Wayne County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Wayne County covers 557 square miles around Wooster. Hunters checked 3,562 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 1,765 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is up 6% from 2024, and the most in the 4 years shown. 2.2% of Wayne County is public land open to the public, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (6,178 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 landWayne CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 356,274 acres (557 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 3,562 (1,353 antlered, 2,209 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 1,765 archery, 1,797 gun |
| Public land | 2.2% (7,766 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 3 (6,178 acres inside Wayne County) |
| Towns in and near it | Wooster, Rittman, Orrville, Clinton, Wilmot and Brewster |
How many deer are harvested in Wayne County?
Hunters checked 3,562 deer in Wayne County in 2025-26: 1,353 antlered and 2,209 antlerless. Archers took 1,765 and gun hunters 1,797.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 3,562 | 1,353 | 2,209 | 1,765 | 1,797 |
| 2024-25 | 3,359 | 1,238 | 2,121 | 1,570 | 1,789 |
| 2023-24 | 2,986 | 1,188 | 1,798 | 1,553 | |
| 2021-22 | 2,641 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Wayne County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 1,141 bucks, 1,217 does and 283 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Wayne County?
7,766 of Wayne County's 356,274 acres are public land open to the public (2.2%). The biggest share is land on ODNR's hunting map: 6,178 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Wayne County |
|---|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 6,178 | 1.7% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 838 | 0.2% |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 739 | 0.2% |
| Other state land | 11 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 7,766 | 2.2% |
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 Wayne County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Wayne County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area: 4,547 acres
- Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area: 1,403 acres
- Shreve Lake Wildlife Area: 228 acres
How do you get to Wayne County?
Highways through it: OH 3 (about 39 miles inside), OH 83 (about 31 miles inside), OH 94 (about 22 miles inside), OH 585 (about 20 miles inside) and OH 604 (about 20 miles inside). Towns inside: Wooster, Rittman, Orrville, Creston, Doylestown and Dalton. Nearby: Clinton (on the line), Wilmot (on the line), Brewster (2 miles) and Seville (2 miles).
Which counties border Wayne County?
Wayne County touches 5 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stark County | 4,466 | 2025 | 4.3% |
| Holmes County | 5,717 | 2025 | 0.6% |
| Medina County | 3,133 | 2025 | 4.3% |
| Summit County | 1,922 | 2025 | 14.3% |
| Ashland County | 5,108 | 2025 | 3.8% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Wayne County in 2025-26?
3,562: 1,353 antlered and 2,209 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 3,359.
Is there public hunting land in Wayne County?
7,766 acres, 2.2% 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 (6,178 acres). ODNR's layer shows 3 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Wayne County?
1,765 of the 3,562 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 Stark County Holmes County Medina County Summit County Ashland County