Wood County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Wood County covers 621 square miles around Bowling Green. Hunters checked 1,434 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 699 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. 0.8% of Wood County is public land open to the public, the largest share metro parks, county and city land (1,723 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 landWood CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 397,163 acres (621 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 1,434 (687 antlered, 747 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 699 archery, 735 gun |
| Public land | 0.8% (3,096 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 12 (671 acres inside Wood County) |
| Towns in and near it | Bowling Green, Perrysburg, Northwood, Fostoria, Waterville and Deshler |
How many deer are harvested in Wood County?
Hunters checked 1,434 deer in Wood County in 2025-26: 687 antlered and 747 antlerless. Archers took 699 and gun hunters 735.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1,434 | 687 | 747 | 699 | 735 |
| 2024-25 | 1,354 | 617 | 737 | 641 | 713 |
| 2023-24 | 1,225 | 600 | 625 | 588 | |
| 2021-22 | 997 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Wood County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 487 bucks, 418 does and 92 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Wood County?
3,096 of Wood County's 397,163 acres are public land open to the public (0.8%). The biggest share is metro parks, county and city land: 1,723 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Wood County |
|---|---|---|
| Metro parks, county and city land | 1,723 | 0.4% |
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 672 | 0.2% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 617 | 0.2% |
| Other state land | 84 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 3,096 | 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 Wood County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Wood County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Van Tassel Wildlife Area: 102 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 6 Wildlife Area: 77 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 8 Wildlife Area: 73 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 20 Wildlife Area: 72 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 11 Wildlife Area: 72 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 44 Wildlife Area: 64 acres
- Mary Jane Thurston State Park: 49 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 58 Wildlife Area: 40 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 42 Wildlife Area: 39 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 21 Wildlife Area: 39 acres
- Wildlife Production Area 3 Wildlife Area: 38 acres
- Maumee River Weir Rapids Wildlife Area: 6 acres
How do you get to Wood County?
Highways through it: I-75 (about 66 miles inside), OH 25 (about 41 miles inside), US 23 (about 35 miles inside), OH 199 (about 31 miles inside) and US 6 (about 28 miles inside). Towns inside: Bowling Green, Perrysburg, Northwood, Rossford, North Baltimore and Walbridge. Nearby: Fostoria (on the line), Waterville (on the line), Deshler (on the line) and Maumee (on the line).
Which counties border Wood County?
Wood County touches 7 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry County | 1,181 | 2025 | 0.8% |
| Lucas County | 965 | 2025 | 10% |
| Ottawa County | 851 | 2025 | 9.6% |
| Putnam County | 1,376 | 2025 | 0.1% |
| Seneca County | 3,017 | 2025 | 0.6% |
| Hancock County | 2,345 | 2025 | 0.8% |
| Sandusky County | 1,485 | 2025 | 3.4% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Wood County in 2025-26?
1,434: 687 antlered and 747 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 1,354.
Is there public hunting land in Wood County?
3,096 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 (1,723 acres). ODNR's layer shows 12 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Wood County?
699 of the 1,434 deer checked in 2025-26 were taken with a crossbow or longbow (Division of Wildlife).
Get a Ohio hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Ohio are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Ohio included.
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 Henry County Lucas County Ottawa County Putnam County Seneca County Hancock County Sandusky County