The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reports that hunters harvested 16,281 deer during the first part of the archery and muzzleloading seasons. The harvest was down 17% from last year’s official harvest of 19,616 deer for the same period.
The decline in early season harvests has been attributed to multiple factors, including hot weather during the early part of the archery season, abundant natural food resources which slowed deer movements and some lingering effects. of a epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in some counties in Region B last year. EHD occurs annually in Maryland and has no lasting effects on the deer population, nor harmful to humans.
The two-month harvest included 9,483 deer captured during the archery season and 6,719 harvested during the October mouth-loading season. Another 79 deer have been reported during managed hunts. Archery harvest decreased 30% while archery harvest increased 11% from the previous year. The hunters collected 1,208 sika deer in total.
Hunters harvested 879 deer on Sundays open for archery hunting during the period, representing 9% of the total archery harvest.
| Maryland Early Season Deer Harvest, September 10 to October 31, 2021 | |||||||||
| wood | Without wood | Total | |||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | % Switch | 2021 | 2020 | % Switch | 2021 | 2020 | % Switch | |
| Allegania | 399 | 439 | -9.1 | 336 | 331 | 1.5 | 735 | 770 | -4.5 |
| Anne Arundel | 206 | 190 | 8.4 | 281 | 370 | -24.1 | 487 | 560 | -13.0 |
| Baltimore | 480 | 512 | -6.3 | 822 | 1 226 | -33.0 | 1,302 | 1738 | -25.1 |
| Calvert | 175 | 113 | 54.9 | 216 | 240 | -10.0 | 391 | 353 | 10.8 |
| Caroline | 178 | 157 | 13.4 | 222 | 342 | -35.1 | 400 | 499 | -19.8 |
| Carroll | 414 | 462 | -10.4 | 724 | 1,012 | -28.5 | 1 138 | 1 474 | -22.8 |
| Cecile | 278 | 329 | -15.5 | 480 | 661 | -27.4 | 758 | 990 | -23.4 |
| Charles | 225 | 251 | -10.4 | 255 | 329 | -22.5 | 480 | 580 | -17.2 |
| Dorchester | |||||||||
| white tail | 153 | 114 | 34.2 | 200 | 206 | -2.9 | 353 | 320 | 10.3 |
| sika | 528 | 534 | -1.1 | 548 | 584 | -6.2 | 1,076 | 1,118 | -3.8 |
| Frederick | 544 | 537 | 1.3 | 758 | 1,060 | -28.5 | 1,302 | 1,597 | -18.5 |
| Garrett | 619 | 705 | -12.2 | 412 | 527 | -21.8 | 1,031 | 1 232 | -16.3 |
| Harford | 338 | 347 | -2.6 | 506 | 709 | -28.6 | 844 | 1,056 | -20.1 |
| Howard | 208 | 213 | -2.3 | 385 | 517 | -25.5 | 593 | 730 | -18.8 |
| Kent | 264 | 233 | 13.3 | 314 | 396 | -20.7 | 578 | 629 | -8.1 |
| Montgomery | 296 | 331 | -10.6 | 553 | 841 | -34.2 | 849 | 1,172 | -27.6 |
| that of prince george | 195 | 154 | 26.6 | 238 | 265 | -10.2 | 433 | 419 | 3.3 |
| that of Queen Anne | 240 | 190 | 26.3 | 330 | 437 | -24.5 | 570 | 627 | -9.1 |
| Sainte Marie | 186 | 212 | -12.3 | 234 | 399 | -41.4 | 420 | 611 | -31.3 |
| Somerset | |||||||||
| white tail | 108 | 113 | -4.4 | 203 | 226 | -10.2 | 311 | 339 | -8.3 |
| sika | 4 | 4 | * | 2 | 4 | * | 6 | 8 | * |
| Talbot | 152 | 149 | 2.0 | 185 | 263 | -29.7 | 337 | 412 | -18.2 |
| Washington | 398 | 467 | -14.8 | 463 | 732 | -36.7 | 861 | 1 199 | -28.2 |
| Wicomico | |||||||||
| white tail | 166 | 183 | -9.3 | 295 | 392 | -24.7 | 461 | 575 | -19.8 |
| sika | 56 | 30 | * | 39 | 34 | * | 95 | 64 | * |
| Worcester | |||||||||
| white tail | 170 | 160 | 6.3 | 269 | 337 | -20.2 | 439 | four hundred ninety seven | -11.7 |
| sika | 16 | 19 | * | 15 | 28 | * | 31 | 47 | * |
| Total | 6,996 | 7,148 | -2.1 | 9 285 | 12,468 | -25.5 | 16 281 | 19,616 | -17.0 |
| * Small sample size |
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