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We began this column on November 19 when the hills were alive with the sounds of gunshots. The deer probably have this date marked on their calendars. After a long and leisurely summer of munching comes the payback.
We don’t pretend to know as much about deer as experienced hunters. Our hunter friends can tell almost what the deer are thinking any time of year. We confess we have no idea at all what deer are thinking.
But white-tail deer certainly deserve a column and we’re going to give it our best shot (ho ho).
According to our friends and neighbors the county has become famous for its deer hunting, but this was not always so. In the early 1900s deer were nearly hunted out of Virginia, but restoration programs have resulted in a spectacular recovery of the population, which today numbers around 1 million. This is twice as many deer as when Jamestown was settled. Deer management now focuses more on population control than on restoration.
This is because deer are amazingly prolific. Under optimum conditions, the population could double annually. Does usually breed daring their first year and commonly have twins. Adults can live 8-10 years and does breed throughout their lives.
The optimal size of a deer herd depends on your perspective. For deer, the availability of resources limits the herd
92.4%