Fairfield County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Fairfield County covers 509 square miles around Lancaster. Hunters checked 2,351 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 1,087 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is down 2% from 2024. 1.9% of Fairfield County is public land open to the public, the largest share metro parks, county and city land (2,729 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 landFairfield CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 325,446 acres (509 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 2,351 (1,009 antlered, 1,342 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 1,087 archery, 1,264 gun |
| Public land | 1.9% (6,301 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 6 (2,483 acres inside Fairfield County) |
| Towns in and near it | Lancaster, Pickerington, Lithopolis, Tarlton, Kirkersville and Buckeye Lake |
How many deer are harvested in Fairfield County?
Hunters checked 2,351 deer in Fairfield County in 2025-26: 1,009 antlered and 1,342 antlerless. Archers took 1,087 and gun hunters 1,264.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 2,351 | 1,009 | 1,342 | 1,087 | 1,264 |
| 2024-25 | 2,403 | 1,022 | 1,381 | 1,101 | 1,302 |
| 2023-24 | 2,059 | 912 | 1,147 | 1,061 | |
| 2021-22 | 2,093 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Fairfield County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 955 bucks, 945 does and 193 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Fairfield County?
6,301 of Fairfield County's 325,446 acres are public land open to the public (1.9%). The biggest share is metro parks, county and city land: 2,729 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Fairfield County |
|---|---|---|
| Metro parks, county and city land | 2,729 | 0.8% |
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 2,482 | 0.8% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 709 | 0.2% |
| Other state land | 381 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 6,301 | 1.9% |
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 Fairfield County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Fairfield County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Buckeye Lake State Park: 1,681 acres
- Rush Creek Lake Public Hunting and Fishing Areas: 516 acres
- Rock Mill Lake Wildlife Area: 89 acres
- Oakthorpe Lake Public Hunting and Fishing Areas: 78 acres
- Colfax Lake Public Hunting Area: 73 acres
- Greenfield Dam Wildlife Area: 46 acres
How do you get to Fairfield County?
Highways through it: OH 37 (about 28 miles inside), OH 188 (about 26 miles inside), OH 256 (about 24 miles inside), OH 204 (about 19 miles inside) and OH 158 (about 16 miles inside). Towns inside: Lancaster, Pickerington, Lithopolis, Baltimore, Stoutsville and Millersport. Nearby: Tarlton (on the line), Kirkersville (on the line), Buckeye Lake (on the line) and Brice (on the line).
Which counties border Fairfield County?
Fairfield County touches 5 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perry County | 2,989 | 2025 | 11.7% |
| Hocking County | 2,643 | 2025 | 17.5% |
| Licking County | 5,770 | 2025 | 2% |
| Franklin County | 709 | 2025 | 9% |
| Pickaway County | 1,153 | 2025 | 3.3% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Fairfield County in 2025-26?
2,351: 1,009 antlered and 1,342 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 2,403.
Is there public hunting land in Fairfield County?
6,301 acres, 1.9% 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 (2,729 acres). ODNR's layer shows 6 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Fairfield County?
1,087 of the 2,351 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 Perry County Hocking County Licking County Franklin County Pickaway County