Maryland Reports 2024 Early Deer Season Results
Deer hunters enjoy successful early season with increased harvest compared to 2023
Photo by Mary Pat Bozel, submitted to the Maryland DNR Photo Contest
Maryland hunters harvested 20,592 deer during the early portion of the 2024 archery and muzzleloader seasons. The harvest was a 24% increase from last year’s official harvest of 16,631 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. Good weather conditions and increased hunter effort were primarily responsible for the increased harvest this year, according to Maryland Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Heritage Service Associate Director Brian Eyler.
Along with the annual deer firearm season, archery and muzzleloader deer hunting are essential components of the state’s deer management program and assist with controlling abundant deer populations across Maryland.
The two-month harvest included 12,281 deer taken during the archery season and 8,144 harvested during the October muzzleloader season. An additional 167 deer were reported during managed hunts. The archery harvest increased 21% while the muzzleloader harvest increased 29% compared to the previous year. The sika deer harvest increased 19% from 1,477 deer to 1,764 deer.
Hunters harvested 984 deer on Sundays that were open to archery hunting, accounting for 8% of the total archery harvest.
Maryland Early Season Deer Harvest Through October 31, 2024
Antlered
Antlerless
Total
2023
2024
%Change
2023
2024
%Change
2023
2024
%Change
Allegany
433
465
7.4
278
404
45.3
711
869
22.2
Anne Arundel
176
253
43.8
284
399
40.5
460
652
41.7
Baltimore
548
609
11.1
795
970
22.0
1,343
1,579
17.6
Calvert
139
163
17.3
189
284
50.3
328
447
36.3
Caroline
whitetail
151
167
10.6
248
393
58.5
399
560
40.4
sika
0
0
*
1
0
*
1
0
*
Carroll
473
517
9.3
678
845
24.6
1,151
1,362
18.3
Cecil
303
345
13.9
457
546
19.5
760
891
17.2
Charles
221
340
53.8
319
490
53.6
540
830
53.7
Dorchester
whitetail
133
110
-17.3
138
242
75.4
271
352
29.9
sika
676
805
19.1
637
732
14.9
1,313
1,537
17.1
Frederick
561
692
23.4
777
856
10.2
1,338
1,548
15.7
Garrett
770
807
4.8
523
563
7.6
1,293
1,370
6.0
Harford
289
392
35.6
476
644
35.3
765
1,036
35.4
Howard
215
222
3.3
398
429
7.8
613
651
6.2
Kent
288
268
-6.9
259
412
59.1
547
680
24.3
Montgomery
330
371
12.4
605
624
3.1
935
995
6.4
Prince George’s
156
203
30.1
218
318
45.9
374
521
39.3
Queen Anne’s
184
213
15.8
300
501
67.0
484
714
47.5
St. Mary’s
232
290
25.0
304
479
57.6
536
769
43.5
Somerset
whitetail
120
135
12.5
169
244
44.4
289
379
31.1
sika
2
9
*
3
4
*
5
13
*
Talbot
145
142
-2.1
149
254
70.5
294
396
34.7
Washington
509
626
23.0
529
650
22.9
1,038
1,276
22.9
Wicomico
whitetail
150
185
23.3
220
357
62.3
370
542
46.5
sika
53
94
*
57
65
*
110
159
*
Worcester
whitetail
129
171
32.6
186
238
28.0
315
409
29.8
sika
28
25
*
20
30
*
48
55
*
Total
7,414
8,619
16.3
9,217
11,973
29.9
16,631
20,592
23.8
*Small sample size
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