert	14	6	20	46	78	124	3	7	10	134
Caroline	37	45	82	110	212	322	21	32	53	375
Carroll	101	68	169	333	472	805	29	30	59	864
Cecil
whitetail	52	39	91	134	264	398	24	37	61	459
sika	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1
Charles	55	34	89	121	143	264	18	29	47	311
Dorchester
whitetail	32	27	59	95	93	188	25	41	66	254
sika	12	21	33	99	82	181	39	38	77	258
Frederick	154	78	232	428	529	957	44	70	114	1,071
Garrett	249	118	367	363	0	363	62	0	62	425
Harford	22	17	39	122	217	339	8	18	26	365
Howard	15	9	24	79	91	170	*	*	*	170
Kent	54	36	90	144	248	392	16	34	50	442
Montgomery	41	36	77	102	164	266	6	12	18	284
Prince George’s	12	9	21	86	91	177	*	*	*	177
Queen Anne’s	46	39	85	159	234	393	11	32	43	436
Somerset	44	47	91	76	165	241	19	38	57	298
whitetail	44	47	91	76	165	241	19	38	57	298
sika	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
St. Mary’s	24	29	53	78	97	175	13	20	33	208
Talbot	40	32	72	94	181	275	9	36	45	320
Washington	122	45	167	352	166	518	44	35	79	597
Wicomico
whitetail	85	78	163	104	160	264	26	45	71	335
sika	3	1	4	4	5	9	2	1	3	12
Worcester
whitetail	90	68	158	148	247	395	32	74	106	501
sika	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	2
Total	1,471	952	2,423	3,754	4,307	8,061	494	646	1,140	9,201
*Sunday hunting not permitted.