White-Tailed Deer

White-Tailed Deer

During the 2006-2007 deer season, 223,198 white-tailed : deer were reported as harvest- ; ed in Virginia, 4 percent more ‘ than last season. This figure is i 7 percent higher than the 10 [ year average but less than the ' record harvest in the 2003-! 2004 season of 235,944 deer.| This year’s total includes; 105,595 antlered bucks,! 19,652 button bucks, and) 96,951 does. Females made up ; 43 percent of the overall har- ' vest. \

White-tailed deer management in Virginia is based oh the fact that herd density and health are best controlled by regulating the number of antler less deer harvested.* Hunters have accepted this concept enthusiastically with the last four years each proi ducing a record number of] female deer harvested. For th«J first time in more than 4! decade, the percentage of female deer harvested is Fairfax and Loudoun ha4 exceeded 50 percent of th^ harvest in those counties* Preliminary data suggest^ that the late antler less season was a success for deer man! agement in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, g

Across Virginia, deer hart vest numbers remained thtf same in the Northern^ Mountains when compared with last year, down 5 percent in the Northern Piedmont, upv 6 percent in the Southern Mountains, up 11 percent in' the Southern Piedmont, and, up 6 percent in Tidewater.

Archery hunters harvested' 24,151 deer, 11 percent of the ’ overall harvest, with crossbows accounting for 7,051 of those deer. The crossbow take was up 28 percent from last season, which was the first season when all hunters could legally hunt with crossbows. Muzzle loading hunters harvested 52,215 deer, up 6 percent from last year. Muzzle loading comprised 23 percent of the total deer harvest.

Approximately 56 percent of the deer harvested (nearly 124,000 animals) were checked using the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ telephone checking system. ■ This was up from 44 percent of the harvest in 2004-2005 and 51 percent in 2005-2006.