East-central Ohio and central Wisconsin sit at the top of the bow list. Coshocton County in east-central Ohio topped 447 counties with 3.19 antlered bucks killed with a vertical bow or crossbow per square mile of land over 2022 to 2024. That works out to 1,801 bow bucks a year on about 564 square miles. Next are two central Wisconsin counties on their 2025 figures, Waupaca at 3.13 and Marquette at 3.07.
ILeading Bow Counties
Coshocton Tops the List at 3.19 and in Every Comparable Season
Ohio's hill country follows with Holmes at 2.89 and Tuscarawas at 2.85. Ohio has 11 of the top 25 counties. Coshocton sits 12th on our all-weapon buck list for 16 states and leads this bow-kill list. Bows took 58.4% of Coshocton's antlered buck harvest and 59.3% of Holmes County's.
Coshocton keeps its lead. Among 387 Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Missouri counties it finished first in each season from 2022 to 2024. Wisconsin is harder to place because its figures are for 2025 alone. That season includes county bow counts for Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin and puts Coshocton first among 231 counties at 3.55 bow bucks per square mile. Ohio's Carroll, Tuscarawas and Holmes also moved ahead of Waupaca and Marquette as those counties dropped to 5th and 6th.
Swipe table to see every column
| Rank | County | State | Seasons | Bow bucks a year | Land sq mi | Bow bucks per sq mi | Bow share of bucks % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coshocton | OH | 2022-24 | 1,801 | 563.9 | 3.19 | 58.4 |
| 2 | Waupaca | WI | 2025 | 2,341 | 747.7 | 3.13 | 45.1 |
| 3 | Marquette | WI | 2025 | 1,398 | 455.7 | 3.07 | 43.6 |
| 4 | Holmes | OH | 2022-24 | 1,220 | 422.6 | 2.89 | 59.3 |
| 5 | Tuscarawas | OH | 2022-24 | 1,615 | 567.6 | 2.85 | 55.8 |
| 6 | Waushara | WI | 2025 | 1,773 | 626.2 | 2.83 | 45.9 |
| 7 | Carroll | OH | 2022-24 | 1,070 | 394.7 | 2.71 | 51.8 |
| 8 | Harrison | OH | 2022-24 | 1,069 | 402.3 | 2.66 | 54.1 |
| 9 | Jackson | MI | 2022-24 | 1,749 | 701.9 | 2.49 | 44.1 |
| 10 | Livingston | MI | 2022-24 | 1,385 | 565.3 | 2.45 | 51.1 |
| 11 | Clinton | MI | 2022-24 | 1,366 | 567.3 | 2.41 | 40.9 |
| 12 | Shiawassee | MI | 2022-24 | 1,259 | 531.1 | 2.37 | 40.7 |
| 13 | Lapeer | MI | 2022-24 | 1,522 | 647.5 | 2.35 | 42.1 |
| 14 | Knox | OH | 2022-24 | 1,227 | 525.5 | 2.33 | 54.3 |
| 15 | Montcalm | MI | 2022-24 | 1,638 | 705.3 | 2.32 | 39.8 |
| 16 | Ionia | MI | 2022-24 | 1,308 | 571.3 | 2.29 | 41.1 |
| 17 | Guernsey | OH | 2022-24 | 1,194 | 522.2 | 2.29 | 54.5 |
| 18 | Green Lake | WI | 2025 | 787 | 349.5 | 2.25 | 40.4 |
| 19 | Shawano | WI | 2025 | 1,945 | 893.2 | 2.18 | 39.9 |
| 20 | Jefferson | OH | 2022-24 | 881 | 408.1 | 2.16 | 53.8 |
| 21 | Muskingum | OH | 2022-24 | 1,425 | 664.5 | 2.14 | 55.1 |
| 22 | Licking | OH | 2022-24 | 1,451 | 682.4 | 2.13 | 59.5 |
| 23 | Adams | WI | 2025 | 1,371 | 645.6 | 2.12 | 44.7 |
| 24 | Ashland | OH | 2022-24 | 877 | 423 | 2.07 | 53.3 |
| 25 | Saginaw | MI | 2022-24 | 1,660 | 800.8 | 2.07 | 44.2 |
| 26 | Genesee | MI | 2022-24 | 1,316 | 636.9 | 2.07 | 51.8 |
| 27 | Noble | OH | 2022-24 | 813 | 398 | 2.04 | 53.5 |
| 28 | Richland | OH | 2022-24 | 1,009 | 495.2 | 2.04 | 56.5 |
| 29 | Waukesha | WI | 2025 | 1,112 | 549.7 | 2.02 | 68.1 |
| 30 | Ingham | MI | 2022-24 | 1,116 | 556.1 | 2.01 | 42.5 |
Swipe table to see every column
| Rank | County | State | Bow bucks 2025 | Land sq mi | Bow bucks per sq mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coshocton | OH | 2,001 | 563.9 | 3.55 |
