Carroll County had the second highest reported deer harvest this season, with hunters bringing in a total of 5,729 white-tailed deer, according to the latest numbers from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Of the 5,729 deer harvested in the county from Sept. 8 to Feb. 3, 2,470 had antlers and 3,259 did not have antlers. Carroll came in second behind Frederick County (6,549 deer) and ahead of third place Garrett County (5,108).
“Carroll County is full of deer,” said Bill Gmeinweiser, a resident of Marriottsville, along the border of Carroll and Howard counties. “I hunted a small farm of about 11 acres [in Carroll County] and always harvested deer. Carroll County has a very large deer population.”
Gmeinweiser said he has been hunting deer for about 50 years, 35 of those years as a bow hunter, and has killed more than 200 deer. As the owner of BG DEER HUNTING, he offers “ethical and sustainable methods” of deer hunting to help property owners who are overrun by deer.
Gmeinweiser said with development comes more deer being forced out of their natural habitat.
“I’ve been a [building] contractor for 35 years, and I’ve been on job sites where we’ve seen huge bucks walk right by,” he said. “I can’t believe it.”
Hunters statewide harvested 72,642 deer during the combined bow, firearms and muzzleloader season, which started in September and ended Feb. 3, a Department of Natural Resources’ news release states. This included 30,025 antlered and 38,511 antlerless white-tailed deer. It also included 1,912 antlered and 2,194 antlerless sika deer.
“Maryland hunters enjoyed another successful season and managed to put some venison in their freezers,” Karina Stonesifer, director of the Department’s Wildlife and Heritage Service stated. “Deer hunting is essential for managing the state’s deer population and assists with reducing agricultural damage and deer vehicle collisions.”
The statewide deer harvest this season was 5% lower than the 2022-2023 season, which hauled in a total of 76,687 deer.
In Carroll County, the number of deer harvested this season was 1% lower than the 2022-2023 season, which brought in a total of 5,785 deer.
Meanwhile, at age 64, Gmeinweiser admitted that most of his avid hunting days are behind him. Family obligations have pulled him away from a sport he has enjoyed for decades.
“I’ve hunted in Carroll County and in Howard County, but that’s really a young man’s game,” he said.
