Hardin County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Hardin County covers 470 square miles around Kenton. Hunters checked 2,053 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 620 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 Hardin County is public land open to the public, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (743 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 mapMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landHardin CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 301,096 acres (470 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 2,053 (807 antlered, 1,246 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 620 archery, 1,433 gun |
| Public land | 0.4% (1,128 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 2 (742 acres inside Hardin County) |
| Towns in and near it | Kenton, Ada, Forest, Ridgeway, Belle Center and Marseilles |
How many deer are harvested in Hardin County?
Hunters checked 2,053 deer in Hardin County in 2025-26: 807 antlered and 1,246 antlerless. Archers took 620 and gun hunters 1,433.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 2,053 | 807 | 1,246 | 620 | 1,433 |
| 2024-25 | 1,938 | 821 | 1,117 | 633 | 1,305 |
| 2023-24 | 1,653 | 686 | 967 | 526 | |
| 2021-22 | 1,423 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Hardin County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 596 bucks, 662 does and 165 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Hardin County?
1,128 of Hardin County's 301,096 acres are public land open to the public (0.4%). The biggest share is land on ODNR's hunting map: 743 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Hardin County |
|---|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 743 | 0.2% |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 317 | 0.1% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 68 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 1,128 | 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 Hardin County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Hardin County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Andreoff Wildlife Area: 583 acres
- Lawrence Woods Wildlife Area: 159 acres
How do you get to Hardin County?
Highways through it: OH 309 (about 26 miles inside), OH 67 (about 24 miles inside), US 68 (about 22 miles inside), OH 235 (about 22 miles inside) and OH 81 (about 19 miles inside). Towns inside: Kenton, Ada, Forest, Mount Victory, Dunkirk and McGuffey. Nearby: Ridgeway (on the line), Belle Center (on the line), Marseilles (2 miles) and La Rue (2 miles).
Which counties border Hardin County?
Hardin County touches 7 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allen County | 1,831 | 2025 | 1.1% |
| Logan County | 2,712 | 2025 | 2.6% |
| Union County | 1,401 | 2025 | 1.1% |
| Marion County | 1,384 | 2025 | 4.2% |
| Hancock County | 2,345 | 2025 | 0.8% |
| Wyandot County | 2,405 | 2025 | 3.9% |
| Auglaize County | 1,621 | 2025 | 1.4% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Hardin County in 2025-26?
2,053: 807 antlered and 1,246 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 1,938.
Is there public hunting land in Hardin County?
1,128 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 land on ODNR's hunting map (743 acres). ODNR's layer shows 2 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Hardin County?
620 of the 2,053 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 Allen County Logan County Union County Marion County Hancock County Wyandot County Auglaize County