| 2 | Carroll | OH | 1,337 | 394.7 | 3.39 |
| 3 | Tuscarawas | OH | 1,886 | 567.6 | 3.32 |
| 4 | Holmes | OH | 1,393 | 422.6 | 3.3 |
| 5 | Waupaca | WI | 2,341 | 747.7 | 3.13 |
| 6 | Marquette | WI | 1,398 | 455.7 | 3.07 |
| 7 | Harrison | OH | 1,159 | 402.3 | 2.88 |
| 8 | Waushara | WI | 1,773 | 626.2 | 2.83 |
| 9 | Knox | OH | 1,438 | 525.5 | 2.74 |
| 10 | Livingston | MI | 1,424 | 565.3 | 2.52 |
IIOhio Bow Share
55.2% of Bucks Killed and Majorities in 68 of 88 Counties
Ohio stands apart because bows take more than half of the antlered bucks killed there. Over 2022 to 2024 the county appendix in the Ohio Division of Wildlife annual deer summary shows bows took 52,664 of the 95,373 antlered bucks killed a year for a share of 55.2%. The agency's 2025-26 summary prints the same three-season averages. Bows took most antlered bucks killed in 68 of Ohio's 88 counties.
Gun kills lead in the other states. Bows took 44.3% of the antlered buck harvest in Illinois, 42.1% in Wisconsin in 2025, 37.2% in Michigan and 18.5% in Missouri. Bows took most antlered bucks killed in 30 Illinois counties, 8 Wisconsin counties, 5 Michigan counties and none in Missouri. Among counties averaging at least 300 bucks a year the highest bow share belongs to Cuyahoga County around Cleveland at 90.4%. Our Ohio bow counties paper maps the share of all deer killed with archery gear in 2024, including does.
Swipe table to see every column
| State | Seasons | Counties | Bow bucks a year | All bucks a year | Bow share % | Bow bucks per sq mi | Best county (rank) | In top 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 2022-24 | 88 | 52,664 | 95,373 | 55.2 | 1.29 | Coshocton (1) | 17 |
| Illinois | 2022-24 | 102 | 34,081 | 76,958 | 44.3 | 0.61 | Jefferson (84) | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 2025 | 60 | 57,104 | 135,516 | 42.1 | 1.35 | Waupaca (2) | 12 |
| Michigan | 2022-24 | 83 | 60,110 | 161,647 | 37.2 | 1.06 | Jackson (9) | 21 |
| Missouri | 2022-24 | 114 | 25,740 | 139,173 | 18.5 | 0.37 | Jefferson (162) | 0 |
IIIWisconsin and Michigan
Michigan Has 21 of Its 83 Counties in the Bow Top 50
Michigan has 21 counties in the bow top 50 though bows took only 37.2% of its antlered buck harvest. Its overall buck kill per square mile is so high that its bow kill still ranks well. Jackson County tops Michigan at 2.49 and ranks 9th of 447. Livingston, Clinton, Shiawassee and Lapeer are close behind. The Michigan counts come from mandatory hunter reports in the Michigan DNR harvest report summary. Those reports totaled about 78% of the statewide survey estimate for 2022 to 2024 combined and 75% in 2024 alone. That means Michigan's bow counties may rank lower here than they would under the estimate.
Michigan's average was 60,110 bow bucks a year over 2022 to 2024, the highest of the five states. For 2025 alone Wisconsin's 60 ranked counties killed 57,104 bow bucks and Michigan's reports totaled 56,731, leaving the two about even. Wisconsin has 12 counties in the top 50. Waupaca ranks 2nd and Marquette 3rd, and those same counties lead our all-weapon list on agency counts. Wisconsin's 60 ranked counties averaged 1.35 bow bucks per square mile in 2025 versus Ohio's 1.29 for 2022 to 2024, putting Wisconsin slightly higher despite its much lower bow share. The 60 counties exclude Wisconsin's northern forest block and Menominee, together 22% of the state's land. WDNR's 2025 season tables supply both Wisconsin's bow and total buck figures. Waupaca's all-weapon kill stayed steady with 5,192 bucks in 2024 and 5,202 in 2025.
