With the 2015 deer seasons winding down and a New Year on the horizon, hunters have a couple of opportunities left to fill the freezer with tasty venison during the late split antlerless deer firearm seasons. The first half of the split antlerless season ran last week from December 17 to December 19. The second part of the split season will take place on December 29-31. There was also two day youth antlerless firearm season on December 26 and on the 28. The late doe seasons are a great time for families to get out and hunt together as most are home for the holidays. In areas with high deer populations it’s very important to harvest antlerless deer to better balance the overall herd.
Some bucks will start losing their antlers soon so it’s important to take a close look before pulling the trigger. Button bucks are yearling fawns and will grow their first set of noticeable antlers next year so it’s a good idea to try your best to avoid shooting one of them instead of a doe. A mature doe will provide almost twice as much meat as a yearling deer and is another reason why to set your sights on one of them. The poor mast this year will cause less food to be available in the winter woods and some deer may even starve to death. The best way to reduce the deer population is to take a few does out. The bag limits for antlerless deer varies from county to county and it’s up to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources to decide based on population densities. The counties with higher bag limits for antlerless deer have the higher populations of deer in the state. Tucker County isn’t one of them and is closed to the antlerless firearms seasons. Tucker County hunters should look at the central and northern counties of the state for the late seasons. If you’re planning on heading out, here are a few tips to help prevent shooting a button buck instead of a doe. The first is the obvious to look for the buttons or small bumps on top of the deer’s head. This is possible with a scope and if the deer is within 100 yards. Button bucks and fawns in general, have a short face and no neck appearance. Yearling deer also wander more during the middle of the day and act less cautious than an adult doe. Another thing to keep in mind is if you see two small deer traveling together, one of them is most likely a button buck. It’s better when three or more deer are together. In this case, pick the largest one to shoot. Button bucks and bucks in general wander alone during this time of year. Adult does rarely do so. So if you see a deer by itself you better take a long hard look or avoid taking the shot altogether. The deer are still using the fields and field edges since there is little to no mast in the woods. So far the abnormally warm temperatures have kept the fields green which has been a good thing for the whitetails. The lack of food and even a normal winter can cause weakened deer to starve to death in those areas with high populations. Our hills and hollows provide a variety of food sources for all wildlife based on what Mother Nature decides from year to year, but can only provide so much. If there are too many deer in an area it will not only hurt the overall health of the herd but will also hurt the habitat as well. Carrying capacity is the biological term used to determine the maximum number of organisms of a particular species that can be supported indefinitely in a given environment based on the food available. It has been proven that the best way to reduce deer populations to reach the carrying capacity is to harvest an ample amount of does. Get out there and do your part in taking a doe if you still have room in your freezer. You’ll have to wait until next September for the next chance to do so.