December 8th, 2019 by WCBC Radio
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced that hunters reported 8,061 deer taken on opening day of the 2019 Maryland firearm season, Nov. 30. This represents a 29% increase over last year’s Saturday opener. The overall weekend harvest of 9,201 was down 9% from 2018 due to nearly non-stop rain and wind across the state on Sunday.
The harvest total includes 4,248 antlered and 4,953 antlerless deer, including 147 antlered and 126 antlerless sika deer. The two-week deer firearm season runs through Dec. 14.
“Rain once again plagued hunters this year for part of the opening weekend, but many hunters took advantage of a dry Saturday and were still able to put venison in the freezer,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul Peditto said. “The strong antlerless harvest for the weekend is reassuring, and is vital for managing deer numbers in the state.”
Hunters in Region A — Allegany, Garrett, and western Washington counties — harvested 878 antlered deer. Hunters in Region B — the rest of the state — harvested 3,370 antlered and 4,953 antlerless deer.
Junior hunters enjoyed excellent deer hunting weather and harvested 2,423 deer during the Junior Deer Hunt Days on November 16 – 17. The harvest was 12% higher than the official harvest of 2,164 last year. Juniors registered 1,471 antlered and 952 antlerless deer.
| Maryland Unofficial Results of Junior Deer Hunt (Nov. 16-17, 2019) and Opening Weekend Firearm Deer Season (Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, 2019) |
| County | Junior Hunt | Opening Weekend Firearm Season | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | Sunday | Total | ||||||||
| Antlered | Antlerless | Junior Total |
Antlered | Antlerless | Total | Antlered | Antlerless | Total | ||
| Allegany | 132 | 50 | 182 | 253 | 0 | 253 | 37 | 0 | 37 | 290 |
| Ann Arundel | 11 | 10 | 21 | 70 | 109 | 179 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 202 |
| Baltimore | 24 | 10 | 34 | 151 | 259 | 410 | * | * | * | 410 |
| Calvert | 14 | 6 | 20 | 46 | 78 | 124 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 134 |
| Caroline | 37 | 45 | 82 | 110 | 212 | 322 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 375 |
| Carroll | 101 | 68 | 169 | 333 | 472 | 805 | 29 | 30 | 59 | 864 |
| Cecil | ||||||||||
| whitetail | 52 | 39 | 91 | 134 | 264 | 398 | 24 | 37 | 61 | 459 |
| sika | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Charles | 55 | 34 | 89 | 121 | 143 | 264 | 18 | 29 | 47 | 311 |
| Dorchester | ||||||||||
| whitetail | 32 | 27 | 59 | 95 | 93 | 188 | 25 | 41 | 66 | 254 |
| sika | 12 | 21 | 33 | 99 | 82 | 181 | 39 | 38 | 77 | 258 |
| Frederick | 154 | 78 | 232 | 428 | 529 | 957 | 44 | 70 | 114 | 1,071 |
| Garrett | 249 | 118 | 367 | 363 | 0 | 363 | 62 | 0 | 62 | 425 |
| Harford | 22 | 17 | 39 | 122 | 217 | 339 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 365 |
| Howard | 15 | 9 | 24 | 79 | 91 | 170 | * | * | * | 170 |
| Kent | 54 | 36 | 90 | 144 | 248 | 392 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 442 |
| Montgomery | 41 | 36 | 77 | 102 | 164 | 266 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 284 |
| Prince George’s | 12 | 9 | 21 | 86 | 91 | 177 | * | * | * | 177 |
| Queen Anne’s | 46 | 39 | 85 | 159 | 234 | 393 | 11 | 32 | 43 | 436 |
| Somerset | 44 | 47 | 91 | 76 | 165 | 241 | 19 | 38 | 57 | 298 |
| whitetail | 44 | 47 | 91 | 76 | 165 | 241 | 19 | 38 | 57 | 298 |
| sika | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Mary’s | 24 | 29 | 53 | 78 | 97 | 175 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 208 |
| Talbot | 40 | 32 | 72 | 94 | 181 | 275 | 9 | 36 | 45 | 320 |
| Washington | 122 | 45 | 167 | 352 | 166 | 518 | 44 | 35 | 79 | 597 |
| Wicomico | ||||||||||
| whitetail | 85 | 78 | 163 | 104 | 160 | 264 | 26 | 45 | 71 | 335 |
| sika | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| Worcester | ||||||||||
| whitetail | 90 | 68 | 158 | 148 | 247 | 395 | 32 | 74 | 106 | 501 |
| sika | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 1,471 | 952 | 2,423 | 3,754 | 4,307 | 8,061 | 494 | 646 | 1,140 | 9,201 |
| *Sunday hunting not permitted. | ||||||||||
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December 08, 2019 at 8:46 pm, Steve said:
I think rifle season need to be cut back to 1 week like it used to be years ago. Not only that the bow season need to come in in oct I cant figure the deer kill is up I personally think people who hunt out of state are turning their deer in this state an that’s why the deer count is up in md as it always is many hunters I had spoken to hasn’t even seen a deer nor heard any shots while hunting especially on the 38000 acre Green Ridge area This is something to think about. In closing I hope this will make changes in next yr hunting.