Deer Harvest Summary for 2003-2004

Archery Harvest (including crossbow)*

Almost thirty-seven percent (37%) of deer hunters hunted with archery equipment. Twenty-nine percent (29%) 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 13 days hunting deer. Does made up about 74% of the archery deer harvest. The table belows provides additional information.

Archery Deer Hunters	111,682
Archery Buck Harvest	15,300
Archery Doe Harvest	42,300
Total Archery Harvest	57,600
Average Deer/Hunter	0.5

* Number of hunters using a crossbow - 22,136;
Crossbow harvest - 10,313 (22% of archery harvest; 3% of total harvest)

Muzzleloader Harvest

Almost twenty-three percent (23%) 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 almost 14 days to harvest a deer and the average muzzleoader hunter spent 5 days hunting deer with a muzzleloader. Does made up about 73% of the muzzleloading firearm deer harvest. The table belows provides additional information.

Muzzleloader Hunters	69,078
Muzzleloader Buck Harvest	6,000
Muzzleloader Doe Harvest	16,300
Total Muzzleloader Harvest	22,300
Average Deer/Hunter	0.3

Modern Firearms Harvest

Ninety-five percent (95%) of deer hunters hunted with modern firearms. Fifty-six percent (56%) were successful in harvesting a deer. It took the average firearm deer hunter about 13 days to harvest a deer and the average firearm deer hunter spent 18 days hunting deer. Does made up almost 61% of the modern firearm deer harvest. The table belows provides additional information.

Modern Firearm Hunters	289,703
Modern Firearm Buck Harvest	158,000
Modern Firearm Doe Harvest	246,100
Total Modern Firearm Harvest	404,100
Average Deer/Hunter	1.4

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	304,310
Total Buck Harvest	188,000
Total Doe Harvest	296,000
Total Deer Harvest	484,000
Average Deer/Hunter	1.6

Hunter Success Summary for All Deer Harvested

Number of Deer Harvested	Percent Hunter Success
0	40.6
1	21.2
2	15.4
3	8.3
4	5.1
5	3.3
6	2.5
7	0.9
8 or more	2.5

 

Hunter Success Summary for All Bucks Harvested

Number of Bucks Harvested	Percent Hunter Success
0	57.8
1	27.8
2	12.5
3 or more	1.9

Hunter Success Summary for All Does Harvested

Number of Does Harvested	Percent Hunter Success
0	56.4
1	19.4
2	11.2
3	5.3
4	2.9
5	1.7
6	1.1
7	0.6
8 or more	1.2