Sandusky County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Sandusky County covers 412 square miles around Fremont. Hunters checked 1,485 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 794 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is up 9% from 2024, and the most in the 4 years shown. 3.4% of Sandusky County is public land open to the public, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (4,123 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 mapNational wildlife refugesOther state landMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landSandusky CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 263,435 acres (412 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 1,485 (606 antlered, 879 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 794 archery, 691 gun |
| Public land | 3.4% (8,856 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 13 (4,123 acres inside Sandusky County) |
| Towns in and near it | Fremont, Clyde, Gibsonburg, Bellevue, Risingsun and Bettsville |
How many deer are harvested in Sandusky County?
Hunters checked 1,485 deer in Sandusky County in 2025-26: 606 antlered and 879 antlerless. Archers took 794 and gun hunters 691.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1,485 | 606 | 879 | 794 | 691 |
| 2024-25 | 1,364 | 533 | 831 | 715 | 649 |
| 2023-24 | 1,181 | 519 | 662 | 659 | |
| 2021-22 | 1,014 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Sandusky County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 445 bucks, 456 does and 113 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Sandusky County?
8,856 of Sandusky County's 263,435 acres are public land open to the public (3.4%). The biggest share is land on ODNR's hunting map: 4,123 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Sandusky County |
|---|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 4,123 | 1.6% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 3,207 | 1.2% |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 1,391 | 0.5% |
| Other state land | 135 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 8,856 | 3.4% |
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 Sandusky County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Sandusky County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area: 3,165 acres
- Ringneck Ridge Wildlife Area: 362 acres
- Ron Abraham Forest: 116 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 31 Wildlife Area: 75 acres
- Resthaven Wildlife Area: 66 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 30 Wildlife Area: 58 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 18 Wildlife Area: 50 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 50 Wildlife Area: 48 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 59 Wildlife Area: 48 acres
- Willow Point Wildlife Area: 42 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 14 Wildlife Area: 40 acres
- Aldrich Pond Wildlife Area: 40 acres
- Millers Blue Hole Wildlife Area: 13 acres
How do you get to Sandusky County?
Highways through it: US 20 (about 62 miles inside), I-90 (about 54 miles inside), I-80 (about 54 miles inside), US 6 (about 22 miles inside) and OH 590 (about 15 miles inside). Towns inside: Fremont, Clyde, Gibsonburg, Lindsey, Woodville and Green Springs. Nearby: Bellevue (on the line), Risingsun (on the line), Bettsville (on the line) and Elmore (on the line).
Which counties border Sandusky County?
Sandusky County touches 5 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erie County | 1,161 | 2025 | 5.3% |
| Wood County | 1,434 | 2025 | 0.8% |
| Huron County | 3,520 | 2025 | 0.9% |
| Ottawa County | 851 | 2025 | 9.6% |
| Seneca County | 3,017 | 2025 | 0.6% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Sandusky County in 2025-26?
1,485: 606 antlered and 879 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 1,364.
Is there public hunting land in Sandusky County?
8,856 acres, 3.4% 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 (4,123 acres). ODNR's layer shows 13 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Sandusky County?
794 of the 1,485 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 Erie County Wood County Huron County Ottawa County Seneca County