Holmes County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Holmes County covers 424 square miles around Millersburg. Hunters checked 5,717 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 3,028 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is up 1% from 2024, and the most in the 4 years shown. 0.6% of Holmes County is public land open to the public, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (1,385 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 landHolmes CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 271,429 acres (424 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 5,717 (2,178 antlered, 3,539 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 3,028 archery, 2,689 gun |
| Public land | 0.6% (1,634 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 3 (1,384 acres inside Holmes County) |
| Towns in and near it | Millersburg, Killbuck, Glenmont, Baltic, Gann (Brinkhaven) and Loudonville |
How many deer are harvested in Holmes County?
Hunters checked 5,717 deer in Holmes County in 2025-26: 2,178 antlered and 3,539 antlerless. Archers took 3,028 and gun hunters 2,689.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 5,717 | 2,178 | 3,539 | 3,028 | 2,689 |
| 2024-25 | 5,684 | 2,063 | 3,621 | 2,929 | 2,755 |
| 2023-24 | 5,324 | 2,035 | 3,289 | 2,903 | |
| 2021-22 | 4,905 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Holmes County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 1,899 bucks, 2,534 does and 472 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Holmes County?
1,634 of Holmes County's 271,429 acres are public land open to the public (0.6%). The biggest share is land on ODNR's hunting map: 1,385 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Holmes County |
|---|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 1,385 | 0.5% |
| Other state land | 105 | under 0.1% |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 78 | under 0.1% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 66 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 1,634 | 0.6% |
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 Holmes County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Holmes County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area: 1,168 acres
- Lower Killbuck Creek Wildlife Area: 169 acres
- Mohler Wildlife Area: 47 acres
How do you get to Holmes County?
Highways through it: OH 39 (about 32 miles inside), OH 60 (about 22 miles inside), OH 83 (about 18 miles inside), OH 241 (about 13 miles inside) and OH 520 (about 13 miles inside). Towns inside: Millersburg, Killbuck, Glenmont, Holmesville, Nashville and Berlin. Nearby: Baltic (on the line), Gann (Brinkhaven) (on the line), Loudonville (on the line) and Fredericksburg (on the line).
Which counties border Holmes County?
Holmes County touches 6 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County | 6,704 | 2025 | 1.3% |
| Stark County | 4,466 | 2025 | 4.3% |
| Wayne County | 3,562 | 2025 | 2.2% |
| Ashland County | 5,108 | 2025 | 3.8% |
| Coshocton County | 8,527 | 2025 | 11.5% |
| Tuscarawas County | 7,623 | 2025 | 1.1% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Holmes County in 2025-26?
5,717: 2,178 antlered and 3,539 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 5,684.
Is there public hunting land in Holmes County?
1,634 acres, 0.6% 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 (1,385 acres). ODNR's layer shows 3 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Holmes County?
3,028 of the 5,717 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 Knox County Stark County Wayne County Ashland County Coshocton County Tuscarawas County