Photo by Mary Pat Bozel, submitted to the Maryland DNR Photo Contest
Deer hunters enjoy successful early season with increased harvest compared to 2023
Maryland 2024 - 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.
