Last season was a record-breaking season in many ways for Virginia deer hunters. First of all, the doe harvest was up approximately 13 per cent statewide. The overall whitetail harvest was 241,576 not including the late special seasons, which are mostly composed of does.

During the 2006-2007 season, hunters shot and tagged 106,595 antlered bucks and 19,652 button bucks for a total of 126,247 bucks. This past season, the number of antlered bucks harvested was 109,275. Hunters also harvested 22,808 button bucks for a total of 132,083 bucks tagged. This represents a 4.6 percent increase in the bucks harvested. Still, 132,083 bucks harvested represents a record number for Virginia. Biologists relayed that if we take more does and pass more young bucks, the racks and bodies on those bucks will soon be noticeably larger.

Each year, we print a graphic to show the top 20 counties of buck harvests by square mile. Good habitat does not normally come and go on a whim; therefore, our top 20 list changes just a little each season. This year, however, we have four newcomer counties that cycled into the lineup: King and Queen, Warren, Northumberland and Prince George. They bumped Cumberland, Scott, King George and Franklin counties out of the top 20 list from the year before. Of those four counties, only Scott was bumped far down the list this past season.

Educated deer hunters tend to focus on the mast crop and other food sources from season to season to determine the size of antlers the following season. Although the availability of acorns or other mast certainly plays a role in the development of antlers, some regions of Virginia are more dependent on mast than others. The steep-sided mountain regions are more dependent than an area where there are plenty of soybeans or other agriculture to supplement a deer's diet. Overall, the state had a varied mast crop success last season. Some areas saw failures and others saw decent production. See your particular region for the local information.

TIDEWATER REGION
Last season, Tidewater hunters took 31,230 bucks. Of these, 24,075 were antlered, putting the region in second place in terms of total number of bucks harvested. The region had nine counties in the top 20 list.

The Tidewater Region has a tremendous variety of deer habitats and thus no one county can be considered "the best" place to take a quality buck. In fact, a walk around the 2007 Virginia Deer Classic contest showed a number of quality bucks from all over. When habitat is as varied as it is in the Tidewater, the key is to find where habitats merge, hunting pressure is less and there is plenty of food nearby. The one variable that hunters can directly control is the harvesting of small bucks, including button bucks and spikes.

Galon Hall, VDGIF biologist for the northern district of this region, said he is seeing a trend of hunters passing smaller yearling bucks.

"This trend needs to continue in order to allow bucks to reach maturity. This goes hand in hand with increased doe harvest. Hunters are doing much better at both of these, but there is still room for improvement, in the doe harvest especially."

Once good habitat is found and permission is obtained to hunt, hunters need to stick with the location where they find sign even if they are not seeing the big bucks. Find the edges where the habitats merge to place a stand. Do your scouting pre- and post-season when possible and avoid spooking deer during the season.

Todd Engelmeyer, the biologist responsible for the southern district, reported that big-buck concentrations are most likely found in Surry, Sussex, Southampton and portions of Isle of Wight and Suffolk.

Hunters needing a place to hunt should really try to get into the Quota Hunt System, which has an early firearms season on Dismal Swamp and Cavalier WMAs in October. According to Engelmeyer, the thick cover and tough habitat is ideal for deer to hide in and to reach an older age (and thus to produce larger racks). Be sure to see the regulations for information regarding the quota hunts.

SOUTHERN PIEDMONT
The buck harvest for the Southern Piedmont region included 28,037 antlered bucks and 5,178 button bucks for a grand total of 33,215 whitetail bucks harvested. This figure made the Southern Piedmont the top region in terms of buck harvest.

We spoke with biologist Cale Godfrey about the whitetail bucks in the eastern portion of this region. Like Hall in the Tidewater, Godfrey noted that no one county stands out as the top-quality buck county. However, Powhatan and Amelia have been good to hunters the past several years.