Maryland deer hunters reported a statewide harvest of 71,649 deer for the 2025-2026 season, covering archery, firearms, and muzzleloader periods from September 5, 2025, to February 4, 2026. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources released the final figures February 12, 2026, showing a decline attributed to factors including disease outbreaks in central and southern areas.
The total included 29,814 antlered and 37,925 antlerless white-tailed deer, plus 1,874 antlered and 2,036 antlerless sika deer. This marked a 14.9% drop from the 84,201 deer harvested in 2024-2025 and a 7.2% decrease from the five-year average of 77,221.
Harvest fluctuations stem from variables such as hunter participation, weather, natural food availability like acorns, disease events, and pre-season population levels. Multiple counties in central and southern Maryland faced epizootic hemorrhagic disease outbreaks in late summer and fall 2025, which reduced local deer numbers and contributed to lower takes in affected zones. Officials noted the outbreak should not cause lasting impacts on populations.
| Maryland Reported Antlered and Antlerless Deer Harvest for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 Hunting Seasons | |||||||||
| Antlered | Antlerless | Total | |||||||
| County | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | % Change | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | % Change | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | % Change |
| Allegany | 1,868 | 1,739 | -6.9 | 1,544 | 1,185 | -23.3 | 3,412 | 2,924 | -14.3 |
| Anne Arundel | 898 | 579 | -35.5 | 1,371 | 843 | -38.5 | 2,269 | 1,422 | -37.3 |
| Baltimore | 2,109 | 2,008 | -4.8 | 3,130 | 2,771 | -11.5 | 5,239 | 4,779 | -8.8 |
| Calvert | 658 | 524 | -20.4 | 1,062 | 700 | -34.1 | 1,720 | 1,224 | -28.8 |
| Caroline | |||||||||
| whitetail | 878 | 914 | 4.1 | 2,262 | 1,622 | -28.3 | 3,140 | 2,536 | -19.2 |
| sika | 2 | 2 | * | 2 | 2 | * | 4 | 4 | * |
| Carroll | 2,368 | 2,340 | -1.2 | 3,620 | 2,928 | -19.1 | 5,988 | 5,268 | -12.0 |
| Cecil | 1,325 | 1,320 | -0.4 | 2,260 | 1,839 | -18.6 | 3,585 | 3,159 | -11.9 |
| Charles | 1,356 | 873 | -35.6 | 2,012 | 1,222 | -39.3 | 3,368 | 2,095 | -37.8 |
| Dorchester | |||||||||
| whitetail | 637 | 698 | 9.6 | 1,278 | 967 | -24.3 | 1,915 | 1,665 | -13.1 |
| sika | 1,840 | 1,639 | -10.9 | 2,319 | 1,800 | -22.4 | 4,159 | 3,439 | -17.3 |
| Frederick | 3,012 | 2,899 | -3.8 | 3,857 | 3,443 | -10.7 | 6,869 | 6,342 | -7.7 |
| Garrett | 3,238 | 3,058 | -5.6 | 2,375 | 2,088 | -12.1 | 5,613 | 5,146 | -8.3 |
| Harford | 1,386 | 1,286 | -7.2 | 2,414 | 1,876 | -22.3 | 3,800 | 3,162 | -16.8 |
| Howard | 852 | 837 | -1.8 | 1,329 | 1,268 | -4.6 | 2,181 | 2,105 | -3.5 |
| Kent | 1,220 | 1,202 | -1.5 | 2,284 | 1,816 | -20.5 | 3,504 | 3,018 | -13.9 |
| Montgomery | 1,379 | 1,229 | -10.9 | 2,085 | 1,840 | -11.8 | 3,464 | 3,069 | -11.4 |
| Prince George’s | 755 | 466 | -38.3 | 1,051 | 532 | -49.4 | 1,806 | 998 | -44.7 |
| Queen Anne’s | 1,212 | 1,271 | 4.9 | 2,554 | 2,084 | -18.4 | 3,766 | 3,355 | -10.9 |
| St. Mary’s | 1,003 | 835 | -16.7 | 1,470 | 1,098 | -25.3 | 2,473 | 1,933 | -21.8 |
| Somerset | |||||||||
| whitetail | 730 | 632 | -13.4 | 1,373 | 1,178 | -14.2 | 2,103 | 1,810 | -13.9 |
| sika | 26 | 25 | -3.8 | 11 | 11 | 0.0 | 37 | 36 | -2.7 |
| Talbot | 745 | 713 | -4.3 | 1,557 | 1,238 | -20.5 | 2,302 | 1,951 | -15.2 |
| Washington | 2,477 | 2,337 | -5.7 | 2,589 | 2,223 | -14.1 | 5,066 | 4,560 | -10.0 |
| Wicomico | |||||||||
| whitetail | 945 | 949 | 0.4 | 1,832 | 1,525 | -16.8 | 2,777 | 2,474 | -10.9 |
| sika | 222 | 163 | -26.6 | 227 | 150 | -33.9 | 449 | 313 | -30.3 |
| Worcester | |||||||||
| whitetail | 1,097 | 1,105 | 0.7 | 1,962 | 1,639 | -16.5 | 3,059 | 2,744 | -10.3 |
| sika | 53 | 45 | -15.1 | 80 | 73 | -8.8 | 133 | 118 | -11.3 |
| Total | 34,291 | 31,688 | -7.6 | 49,910 | 39,961 | -19.9 | 84,201 | 71,649 | -14.9 |
| *Small sample size | |||||||||
Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Karina Stonesifer addressed the results: “Although deer harvest was down across much of the state, the total harvest was in line with fluctuations we have seen in the past. Our thanks go to Maryland’s deer hunters for another season contributing to the management of this species and for generating millions of dollars for the state’s economy and for conservation.”
Sunday hunting accounted for 6,998 deer, or 9.8% of the total, permitted only during specific weeks in 20 of Maryland’s 23 counties.
Region A (Western Maryland) saw an 11.4% decline, from 10,275 to 9,107 deer, with 5,463 antlered and 3,644 antlerless.
Region B (remainder of the state) dropped 15.4%, from 73,926 to 62,542 deer, including 26,225 antlered and 36,317 antlerless.
Frederick County led whitetail harvests with 6,342 deer, down 7.7% from prior year, followed by Carroll at 5,268, Garrett at 5,146, Baltimore at 4,779, and Washington at 4,560.
Hunting serves as a primary tool to manage deer populations, curbing agricultural damage, overbrowsing that promotes invasive plants, and ecosystem strain in urban-suburban settings where deer numbers have grown.
The next archery season begins in September 2026. Licenses, sika stamps, archery stamps, and muzzleloader stamps are available online via the MD Outdoors site, through agents, or by calling DNR Licensing at 866-344-8889. Fees support hunter recruitment and education, habitat restoration, Wildlife Management Area upkeep, landowner assistance, and wildlife law enforcement.
The harvest data reinforces regulated hunting’s role in balancing wildlife populations while sustaining economic benefits through conservation funding in Maryland, including Southern Maryland counties impacted by the recent disease event.