The year 2015 was good to West Virginia deer hunters as 138,493 whitetail deer were checked in on the new electronic check in system for all seasons combined according to a recent press release from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR). The buck season will be one to remember with several nice bucks taken including a possible new state record for the typical-gun category. Overall, 60,814 bucks were harvested during the two week long buck season.
The quality and number of big bucks running around last year was no doubt the result of a lower buck kill and abundant mast conditions in 2014. In 2014 West Virginia deer hunters only took 37,277 bucks total during the two week long season. There was also abundant mast in the woods in 2014 and the deer didn’t have to move very far to find food.
This created the perfect setup for the 2015 deer seasons as several young 1 ½ to 2 ½ year old deer survived. The plentiful mast allowed the deer to go through the winter months in good shape which also helped the mature bucks grow a nice set of antlers. The proof is in the potential new state record from Upshur County.
The 15 point buck green scored 191 2/8” but will have to wait for the 60 day drying period for the official Boone and Crockett score. The previous state record for the typical-gun category was taken in Nicholas County in 1994 and scored 185 4/8”. It’s doubtful that the Upshur County 15 point will shrink to less than the current standing state record and will likely break it for the first time in over 20 years.
There wasn’t very much mast in the woods during the 2015 seasons which also helped hunters as the deer were more visible in the fields and field edges. After the two week long buck season, muzzleloader hunters took 5,179 deer during the week long muzzleloader season. The weather was unusually warm for the month of December and the deer continued to feed in the fields.
The 2015 antlerless deer season harvest of 39,853, which includes the youth/Class Q/Class XS deer season, was 1 percent more than in 2014 and 8 percent below the 5-year average of 43,188. It’s very important to harvest does in areas with high deer populations for the overall habitat and health of the herd. With the poor mast last year and winter finally making its presence known with snow measured by the foot, overpopulated areas with deer will suffer from the lack of food and some weakened or malnourished deer may even succumb to the harsh conditions. A change in the law allowed the use of crossbows last year for the first time during the September through December archery season. Combined bow and crossbow hunters arrowed 32,540 deer which was 46 percent more than the 2014 archery season harvest of 22,281, 28 percent above the 5-year average archery season harvest of 25,481. Archery harvests are correlated to hard mast crops. The above-average acorn crop in 2014, followed by a below-average acorn crop in 2015, likely contributed to the higher 2015 harvest and played a factor in the low harvest in 2014.
“Although there were no additions to a hunter’s bag limit with the addition of the crossbow season, undoubtingly the rise in harvest reflected the use of crossbows, which probably increased hunter participation and success in some counties,” according to WVDNR director Bob Fala. Crossbow hunters accounted for 37 percent of the total harvest for the archery and crossbow seasons combined. Tucker County hunters took 783 bucks during buck season, 47 antlerless deer, 16 deer during the week long muzzleloader season, and 420 for the archery/ crossbow season for a county total of 1,278.
With deer seasons an afterthought for most hunters it will be interesting to see what’s in store for the 2016 fall seasons. My predictions are there won’t be as many big bucks this year due to the increase buck harvest and lack of mast. It will be hard to top the 2015 seasons especially considering a new state record that stood for over 20 years will likely be broken. We’ll have to wait until fall to see what happens and how much if any mast is available.
