Photo by Ralph Hensley.

After decades of expansion, the Virginia deer population has filled almost all deer habitat in the state. Over the last few years, the rate of increase in the deer herd has slowed, and the harvest numbers have stabilized.

For example, in the 2004-2005 season, the total buck harvest was 126,173. The 2005-2006 season total buck harvest was 121,284, while the 2006-2007 season yielded 106,595 antlered and 19,652 button bucks for a total of 126,247. This represents very stable -- and historically high -- harvest numbers for the past three years despite variations in weather, mast crop and hunter participation.

Not only has the harvest in the state stabilized, but deer populations have had a number of years to inhabit all counties now, and the counties with the best habitat are consistently producing top harvest numbers.

For instance, of the top 20 counties in the state in buck harvest in the 2005 season, only two were cycled out of the list and replaced by other counties in the 2006 season: James City and Warren were replaced by Craig and Giles.

Mast crop is a driving force in hunter success and, in many areas, antler development in bucks.

Last fall, all regions in Virginia reported that the mast crop was at least "good." Some regions had a very good mast crop that was spread out over a long time. That should translate into a better-than-average crop of bucks this fall.

While it's impossible to predict with complete accuracy what an upcoming season will bring, these trends and statistics can help us make some informed guesses about a number of the best places to pursue bucks in regions across the state this season.

TIDEWATER REGION
Of the five regions in the state, the Tidewater produced the second highest total antlered buck harvest, with 22,607 animals.

Wildlife biologist Galon Hall works out of the Warsaw office for Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. His district covers counties north of the York River. Hall keeps close tabs on wildlife in his district, and for precisely this reason he's hesitant to select one or two counties as being the top "trophy buck" county: The whole region tends to have quality buck hunting.

As Hall pointed out, there are pockets of land scattered across the region that offer better chances of putting a massive buck on the wall. Typically, these places have lower hunting pressure, or more of the land is posted, or contain better food sources or simply have a combination of all of the above. Hunters need to scout to find, and get permission to hunt, those prime properties.

Hall did make an observation during our discussion about the land south of the James River. That area is known as "peanut country." As one may surmise, peanuts are full of protein and deer love to dig them up and eat them. Hall also noted that Eastern Shore deer tend to be noticeably heavier than deer on the mainland.

One trend that Hall commented on was the fact that clubs participating in the DMAP program often practice some sort of quality deer management, meaning that more often than not, more does are harvested and younger, smaller bucks are allowed to slip by for another year. Hall pointed out that a buck that is permitted to survive 4 1/2 years is a buck that many hunters will consider a trophy.

In our discussion about public land opportunities, Hall suggested that hunters consider Chickahominy WMA. In his chats with fellow biologist Todd Englemeyer, Hall learned that the Chick is heavily hunted, but the property continues to produce some very nice bucks. Hunters truly wanting a wallhanger are urged to take advantage of the archery season or even the early muzzleloader season before pressure disturbs the deer.

A second public-land opportunity worth checking out is Cavalier WMA, which covers 4,485 acres in Chesapeake County. Last season, 40 hunters were selected for each set of hunt dates on this WMA. Cavalier offers hunters living in the Virginia Beach area a great public-land area with a quality hunting experience. Visit the VDGIF Web site, www.dgif.virginia.gov, for additional and up-to-date information on Cavalier WMA.