Defiance County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Defiance County covers 414 square miles around Defiance. Hunters checked 1,887 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 726 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is up 29% from 2024. 0.8% of Defiance County is public land open to the public, the largest share land trusts and other open land (1,065 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 landDefiance CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 265,044 acres (414 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 1,887 (850 antlered, 1,037 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 726 archery, 1,161 gun |
| Public land | 0.8% (2,021 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 2 (441 acres inside Defiance County) |
| Towns in and near it | Defiance, Hicksville, Sherwood, Florida, Edgerton and Cecil |
How many deer are harvested in Defiance County?
Hunters checked 1,887 deer in Defiance County in 2025-26: 850 antlered and 1,037 antlerless. Archers took 726 and gun hunters 1,161.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1,887 | 850 | 1,037 | 726 | 1,161 |
| 2024-25 | 1,468 | 547 | 921 | 493 | 975 |
| 2023-24 | 2,298 | 906 | 1,392 | 927 | |
| 2021-22 | 1,745 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Defiance County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 704 bucks, 833 does and 208 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Defiance County?
2,021 of Defiance County's 265,044 acres are public land open to the public (0.8%). The biggest share is land trusts and other open land: 1,065 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Defiance County |
|---|---|---|
| Land trusts and other open land | 1,065 | 0.4% |
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 441 | 0.2% |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 327 | 0.1% |
| Other state land | 188 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 2,021 | 0.8% |
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 Defiance County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Defiance County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Oxbow Lake Wildlife Area: 435 acres
- Five Mile Creek - Auglaize River Access: 6 acres
How do you get to Defiance County?
Highways through it: OH 18 (about 36 miles inside), US 24 (about 30 miles inside), OH 15 (about 25 miles inside), OH 66 (about 17 miles inside) and OH 2 (about 17 miles inside). Towns inside: Defiance, Hicksville, Sherwood, Ney and Brunersburg. Nearby: Florida (on the line), Edgerton (2 miles), Cecil (2 miles) and Bryan (3 miles).
Which counties border Defiance County?
Defiance County touches 4 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry County | 1,181 | 2025 | 0.8% |
| Putnam County | 1,376 | 2025 | 0.1% |
| Paulding County | 1,286 | 2025 | 0.3% |
| Williams County | 2,842 | 2025 | 1.7% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Defiance County in 2025-26?
1,887: 850 antlered and 1,037 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 1,468.
Is there public hunting land in Defiance County?
2,021 acres, 0.8% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land boundaries, the largest share land trusts and other open land (1,065 acres). ODNR's layer shows 2 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Defiance County?
726 of the 1,887 deer checked in 2025-26 were taken with a crossbow or longbow (Division of Wildlife).
Get a Ohio hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Ohio are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Ohio included.
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 Henry County Putnam County Paulding County Williams County