Maryland Reports Strong 2022 Early Deer Season Results

November 14, 2022

Early Muzzleloader and Archery Harvests Increase 24%

Sika deer, photo by Brian Griffith

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reports that hunters harvested 20,220 deer during the early portion of the 2022 archery and muzzleloader seasons. The harvest was a 24% increase from last year’s official harvest of 16,314 deer for the same period.

The early season rebound was largely attributed to improved weather for hunting and increased hunter effort when compared to the previous year. The impacts of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) were also less prevalent, although an outbreak in Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties has caused a decrease in the early harvest. EHD occurs annually in Maryland deer and does not have long-lasting effects for the deer population, nor is it harmful to humans.

The two-month harvest included 12,498 deer taken during the archery season and 7,613 harvested during the October muzzleloader season. An additional 109 deer were reported during managed hunts. The archery harvest increased 32% while the muzzleloader harvest increased 13% compared to the previous year. The sika deer harvest increased 34% from 1,211 deer to 1,623 deer.

Hunters harvested 885 deer on Sundays that were open to archery hunting during the period, accounting for 7% of the total archery harvest.

Maryland Early Season Deer Harvest, September 9 – October 31, 2022
Antlered Antlerless Total
2021 2022 % Change 2021 2022 % Change 2021 2022 % Change
Allegany 399 430 7.8 336 416 23.8 735 846 15.1
Anne Arundel 206 234 13.6 281 364 29.5 487 598 22.8
Baltimore 480 532 10.1 822 1,073 33.2 1,302 1,605 22.8
Calvert 175 175 0 217 278 28.1 391 453 15.6
Caroline
whitetail 178 184 3.4 222 393 77.0 400 577 44.3
sika 0 0 * 0 1 * 0 1 *
Carroll 415 519 25.1 724 889 22.8 1,139 1,408 23.6
Cecil 278 336 24.0 480 634 32.1 759 980 29.1
Charles 226 303 34.1 256 379 48.0 482 682 41.5
Dorchester
whitetail 153 133 -13.1 200 274 37.0 353 407 15.3
sika 531 745 40.3 548 737 34.5 1,079 1,482 37.3
Frederick 544 633 16.4 762 1,126 47.8 1,306 1,759 34.7
Garrett 619 893 44.3 412 549 33.3 1,031 1,432 39.9
Harford 340 323 -5.0 507 680 34.1 844 1,003 18.4
Howard 209 200 -4.3 385 467 21.3 594 667 12.3
Kent 265 257 -3.0 314 438 39.5 579 695 20.0
Montgomery 296 321 8.3 553 655 18.4 849 976 15.0
Prince George’s 196 205 4.6 238 283 18.9 434 488 12.4
Queen Anne’s 241 235 -2.1 330 431 30.6 571 666 16.6
St. Mary’s 186 267 43.5 234 381 62.8 420 648 54.3
Somerset
whitetail 109 100 -8.3 203 216 4.9 315 316 0.3
sika 4 15 * 2 1 * 6 16 *
Talbot 152 149 -2.0 185 198 7.0 337 347 3.0
Washington 399 570 42.9 463 698 50.8 862 1,268 47.1
Wicomico
whitetail 167 133 -20.4 298 279 -6.4 465 412 -11.4
sika 56 47 * 39 41 * 95 88 *
Worcester
whitetail 170 128 -24.7 269 226 -16.0 439 354 -19.4
sika 16 17 * 15 19 * 31 36 *
Total 7,014 8,094 15.4 9,300 12,126 30.4 16,314 20,220 23.9
*Small sample size