Maryland Reports 2023 Early Deer Season Results
Deer hunting opportunities still abound for the rest of the year
Photo by Rida Allen, submitted to Maryland DNR Photo Contest.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reports that hunters harvested 16,607 deer during the early portion of the 2023 archery and muzzleloader seasons. The harvest was an 18% decrease from last year’s official harvest of 20,267 deer for the same period.
The annual deer harvest fluctuates from year to year for a number of reasons, including hunter effort, weather conditions, availability of natural foods like acorns, and current population size of the herd. Less than ideal weather conditions for part of the early season and abundant acorns in many areas, which reduces deer mobility making them harder to hunt, contributed to the decline this year.
The two-month harvest included 10,140 deer taken during the archery season and 6,299 harvested during the October muzzleloader season. An additional 168 deer were reported during managed hunts. The archery harvest decreased 19% while the muzzleloader harvest decreased 17% compared to the previous year. The sika deer harvest decreased 9% from 1,624 deer to 1,476 deer.
Hunters harvested 911 deer on Sundays that were open to archery hunting, accounting for 9% of the total archery harvest.
Maryland Early Season Deer Harvest Through October 31, 2023
Antlered
Antlerless
Total
2023
2022
% Change
2023
2022
% Change
2023
2022
% Change
Allegany
433
430
0.7
277
417
-33.6
710
847
-16.2
Anne Arundel
177
234
-24.4
284
364
-22.0
461
598
-22.9
Baltimore
547
533
2.6
794
1,080
-26.5
1,341
1,613
-16.9
Calvert
139
175
-20.6
189
280
-32.5
328
455
-27.9
Caroline
whitetail
151
184
-17.9
248
393
-36.9
399
577
-30.8
sika
0
0
*
1
1
*
1
1
*
Carroll
472
520
-9.2
677
892
-24.1
1,149
1,412
-18.6
Cecil
303
346
-12.4
456
635
-28.2
759
981
-22.6
Charles
220
304
-27.6
317
382
-17.0
537
686
-21.7
Dorchester
whitetail
133
133
0
138
274
-49.6
271
407
-33.4
sika
675
745
-9.4
637
738
-13.7
1,312
1,483
-11.5
Frederick
560
633
-11.5
777
1,127
-31.1
1,337
1,760
-24.0
Garrett
770
893
-13.8
523
552
-5.3
1,293
1,445
-10.5
Harford
288
325
-11.4
476
682
-30.2
764
1,007
-24.1
Howard
215
200
7.5
397
471
-15.7
612
671
-8.8
Kent
286
257
11.3
259
439
-41.0
545
696
-21.7
Montgomery
328
323
1.5
605
657
-7.9
933
980
-4.8
Prince George’s
156
205
-23.9
217
285
-23.9
373
490
-23.9
Queen Anne’s
183
235
-22.1
300
431
-30.4
483
666
-27.5
St. Mary’s
230
267
-13.9
302
383
-21.1
532
650
-18.2
Somerset
whitetail
120
101
18.8
169
216
-21.8
289
317
-8.8
sika
2
15
*
3
1
*
5
16
*
Talbot
144
149
-3.4
149
198
-24.7
293
347
-15.6
Washington
508
570
-10.9
529
698
-24.2
1,037
1,268
-18.2
Wicomico
whitetail
150
133
12.8
220
282
-22.0
370
415
-10.8
sika
53
47
*
57
41
*
110
88
*
Worcester
whitetail
129
129
0
186
226
-17.7
315
355
-11.3
sika
28
17
*
20
19
*
48
36
*
Total
7,400
8,103
-8.7
9,207
12,164
-24.3
16,607
20,267
-18.1
*Small sample size
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