Deer Harvest Summary for 2004-2005

Archery Harvest (including crossbow)*

Thirty-three percent (33%) of deer hunters hunted with archery equipment. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of these were succesful in harvesting a deer. It took the average archery deer hunter about 24 days to harvest a deer and the average archery deer hunter spent 11 days hunting deer. Does made up about 80% of the archery deer harvest. The table belows provides additional information.

Archery Deer Hunters	88,667
Archery Buck Harvest	5,178
Archery Doe Harvest	37,263
Total Archery Harvest	42,441
Average Deer/Hunter	0.5

* Number of hunters using a crossbow - 22,738;
Crossbow harvest - 9,380 (22% of archery harvest; 3% of total harvest)

Muzzleloader Harvest

Twenty percent (20%) of deer hunters hunted with muzzleloading firearms. Slightly more than 1 out of every 5 muzzleloader hunters were succesful in harvesting a deer (21%). It took the average muzzleloader hunter 15 days to harvest a deer and the average muzzleoader hunter spent 4 days hunting deer with a muzzleloader. Does made up about 79% of the muzzleloading firearm deer harvest. The table belows provides additional information.

Muzzleloader Hunters	54,589
Muzzleloader Buck Harvest	2,936
Muzzleloader Doe Harvest	10,912
Total Muzzleloader Harvest	13,848
Average Deer/Hunter	0.30

Modern Firearms Harvest

Ninety-six percent (96%) of deer hunters hunted with modern firearms. Forty-nine percent (49%) were successful in harvesting a deer. It took the average firearm deer hunter about 15 days to harvest a deer and the average firearm deer hunter spent almost 17 days hunting deer. Does made up almost 59% of the modern firearm deer harvest. The table belows provides additional information.

Modern Firearm Hunters	257,725
Modern Firearm Buck Harvest	122,402
Modern Firearm Doe Harvest	171,834
Total Modern Firearm Harvest	294,236
Average Deer/Hunter	1.1

Statewide Summary

There were 304,310 deer hunters that hunted deer in 2003-2004. This was a 8.7% increase in deer hunters from 2002-2003. About 80% or 243,215 were licensed resident deer hunters. Almost 10% or 30,207 were honorary deer hunters and about 10% or 30,888 were non-resident deer hunters. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of deer hunters were successful in harvesting a deer. The average deer hunter hunted 21 days and it took the average deer hunter about 13 days to harvest a deer. Does made up close to 61% of the total deer harvest.

Total Deer Hunters	211,000
Total Buck Harvest	138,000
Total Doe Harvest	210,760
Total Deer Harvest	348,760
Average Deer/Hunter	1.3

Hunter Success Summary for All Deer Harvested

Number of Deer Harvested	Percent Hunter Success
0	49.0
1	18.6
2	13.9
3	8.4
4	4.2
5	2.0
6	1.4
7	0.9
8 or more	1.7

 

Hunter Success Summary for All Bucks Harvested

Number of Bucks Harvested	Percent Hunter Success
0	65.6
1	23.3
2	9.5
3 or more	1.5

Hunter Success Summary for All Does Harvested

Number of Does Harvested	Percent Hunter Success
0	63.1
1	16.9
2	10.4
3	4.0
4	2.3
5	1.4
6	0.5
7	0.5
8 or more	0.7