Although last season Virginia deer hunters nudged the harvest up slightly to a new record, the overall buck harvest was slightly down. The slight variations from year to year are normal in the eyes of biologists in charge of managing the deer herd.

Last season hunters took 108,443 antlered bucks to the skinning pole and 23,592 button bucks home for a grand total of 132,035 bucks. The previous seasons numbers were 111,863 antlered bucks and 22,291 button bucks totaling 134,154 respectively.

For the third year in a row Charles City led the way in terms of the number of antlered bucks harvested per square mile. Newcomers to the top 20 list this season are York, Northampton, Prince George, Orange and Giles.

TIDEWATER REGION
Last season hunters in the Tidewater Region dragged 25,123 antlered bucks to the truck. Seven counties from the top 20 list are from this region. The Tidewater Region has a milder climate and a tremendous amount of agriculture and great deer habitat in the form of clearcuts, swamps and river bottoms. The combination of all of these factors makes for great hunting opportunities.

Aaron Proctor is one of the deer biologists working the region. We were able to catch up with him to find out if the weather impacted the deer herd and the prospects for quality bucks this season. Proctor pointed out that he does not feel the 8 inches of snow that his district received will impact bucks in his area. And despite the mast being spotty, there are plenty of agriculture lands that bucks were able to use to keep the weight on over the fall and winter. This past spring there was a good “green up” and deer were able to forage for food and browse very easily and gain back any weight they may have burned off during the winter.

“Some of the better bucks we see come from what we call the Peanut Belt. These counties include Sussex, South Hampton, Greensville, Surry and Isle of Wight. There are numerous hunt clubs in this area and many of them practice quality deer management and are strict about their rules. As a result they are able to observe and harvest very nice bucks,” Proctor noted.

Agricultural lands are always good locations to hunt deer because there is an ever-present food source during the hunting season and the edges of fields are often good browsing areas as well. Corn, soybean and peanuts are grown in abundance in this region. This is also an area well known for dog hunting — and for a good reason. The terrain is very thick and the briars can be incredibly dense. Only a hound can push deer out of some areas.

Finally, it should be noted that biologists have liberalized the doe harvest by opening up many more days to hunters. Be sure to check the regulations this season and take advantage of this by taking a doe. This will help keep the buck-to-doe ratio in check.

SOUTHERN PIEDMONT
There were 28,849 antlered bucks taken in the region last season. We were able to chat with both biologists responsible for the region to get their perspectives on the prospects for another great season. Drew Larson handles the eastern portion of the region and Dan Lovelace is responsible for the western portion of the region.

Larson noted that although they had decent amounts of snow in some areas he did not feel it would adversely affect hunters’ prospects for taking a quality buck this season.

“Most quality bucks in this region are probably at least three years old and have enough size on them and they have been around long enough to know how to handle the winter without difficulty,” he explained.

Larson did say that it may be possible that the winter could have stressed fawn bucks and we may see some downtick in a few years as a result but again there are many variables that play into the survival of deer.

Much of Larson’s district is pine and hardwoods or pine plantations. However, Brunswick and Mecklenburg tend to be good destinations. Nottoway, Dinwiddie and Charlotte counties also stand out as good areas where nice bucks are taken. These counties have some agriculture land and a varied habitat. Larson also recalled that Amelia has clubs that practice quality deer management and as a result they are seeing older age classes of bucks and nicer racks.

Lovelace pointed out that although the heavy, lingering snows did impact the deer, the lush vegetation that came up this past spring and summer allowed the deer to bounce back physically. More than likely the heavy snow kept some hunters home and the deer’s movements at a minimum. Sometimes hunters that went afield anyway were able to kill nice bucks as visibility after the snows improved. Lovelace himself connected with a great buck as the snow set in last December 18th.

Lovelace also suggested that although the mast crop was poor in some areas, other areas did have some white oak acorns and that is where he suggests hunters try to hunt this year. This points out the importance of taking careful observations and even keeping a hunting journal each season.

Another tip that Lovelace shared with us was that managed timberland with thinned stands offer plenty of browse as successional cover and therefore keep deer in good shape despite the weather.

Richard Snow, an avid hunter, killed these fine bucks on the last week of the season, proving that persistence pays off. Snow hunts Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula counties. Photo courtesy of Richard Snow.

SOUTHERN MOUNTAIN
The Southern Mountain Region hunters put 19,324 antlered bucks on the skinning rack last season, which was a tad less than the previous season. Grayson and Giles counties in this region made the top 20 list. Bill Bassinger was able to spend a few minutes visiting with me to give us the scoop on his area of responsibility.

Although the mast crop was spotty in his district, this region has plenty of agriculture lands that make up for lack of acorns. As has been the theme of the information we have shared throughout the article, hunters with access to farms are going to fare best.

Bassinger did point out that even if you do not have access to farmland you can still score if you hunt near those lands. Sometimes the deer will feed on the crops and work their way back to the mountainsides to rest. Catching the deer in transition by scouting ahead
of time can pay off. Bassinger added that he had already had reports in late summer of healthy bucks with good antler growth.

If Bassinger had to pick two counties to hunt to find a quality buck he would probably go to Grayson and Wythe because they have better soils and agriculture in the valleys, coupled with public land in the form of National Forest on the ridges.

Another good public land to consider scouting and hunting for a quality buck in this region would be Big Survey WMA. Bassinger stated that the combination of thick bedding areas that are difficult to access and ample opportunity for deer to feed on nearby farmland creates a situation where bucks can grow big.