Last season, Virginia deer hunters killed very nearly the same number of deer that they killed the season before. In 2005-2006, hunters bagged 100,927 antlered bucks and 20,357 button bucks. The total buck harvest figure dropped a little less than 4 percent from the previous season's total harvest of 126,173 bucks.

Wildlife biologists will quickly point out that a fluctuation in harvest numbers of up to 10 percent is considered within normal variation. With a fluctuation of less than 4 percent, the harvest is considered stable; harvest totals within a few percentage points of each other normally indicate that variables other than important shifts in the deer population accounted for the change.

There are many variables besides the deer population that come into play when harvest figures are analyzed. First, did weather impact the participation of hunters? If weekends were rainy or snowy (especially in the early parts of gun seasons), then the harvest is bound to be affected negatively. Good weather on weekends can influence the harvest to be more productive; more hunters will hunt and more of them will hunt longer.

A quick study of the accompanying chart shows that with two exceptions, every top county in last season's forecast is back again. The exceptions, Giles and Grayson counties, dropped off the list this year and were replaced with Southampton and King George counties.

Biologists in each of the regions report that the mast crop was spotty again last year, although some areas had decent localized acorn production. Some predict that this year will result in a good acorn crop because we are "due." That remains to be seen. Pre-season scouting is always a good idea to determine the exact state of the food sources in your region.

It is also interesting to note that many urban areas are opening up to archery hunting. Covington, Lexington, Winchester and Emporia in particular have very high densities of antlered bucks and obviously some hunters are taking advantage of that. Take a peek at the list of cities that are on the chart and look into getting involved in an urban archery hunt. Most deer that live in an urban setting grow quite old. Who knows, maybe your next wallhanger will be taken in a back yard!

TIDEWATER REGION
Tidewater hunters bagged 21,520 antlered bucks last season and had a square mile harvest index of 2.83 antlered bucks. Once again, the Tidewater Region ranks second in terms of total antlered bucks harvested. The region is always a consistent producer of antlered bucks and last year was no exception. This season, seven of the top 20 counties in the lineup were from the Tidewater Region.

Charles City led the way with 4.38 bucks per square mile taken. Other counties making the top 20 list included New Kent (3.81), Surry and Lancaster (both at 3.79), Southampton (3.71), King George (3.63) and James City (3.44).

Phil West, recently promoted to Public Lands Manager for the VDGIF, answered questions about the buck harvest in the region. West had this to say about the prospects in the region.

"I feel that there is an equal opportunity for a hunter to take a quality buck anywhere in the region. Our deer herd is in good shape."