U.S. Deer Hunters Harvested More Bucks Last Season Than Any Season in the Past 21 Years
Whitetail deer hunters in the United States had a successful season. According to the National Deer Association (NDA), hunters harvested around 6.3 million whitetails during the 2020-21 season, the highest U.S. deer harvest since 2011. Of those whitetails, about 3 million were bucks, marking the biggest buck harvest in 21 years.
This achievement becomes even more impressive when considering the age structure of the harvest. Although slightly more bucks were harvested during the 1999-2000 season, more than half of them were yearlings. In contrast, this season’s buck harvest consisted of more mature deer, with only 26 percent being yearlings and approximately 1.2 million (41 percent) being 3½ years or older.
In summary, it’s fantastic to see deer hunters harvesting a high number of bucks, but it’s even better to see them targeting more mature bucks while reducing pressure on the younger ones. The graph displaying the age structures of nationwide annual buck harvests from 2001 to the present clearly shows that hunters are increasingly passing up yearlings and opting for mature bucks instead.
The NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer, Kip Adams, says, “[In] 2020, we witnessed the highest buck harvest of the new century, and remarkably, we estimate that the percentage of those bucks that were 3½ years or older also reached a new record. U.S. hunters are killing fewer yearling bucks while taking down more mature deer. However, this doesn’t mean that the overall buck harvest is decreasing. We are harvesting older bucks and more bucks than ever before in America.”
Another positive trend in the 2020-21 whitetail harvest is the ratio of does to bucks killed. For the first time since 2016, the antlerless harvest of 3.2 million surpassed the antlered buck harvest. This ratio aligns better with the goal of maintaining healthy deer herds, according to Adams. He also notes that the 5 percent increase in nationwide hunting license sales from 2019 to 2020 likely contributed to hunters rebalancing this ratio.
“These license buyers helped raise the antlerless harvest above the buck harvest to the necessary level, while also encountering more mature bucks in the woods than ever before,” explains Adams. “Hunters are clearly benefiting from naturally balanced age structures in whitetail herds across the country.”
The NDA’s most recent Deer Report reveals that 65 percent of the deer harvested in the 2020-21 season were taken with firearms, 26 percent with archery equipment, and 9 percent with muzzleloaders.
Looking at the breakdown of the nationwide harvest, Texas leads the country in terms of the total number of bucks killed, with 449,933 harvested during the 2020-21 season. Pennsylvania takes the lead in the Northeast with 174,780 bucks, while Michigan claims the highest number in the Midwest with 219,387 bucks. In the Western United States, Oregon slightly exceeds Colorado in buck harvest, reporting 36,615 and 35,366 bucks, respectively.
A skilled hunter, dedicated conservationist, and advocate for ethical practices. Respected in the hunting community, he balances human activity with environmental preservation.