Pike County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Pike County covers 444 square miles around Waverly. Hunters checked 2,156 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 1,029 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is down 2% from 2024. 5.2% of Pike County is public land open to the public, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (13,355 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 lakesNational park landOther state landMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landPike CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 284,036 acres (444 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 2,156 (990 antlered, 1,166 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 1,029 archery, 1,127 gun |
| Public land | 5.2% (14,639 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 5 (13,355 acres inside Pike County) |
| Towns in and near it | Waverly, Piketon, Beaver, Sinking Spring, Bainbridge and Rarden |
How many deer are harvested in Pike County?
Hunters checked 2,156 deer in Pike County in 2025-26: 990 antlered and 1,166 antlerless. Archers took 1,029 and gun hunters 1,127.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 2,156 | 990 | 1,166 | 1,029 | 1,127 |
| 2024-25 | 2,193 | 1,061 | 1,132 | 1,042 | 1,151 |
| 2023-24 | 1,778 | 849 | 929 | 830 | |
| 2021-22 | 1,862 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Pike County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 961 bucks, 777 does and 124 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Pike County?
14,639 of Pike County's 284,036 acres are public land open to the public (5.2%). The biggest share is land on ODNR's hunting map: 13,355 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Pike County |
|---|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 13,355 | 4.7% |
| Other state land | 735 | 0.3% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 433 | 0.2% |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 116 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 14,639 | 5.2% |
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 Pike County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Pike County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Pike State Forest: 13,050 acres
- Marion and Fred Conkel Wildlife Area: 179 acres
- Scioto Trail State Forest: 73 acres
- Brush Creek Forest: 37 acres
- Lake White Tailwaters Wildlife Area: 16 acres
How do you get to Pike County?
Highways through it: OH 32 (about 57 miles inside), OH 124 (about 54 miles inside), US 23 (about 28 miles inside), OH 772 (about 27 miles inside) and OH 335 (about 26 miles inside). Towns inside: Waverly, Piketon, Beaver, Stockdale and Cynthiana. Nearby: Sinking Spring (on the line), Bainbridge (2 miles), Rarden (3 miles) and Otway (7 miles).
Which counties border Pike County?
Pike County touches 5 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ross County | 3,402 | 2025 | 7.6% |
| Adams County | 3,895 | 2025 | 6.5% |
| Scioto County | 2,576 | 2025 | 18.8% |
| Jackson County | 2,643 | 2025 | 6.5% |
| Highland County | 3,389 | 2025 | 5% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Pike County in 2025-26?
2,156: 990 antlered and 1,166 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 2,193.
Is there public hunting land in Pike County?
14,639 acres, 5.2% 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 (13,355 acres). ODNR's layer shows 5 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Pike County?
1,029 of the 2,156 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 Ross County Adams County Scioto County Jackson County Highland County