Madison County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Madison County covers 468 square miles around West Jefferson. Hunters checked 767 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 408 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is down 5% from 2024. 0.8% of Madison County is public land open to the public, the largest share metro parks, county and city land (1,111 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 mapFederal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesOther state landMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landMadison CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 299,287 acres (468 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 767 (350 antlered, 417 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 408 archery, 359 gun |
| Public land | 0.8% (2,378 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 4 (552 acres inside Madison County) |
| Towns in and near it | West Jefferson, London, Plain City, Unionville Center, Mechanicsburg and Hilliard |
How many deer are harvested in Madison County?
Hunters checked 767 deer in Madison County in 2025-26: 350 antlered and 417 antlerless. Archers took 408 and gun hunters 359.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 767 | 350 | 417 | 408 | 359 |
| 2024-25 | 804 | 352 | 452 | 423 | 381 |
| 2023-24 | 642 | 349 | 293 | 374 | |
| 2021-22 | 652 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Madison County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 333 bucks, 273 does and 46 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Madison County?
2,378 of Madison County's 299,287 acres are public land open to the public (0.8%). The biggest share is metro parks, county and city land: 1,111 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Madison County |
|---|---|---|
| Metro parks, county and city land | 1,111 | 0.4% |
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 553 | 0.2% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 337 | 0.1% |
| Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes | 205 | 0.1% |
| Other state land | 172 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 2,378 | 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 Madison County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Madison County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Deer Creek Wildlife Area: 216 acres
- Madison Lake State Park: 179 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 36 Wildlife Area: 80 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 55 Wildlife Area: 77 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Deer Creek Recreation Area (420 acres).
How do you get to Madison County?
Highways through it: US 42 (about 32 miles inside), I-70 (about 31 miles inside), OH 38 (about 30 miles inside), US 40 (about 30 miles inside) and OH 56 (about 24 miles inside). Towns inside: West Jefferson, London, Plain City, Mount Sterling, Midway and South Solon. Nearby: Unionville Center (2 miles), Mechanicsburg (2 miles), Hilliard (3 miles) and Dublin (3 miles).
Which counties border Madison County?
Madison County touches 7 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County | 954 | 2025 | 3.4% |
| Union County | 1,401 | 2025 | 1.1% |
| Greene County | 1,076 | 2025 | 4.1% |
| Fayette County | 591 | 2025 | 1.4% |
| Franklin County | 709 | 2025 | 9% |
| Pickaway County | 1,153 | 2025 | 3.3% |
| Champaign County | 1,867 | 2025 | 0.9% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Madison County in 2025-26?
767: 350 antlered and 417 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 804.
Is there public hunting land in Madison County?
2,378 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 metro parks, county and city land (1,111 acres). ODNR's layer shows 4 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Madison County?
408 of the 767 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 Clark County Union County Greene County Fayette County Franklin County Pickaway County Champaign County