Deer Harvest Summary for 2002-2003

Archery Harvest (including crossbow)*

Thirty-five percent (35%) of deer hunters hunted with archery equipment. Twenty-four percent (24%) of these were succesful in harvesting a deer.  It took the average archery deer hunter about 30 days to harvest a deer and the average archery deer hunter spent 12 days hunting deer. Does made up  83% of the archery deer harvest. The table belows provides additional information.

Archery Deer Hunters	97,392
Archery Buck Harvest	6,300
Archery Doe Harvest	31,500
Total Archery Harvest	37,800
Average Deer/Hunter	0.4

* Crossbow hunters - 17,322; Crossbow harvest - 4,429 (12% of archery harvest; 1% of total harvest)

Muzzleloader Harvest

Twenty-three percent (23%) of deer hunters hunted with muzzleloading firearms. About 1 out of every 4 muzzleloader hunters were succesful in harvesting a deer (26%).  It took the average muzzleloader hunter almost 12 days to harvest a deer and the average muzzleoader hunter spent 5 days hunting deer with a muzzleloader.  Does made up 71% of the muzzleloading firearm deer harvest.  The table belows provides additional information.

Muzzleloader Hunters	64,368
Muzzleloader Buck Harvest	6,800
Muzzleloader Doe Harvest	16,900
Total Muzzleloader Harvest	23,700
Average Deer/Hunter	0.4

Modern Firearms Harvest

Almost 97% of deer hunters hunted with modern firearms. Fifty-three percent (53%) of these deer hunters were successful in harvesting a deer. It took the average firearm deer hunter about 13.5 days to harvest a deer and the average firearm deer hunter spent 18 days hunting deer. Does made up almost 60% of the modern firearm deer harvest. The table belows provides additional information.

Modern Firearm Hunters	270,627
Modern Firearm Buck Harvest	136,500
Modern Firearm Doe Harvest	201,300
Total Modern Firearm Harvest	337,800
Average Deer/Hunter	1.3

Statewide Summary

There were 279,863 deer hunters that hunted deer in 2002-2003. This is a 4.2% decline in hunters from 2001-2002. About 82% or 229,836 were licensed resident deer hunters. Almost 12% (31,868) were honorary deer hunters and about 6% (17,734) were non-resident deer hunters. Fifty-six percent (56%) of deer hunters were successful in harvesting a deer. The average deer hunter hunted 21 days and it took the average deer hunter about 14 days to harvest a deer. Does made up almost 63% of the total deer harvest.

Total Deer Hunters	279,863
Total Buck Harvest	150,000
Total Doe Harvest	260,000
Total Deer Harvest	410,000
Average Deer/Hunter	1.5

Hunter Success Summary for All Deer Harvested

Number of Deer Harvested	Percent Hunter Success
0	43.6
1	20.9
2	14.2
3	7.4
4	5.3
5	3.1
6	1.9
7	1.1
8 or more	2.5