Vinton County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Vinton County covers 415 square miles around McArthur. Hunters checked 1,931 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 804 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is down 10% from 2024. 18.9% of Vinton County is public land open to the public, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (47,985 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 forestOther state landMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landVinton CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 265,676 acres (415 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 1,931 (899 antlered, 1,032 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 804 archery, 1,127 gun |
| Public land | 18.9% (50,226 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 9 (47,978 acres inside Vinton County) |
| Towns in and near it | McArthur, Hamden, Zaleski, Wellston, Vinton and Albany |
How many deer are harvested in Vinton County?
Hunters checked 1,931 deer in Vinton County in 2025-26: 899 antlered and 1,032 antlerless. Archers took 804 and gun hunters 1,127.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1,931 | 899 | 1,032 | 804 | 1,127 |
| 2024-25 | 2,156 | 1,027 | 1,129 | 946 | 1,210 |
| 2023-24 | 1,708 | 814 | 894 | 817 | |
| 2021-22 | 2,433 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Vinton County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 1,227 bucks, 1,028 does and 178 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Vinton County?
50,226 of Vinton County's 265,676 acres are public land open to the public (18.9%). The biggest share is land on ODNR's hunting map: 47,985 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Vinton County |
|---|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 47,985 | 18.1% |
| National forest | 1,900 | 0.7% |
| Other state land | 341 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 50,226 | 18.9% |
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 Vinton County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Vinton County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Zaleski State Forest: 25,117 acres
- Vinton Furnace Experimental Forest: 12,331 acres
- Vinton Furnace Wildlife Area: 3,533 acres
- Tar Hollow State Forest: 2,347 acres
- Superior Wildlife Area: 2,342 acres
- Wellston Wildlife Area: 1,497 acres
- Turkey Ridge Wildlife Area: 377 acres
- Lake Alma State Park: 325 acres
- Richland Furnace State Forest: 109 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Wayne National Forest (1,900 acres).
How do you get to Vinton County?
Highways through it: US 50 (about 30 miles inside), OH 93 (about 19 miles inside), OH 160 (about 19 miles inside), OH 32 (about 15 miles inside) and OH 327 (about 14 miles inside). Towns inside: McArthur, Hamden, Zaleski and Wilkesville. Nearby: Wellston (2 miles), Vinton (3 miles), Albany (4 miles) and Coalton (4 miles).
Which counties border Vinton County?
Vinton County touches 6 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ross County | 3,402 | 2025 | 7.6% |
| Meigs County | 1,060 | 2025 | 3.8% |
| Athens County | 917 | 2025 | 11.9% |
| Gallia County | 2,956 | 2025 | 11.8% |
| Hocking County | 2,643 | 2025 | 17.5% |
| Jackson County | 2,643 | 2025 | 6.5% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Vinton County in 2025-26?
1,931: 899 antlered and 1,032 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 2,156.
Is there public hunting land in Vinton County?
50,226 acres, 18.9% 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 (47,985 acres). ODNR's layer shows 9 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Vinton County?
804 of the 1,931 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 Meigs County Athens County Gallia County Hocking County Jackson County