Pennsylvania Deer Harvest Exceeds Initial Estimates

From the Pennsylvania Game Commission - Game Commission releases 2012-2013 Deer Harvest Estimates

March 28, 2013 By Lars Dalseide, NRAblog.com

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Game Commission today reported that, in the state’s 2012-13 seasons, hunters harvested an estimated 343,110 deer, which is an increase of about two percent from the previous seasons’ harvest of 336,200.

Hunters took 133,860 antlered deer in the 2012-13 seasons, an increase of about five percent from the previous license year’s harvest of 127,540. Also, hunters harvested 209,250 antlerless deer in 2012-13, which is a slight increase over the 208,660 antlerless deer taken in 2011-12.

“This year’s antlered deer harvest is slightly above the average harvest since 2005, when agency efforts began to stabilize deer populations in most of the state,” said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. “The age structure of the antlered deer harvest was 49 percent 1.5 year-old-bucks and 51 percent 2.5-year-old and older bucks.

“The antlerless hunter success rate remained at about 25 percent for licenses issued. This is on average with harvest success for recent years. The age structure of this year’s antlerless deer harvest was 61 percent adult females, 22 percent button bucks, and 18 percent doe fawns. The rates are similar to long-term averages.”

Bureau of Wildlife Management personnel currently are working to develop 2013-14 antlerless deer license allocation recommendations for the April meeting of the Board of Game Commissioners. Calvin W. DuBrock, Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Management director, said that in addition to harvest data, the staff will be looking at deer health measures, forest regeneration and deer-human conflicts for each WMU.

Total deer harvest estimates by WMU for 2012-13 (with 2011-12 figures in parentheses) are as follows:

WMU 1A: 6,100 (5,200) antlered, 11,900 (9,800) antlerless;
WMU 1B: 7,000 (6,000) antlered, 11,100 (9,500) antlerless;
WMU 2A: 6,700 (7,100) antlered, 12,700 (12,700) antlerless;
WMU 2B: 4,800 (4,500) antlered, 16,000 (17,000) antlerless;
WMU 2C: 7,600 (8,200) antlered, 10,800 (12,800) antlerless;
WMU 2D: 13,700 (11,100) antlered, 20,800 (19,300) antlerless;
WMU 2E: 4,800 (4,100) antlered 5,600 (7,100) antlerless;
WMU 2F: 7,100 (5,400) antlered, 6,100 (6,700) antlerless;
WMU 2G: 6,600 (6,300) antlered, 6,500 (5,500) antlerless;
WMU 3A: 4,300 (3,300) antlered, 6,700 (6,700) antlerless;
WMU 3B: 5,800 (5,900) antlered, 8,700 (7,700) antlerless;
WMU 3C: 7,900 (7,100) antlered, 10,500 (9,900) antlerless;
WMU 3D: 4,000 (4,500) antlered, 6,000 (7,200) antlerless;
WMU 4A: 4,200 (4,800) antlered, 6,500 (6,500) antlerless;
WMU 4B: 5,600 (5,300) antlered, 5,600 (5,500) antlerless;
WMU 4C: 5,300 (5,500) antlered, 7,800 (7,400) antlerless;
WMU 4D: 6,900 (7,100) antlered, 6,300 (6,600) antlerless;
WMU 4E: 5,000 (5,100) antlered, 6,100 (6,100) antlerless;
WMU 5A: 2,800 (3,600) antlered, 3,600 (3,600) antlerless;
WMU 5B: 8,500 (7,200) antlered, 12,500 (12,900) antlerless;
WMU 5C: 7,800 (8,900) antlered, 23,600 (24,200) antlerless;
WMU 5D: 1,300 (1,200) antlered, 3,800 (3,800) antlerless; and
Unknown WMU: 60 (140) antlered, 50 (160) antlerless.

Season-specific 2012-13 deer harvest estimates (with 2011-12 harvest estimates in parentheses) are as follows:

WMU 1A: archery, 2,300 (2,140) antlered, 2,220 (1,790) antlerless; and muzzleloader, 100 (60) antlered, 1,380 (1,210) antlerless.
WMU 1B: archery, 2,250 (1,950) antlered, 1,480 (1,260) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (50) antlered, 920 (740) antlerless.
WMU 2A: archery, 1,970 (1,950) antlered, 2,320 (1,810) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (50) antlered, 2,080 (1,690) antlerless.
WMU 2B: archery, 2,800 (2,620) antlered, 7,040 (7,000) antlerless; muzzleloader, 100 (80) antlered, 1,060 (1,000) antlerless.
WMU 2C: archery, 2,220 (2,450) antlered, 2,160 (2,090) antlerless; muzzleloader, 80 (50) antlered, 1,640 (1,510) antlerless.
WMU 2D: archery, 4,480 (3,800) antlered, 2,910 (2,330) antlerless; muzzleloader, 120 (100) antlered, 3,290 (2,570) antlerless.
WMU 2E: archery, 1,160 (970) antlered, 740 (790) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (30) antlered, 960 (1,010) antlerless.
WMU 2F: archery, 1,550 (1,220) antlered, 790 (780) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (80) antlered, 1,110 (920) antlerless.
WMU 2G: archery, 1,250 (1,030) antlered, 1,090 (780) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (70) antlered, 1,410 (1,220) antlerless.
WMU 3A: archery, 880 (760) antlered, 750 (860) antlerless; muzzleloader, 20 (40) antlered, 850 (940) antlerless.
WMU 3B: archery, 1,450 (1,440) antlered, 1,530 (1,360) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (60) antlered, 1,670 (1,340) antlerless.
WMU 3C: archery, 1,840 (1,530) antlered, 1,660 (1,410) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (70) antlered, 1,940 (1,590) antlerless.
WMU 3D: archery, 1,080 (1,240) antlered, 1,170 (1,460) antlerless; muzzleloader, 20 (60) antlered, 730 (740) antlerless.
WMU 4A: archery, 660 (630) antlered, 650 (480) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (70) antlered, 750 (720) antlerless.
WMU 4B: archery, 1,480 (1,250) antlered, 1,110 (790) antlerless; muzzleloader, 20 (50) antlered, 890 (810) antlerless.
WMU 4C: archery, 1,850 (1,630) antlered, 1,490 (1,210) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (70) antlered, 810 (890) antlerless.
WMU 4D: archery, 1,450 (1,420) antlered, 1,190 (1,020) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (80) antlered, 1,010 (1,080) antlerless.
WMU 4E: archery, 1,550 (1,440) antlered, 1,200 (1,030) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (60) antlered, 1,000 (770) antlerless.
WMU 5A: archery, 780 (1,070) antlered, 630 (550) antlerless; muzzleloader, 20 (30) antlered, 370 (450) antlerless.
WMU 5B: archery, 4,020 (3,320) antlered, 3,700 (3,460) antlerless; muzzleloader, 80 (80) antlered, 1,300 (1,340) antlerless.
WMU 5C: archery, 4,170 (4,950) antlered, 9,370 (9,350) antlerless; muzzleloader, 130 (150) antlered, 1,430 (1,650) antlerless.
WMU 5D: archery, 970 (880) antlered, 2,520 (2,530) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (20) antlered, 80 (70) antlerless.
Unknown WMU: archery, 60 (110) antlered, 10 (30) antlerless; muzzleloader, 0 (30) antlered, 20 (0) antlerless.

For additional information on Pennsylvania’s 2012-13 deer harvest, please go to the agency’s website – www.pgc.state.pa.us – and click on “White-Tailed Deer” on the homepage, and then select 2012-13 Deer Harvest Estimates under “Deer Management"