IVMissouri and Illinois
Neither State Has a County in the Bow Top 50
Jefferson County leads Illinois with 1.58 bow bucks per square mile and ranks 84th of 447. Missouri's leading county is another Jefferson County at 0.95 and 162nd.
At 44.3% Illinois has the second highest bow share among the five states. Hunters there kill 34,081 bow bucks a year, but that is 0.61 per square mile over the whole state. Missouri's hunters kill 139,173 antlered bucks a year with all weapons, with bows taking 18.5% of them. Missouri's annual 25,740 bow bucks work out to 0.37 per square mile.
VBow Count Limits
Our Data Lack County Buck Counts by Weapon for Three Neighbors
We combine vertical bows and crossbows as bow kill for every state here, while only Ohio and Wisconsin report them separately. We leave out Kentucky, Indiana and Iowa because our county data lack buck counts by weapon. For Missouri we include only antlered bucks. Illinois's bow count uses IDNR's archery adult and yearling males with crossbows, while the all-buck base for its share includes every season.
Only one Wisconsin season is included because 2025 is the only season of WDNR county tables by weapon that we hold. WDNR also printed those tables for earlier seasons, including 2014 to 2019. Wisconsin DNR's county harvest history lists 4 northern counties with a 2025 buck kill down by half or more from 2024. Our paper about Wisconsin's missing counties says WDNR redrew its Northern Forest units in 2025. The 2025 table does not tell us whether those county rows still cover each whole county, so the northern counties may sit lower here than in a typical year.
A high bow kill also reflects the number of bowhunters a county draws and how long its season runs.
VIBow County Picks
Begin With Three Ohio Counties and Two in Central Wisconsin
Our read is that bowhunters seeking the most bucks killed with a bow per square mile should begin with Coshocton, Holmes and Tuscarawas in Ohio and Waupaca and Marquette in Wisconsin. Give Coshocton the most weight because it led every comparison we could make, and Carroll, Tuscarawas and Holmes also beat the Wisconsin pair on 2025 alone. Harrison and Waushara follow, then southern Michigan's farm counties with reports that fall below the DNR's estimate. The bow kill in Illinois and Missouri is spread thinner, so choose a county there for other reasons and expect fewer bow-killed bucks per square mile.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Source: Ohio Division of Wildlife, Annual Summary of Ohio's Deer Hunting Season (Pub 5304), county appendix by season.
- Also: Wisconsin DNR deer metrics, county harvest.
- Also: Michigan DNR harvest report summary (county by season).
- Scope: Antlered bucks killed with a vertical bow or crossbow, by county: Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Michigan averaged over 2022 to 2024. Wisconsin 2025 only. 447 counties. Kentucky, Indiana and Iowa publish no county buck counts by weapon in FDR's data and are left out.
- Method: Bow bucks: IL archery adult plus yearling males (IDNR API, crossbows legal in archery season). MO ARCHERY Male Adult (MDC). OH CROSSBOW plus LONGBOW plus DSA early archery bucks (Pub 5304 Appendix 2). MI antlered in the early, late, extended, January and late urban archery segments (MDNR eLicense reports). WI 2025 ARCHERY plus CROSSBOW plus EXTENDED_ARCH_XBOW antlered, county plus metro sub-unit rows (WDNR season tables). All antlered bucks for the share use each state's all-season antlered county figures for the same seasons. Ohio's county sums match ODNR's printed three-year averages (52,664 archery bucks of 95,373 total bucks). Per square mile uses Census 2024 land area.
- Limits: Bow here means vertical bow plus crossbow in every state. Ohio and Wisconsin split the two, but the other three states do not.
- Limits: Wisconsin is one season, 2025, because it is the only season of WDNR county tables by weapon that we hold. WDNR also printed county tables by weapon for earlier seasons, among them 2014 to 2019. WDNR's 2025 figures show some northern counties far below 2024 (Lincoln fell from 1,930 to 718 bucks), so Wisconsin's northern counties may sit lower here than in a typical season.
- Limits: Michigan's figures are hunters' mandatory reports, which run below the DNR's survey estimate.
- Limits: A high count per square mile reflects how many bowhunters a county draws and its season rules as well as its deer. It does not tell you how crowded the woods are or how much ground is open to hunt.
- Limits: Kentucky, Indiana and Iowa are left out because FDR's data hold no county buck counts by weapon for them.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. Fully Drawn Research is an independent data and analysis desk. This paper reports FDR's own analysis of public agency and survey data. Harvest, catch and survey figures describe what hunters and anglers reported or what agencies counted or estimated, not how many animals or fish are present, and they reflect regulations and hunter or angler choices as well as wildlife numbers.
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