Darke County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Darke County covers 600 square miles around Greenville. Hunters checked 1,356 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 668 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is up 6% from 2024, and the most in the 4 years shown. 0.4% of Darke County is public land open to the public, the largest share metro parks, county and city land (678 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land boundaries.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: the Division of Wildlife's harvest reports, 2021-22 to 2025-26. Land: PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land layer.
Land on ODNR's hunting mapOther state landMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landDarke CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 383,843 acres (600 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 1,356 (553 antlered, 803 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 668 archery, 688 gun |
| Public land | 0.4% (1,556 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 1 (317 acres inside Darke County) |
| Towns in and near it | Greenville, Versailles, Arcanum, Burkettsville, Bradford and Potsdam |
How many deer are harvested in Darke County?
Hunters checked 1,356 deer in Darke County in 2025-26: 553 antlered and 803 antlerless. Archers took 668 and gun hunters 688.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1,356 | 553 | 803 | 668 | 688 |
| 2024-25 | 1,278 | 495 | 783 | 584 | 694 |
| 2023-24 | 1,066 | 462 | 604 | 528 | |
| 2021-22 | 835 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Darke County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 362 bucks, 373 does and 100 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Darke County?
1,556 of Darke County's 383,843 acres are public land open to the public (0.4%). The biggest share is metro parks, county and city land: 678 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Darke County |
|---|---|---|
| Metro parks, county and city land | 678 | 0.2% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 539 | 0.1% |
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 317 | 0.1% |
| Other state land | 22 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 1,556 | 0.4% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and ODNR's land boundaries with hunting status. Hunting rules differ by manager: ODNR wildlife areas, hunting areas and forests marked open follow Ohio's statewide seasons, and those marked restricted limit hunting by place, season or permit; national forest is open; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; Corps of Engineers lake land is open in many places under each project's own rules; metro parks and city land are closed to most hunting.
ODNR areas open to hunting in Darke County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Darke County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Darke Wildlife Area: 317 acres
How do you get to Darke County?
Highways through it: OH 49 (about 36 miles inside), OH 121 (about 30 miles inside), OH 571 (about 26 miles inside), OH 47 (about 24 miles inside) and OH 722 (about 17 miles inside). Towns inside: Greenville, Versailles, Arcanum, Union City, Ansonia and Wayne Lakes. Nearby: Burkettsville (on the line), Bradford (on the line), Potsdam (on the line) and Eldorado (on the line).
Which counties border Darke County?
Darke County touches 6 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami County | 1,090 | 2025 | 1.5% |
| Mercer County | 1,432 | 2025 | 4.3% |
| Preble County | 1,354 | 2025 | 2.1% |
| Shelby County | 1,562 | 2025 | 1.4% |
| Auglaize County | 1,621 | 2025 | 1.4% |
| Montgomery County | 980 | 2025 | 6.5% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Darke County in 2025-26?
1,356: 553 antlered and 803 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 1,278.
Is there public hunting land in Darke County?
1,556 acres, 0.4% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land boundaries, the largest share metro parks, county and city land (678 acres). ODNR's layer shows 1 area open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Darke County?
668 of the 1,356 deer checked in 2025-26 were taken with a crossbow or longbow (Division of Wildlife).
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Where these numbers come from
- Deer harvest: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and ODNR's land boundaries with hunting status. ODNR areas open to hunting: ODNR lands hunting status.
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 cartographic county boundaries. Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife. Numbers are copied from ODNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.
Ohio hunting Miami County Mercer County Preble County Shelby County Auglaize County Montgomery County