Jefferson County leads the district in this category, ranking 13th with 241 all-time entries. It had 14 new entries. Ashland County had 13 new entries, and with 142 all-time entries, ranks 26th. Harrison County has 179 all-time entries, ranking it 20th, but it slipped slightly with 11 new entries.

Tuscarawas County led District Three last year, and was fifth in the state, with hunters taking 2,401 antlered deer. Jefferson County was second in the district and seventh in the state with 2,147 bucks, followed by Harrison County -- eighth in the state -- with 2,026 antlered deer. More than 1,000 bucks were killed in nine of the district's 19 counties.

One thing that sets Ohio apart from many other deer-hunting states is its trophy buck production on public-hunting lands.

"The one place that I continually mention is Grand River Wildlife Area in Trumbull County," Kramer said. "It's a very large area and is not hunted as hard as it could be.

Grand River Wildlife Area covers 6,993 acres in the western part of Trumbull County near Farmington.

DISTRICT FOUR
Between 2004 and 2005, the antlered deer kill dropped 7 percent in District Four. But it is -- and has been -- Ohio's leading district for buck hunting by a wide margin.

Last year, hunters in District Four took 31,821 antlered deer. That was 49 percent more than the second-place district and 38 percent of the statewide total!

There's much more public hunting ground here than in any other district, notably Wayne National Forest.

In addition to buck kills, District Four leads the state by a wide margin in Buckeye Big Buck Club entries, both all-time and new entries. Its 4,447 all-time entries make up 42 percent of the total for the state. Its 172 new entries comprise 28 percent of new entries.

Muskingum County led District Four with 21 new entries. It also leads the state with 491 all-time entries. Ross County was second, with 15 new entries, followed by Washington County (14) and Athens County (12).

On the all-time list, Hocking County is second in the district and third in the state, with 318. Athens County, with 310, is third in the district and fourth in the state. Guernsey County (308) is fourth in the district and fifth in the state. With 283 entries, Coshocton County is fifth in the district and sixth in the state.

Ross, Belmont, Meigs, Perry, Vinton, Morgan, and Gallia counties are all in the top 20.

Coshocton County led District Four and the state last year, with a take of 2,910 antlered deer. Since 2000, the five-year average has been 2,577 antlered deer.

Muskingum County was second in both the district and the state at 2,638 antlered deer, down 6 percent from last year.

Guernsey County was third in the district, fourth in the state, with 2,428 antlered deer.

Belmont County is also a leading deer county, where hunters took 2,012 antlered deer last year, ranking ninth in the state. Last year, more than 1,000 antlered deer were taken from all but two of the 19 counties in District Four. Of the 19 counties in this district, 15 ranked among the top 24 counties in the state for antlered deer taken last year.

The district offers numerous excellent public lands for deer hunters.