MORE DEER COVERAGE • 2004 Deer Outlook, Part 1 • 2004 Rut Report in North American Whitetail Forums

By Mike Bleech

This is the year Pennsylvania's radical new antler restrictions and other new deer management strategies should start paying off in a big way for buck hunters. Everyone, including hunters and Pennsylvania Game Commission biologists, are anxiously awaiting the verdict.

Last year, hunters saw more 2 1/2-year-old deer than ever before. This year we should see more 3 1/2-year-old deer, and some of those bucks should find their way into the record books.

For serious trophy buck hunters, this year will be their best opportunity ever to take a record-class rack in Pennsylvania.

"Antler restrictions took us off the bottom by a far shot. By the time we proposed these changes, we'd thought about it plenty. The proof is in the results," said Dr. Gary Alt, head of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Deer Management Section. "We have been trying to find ways for more bucks to live at least one more year, and there is no question now that we're seeing a lot of bucks. There are more 2-year-old bucks now than at any time in our history, and a lot of them are moving into their third year. Most Keystone State hunters have never had the chance to shoot a 3-year-old buck."

While deer managers are taking a "wait-and-see" attitude, they are not doing it passively. They have learned that most bucks that survive the deer season because of antler restrictions survive other hazards, such as winter mortality and highway mortality until the following deer season.

"About 85 percent of the bucks that make it through the hunting season are surviving to the next hunting season. Most of them are going to be 8-pointers," Alt reported.

A study in Wildlife Management Unit 1B revealed that about 65 percent of the buck harvest is now yearlings, compared to about 90 percent yearlings prior to the antler restrictions. According to Alt, antler restrictions have dramatically increased the percentage of 2-year-old bucks in every region.

Photo by BillKinney.com

A major goal of the newer deer hunting regulations has been to increase the antlerless deer harvest while reducing the buck harvest. The buck harvest has dropped from around 200,000 before antler restrictions to 142,220 antlered bucks last year, while the antlerless deer harvest has risen from about 283,000 to 322,620 last year.

"This fall, that (buck harvest) should come back up some," Alt predicted. "Not back to 200,000, but maybe to 150,000. The number of bucks that are 2 years and older is rising dramatically."

Antler restrictions have been most successful in the areas where hunters must wait for bucks with at least 4 points on one side. After the first year of antler restrictions, the antlered buck harvest dropped 38 percent in those areas. In the areas with 3-point antler restrictions, the antlered buck harvest dropped 19 percent.

Another objective of the new hunting regulations was to improve the buck-to-doe ratio. Prior to the new antler restrictions, there were so many does and so few mature bucks that many of the does were not impregnated until December or even January. That resulted in fawns being born too late to mature sufficiently before the onset of winter.

"I am no longer worried about those ratios. We are no longer near the bottom of the pack," Alt said.

"This is the first year that we can expect an increase in 3-year-old whitetails," Alt said.

While the meat-hunting crowd might have legitimate reasons to question current Game Commission deer management strategies (after all, the goal is to reduce the deer population), serious trophy buck hunters should be rejoicing.

"There's no doubt in my mind that antler restrictions are doing what we planned for them to do," Alt said.

Although hunters can expect to see bigger bucks than ever before in Pennsylvania, they will not be as big as they would have been if mast conditions had been better last fall. This will not be as significant in areas where deer feed extensively on agricultural crops.

The following is a closer look at where to find the best trophy buck hunting potential in your region this fall:

Pat Anderson, the regional Land Management supervisor, suggested Erie County, as well as Butler, Mercer and Crawford counties.

Most state game lands in the region are small, but hunting pressure is not overwhelming because many local hunters have access to private farms.

Erie, Crawford and Mercer counties have the greatest potential for record-class bucks. But if your goal is to find a legal buck, check the larger state game lands in Venango, Clarion, Jefferson, Forest and Warren counties. Hunting pressure is quite heavy near the roads, but if you are willing to walk into interior areas, you will find more deer and larger bucks.

Land Management supervisor Barry Zaffuto said Game Commission personnel did notice that racks were a little better last fall, but noted that this fall should be the real test.

"I think you're going to see more larger-racked bucks in the region," Zaffuto said, noting that antler restrictions are already having the desired results.

Expect to find the biggest bucks in the area around Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and in Westmoreland, Washington, Armstrong and Indiana counties.

Allegheny County is almost all privately owned. The Southwest Region has had the greatest increases in state game lands in the state during the past decade. Also, there is more public land in the neighboring counties.

"From what we saw here in field checks (during the last hunting season), we're seeing older deer," said Dan Marks, Information and Education supervisor for the region. "I think we're going to see even better antlers both in mass and points."

Marks rated Union County as the best in the Northcentral Region for trophy bucks. "It's one of the most agricultural counties in our region."

Land use in this region allows hunters good opportunities to locate trophy bucks. Ridges tend to be forested, but at night deer move into agricultural lands in the valleys to feed.

Soft mast, such as apples and other fruits and berries, was excellent. Acorn production, particularly on chestnut oaks, was below average, although some counties had good acorn crops.

"I don't know anywhere in this region where the mast crop was a washout last season," said Don Garner, Information and Education supervisor for the region.

Garner rated Adams County and Perry County as the best parts of the Southcentral Region for trophy bucks. He recommended that hunters try to gain access to commercial orchards to find the biggest bucks.

If finding any legal buck is your goal, check out the larger tracts of public forestland, including Rothrock State Forest and the woodlands around Raystown Lake.

"Overall, I think the hunting is going to be good for people who do some early scouting," said Tim Conway, Information and Education supervisor. "The potential for really big bucks is there."

The mast crop was spotty last year, which could have an effect on this year's deer season, Conway noted.

Agricultural areas typically produce the largest deer and the most impressive antlers because nutritional intake is the most consistent in these areas.

Marks rated Columbia and Montour counties as having the greatest potential to produce the largest racks. Bradford County, which has a good mix of forest and farmland, always gives up some nice bucks.

Wildlife conservation officer Chad Eyler described a situation typical of the region.

"Because of the vast agricultural areas in my district and the impact of the antler restrictions, we witnessed large-racked bucks being harvested in southwestern York County. If permission is granted to hunt in the small pockets of wooded areas in and around suburban areas, hunters should have an opportunity to harvest a deer in these areas as well," he said.

WCO Darren David, Delaware County, rated the buck hunting potential this fall as "better than ever in modern times."

Mast has very little impact on antler growth in the Southeast Region because deer feed extensively on farm crops. The only notable exceptions would be on state game lands in the northern part of the region.

Antler restrictions have the least impact in this region. Because the region's food sources are so good, many bucks grow antlers that meet the minimum restrictions during their first year or two of antler growth.

If you have an opportunity to hunt during the November rut, do everything you can to maximize your time in the woods when the biggest bucks are most vulnerable to rattling, calling and other techniques.

Hunt in areas where there are large numbers of does, and plan to be in the woods all day. Wandering bucks will find receptive does eventually, and the patient hunter will prevail.