Whitetail hunters are taking more mature bucks than 1 1/2-year-old or yearling bucks for the first time in modern history, according to data compiled by the Quality Deer Management Association for its 2016 Whitetail Report.
In the 2014-15 hunting season, the most recent season with complete deer harvest data available from every whitetail state, the percentage of yearling bucks in the national buck harvest dropped to a new record low of 33 percent, falling below the harvest rate for 3 1/2-year-old and older bucks – 34 percent – for the first time since whitetail populations were restored in the mid-1900s.
“Since QDMA was founded in 1988, we’ve watched the harvest pressure on yearling bucks decline steadily from the extremes seen after restoration, and this resulted in climbing rates of mature-buck harvest as more older bucks became available,” said Kip Adams, QDMA director of education and outreach, who compiles the annual Whitetail Report.
“However, the 2014-15 season will be remembered as the first where the two trends intersected and hunters took more mature bucks than yearlings,” Adams said.
Of the 26 whitetail states that collect age data on older bucks, the top state in harvest of mature bucks for the 2014-15 season was Mississippi, where 74 percent of bucks killed were 3 1/2 years old or older.
Rounding out the Top 5 were Arkansas and Louisiana at 67 percent, Texas at 62 percent, and Oklahoma at 60 percent. Not surprisingly, these same states achieved some of the lowest rates of yearling buck harvest in the nation. In fact, for the third year in a row, Arkansas claimed the lowest rate at only 8 percent.
“The ongoing decline in harvest pressure on yearling bucks means that more and more hunters are enjoying an opportunity to see and kill mature bucks,” Adams said.
“They’re also enjoying other benefits of hunting deer populations with healthy numbers of older bucks, like intensified rut activity, more rubs and scrapes, and better success with rattling and grunt calls. This is good for hunter retention and participation, which is good for ensuring the future of deer hunting.”
While the age divisions of the buck harvest are tilting more favorably toward older bucks, overall buck harvest numbers were down again in the 2014-15 hunting season.
Nationally, the total estimated buck harvest declined 4 percent for the second year in a row, from an estimated 2.73 million in 2013 to 2.61 million in 2014. Seven of 13 states in the Midwest, eight of 11 states in the Southeast, and all 13 states in the Northeast shot fewer bucks in 2014 than 2013.
Complete state-by-state estimates of total buck harvest, buck age structure, and other harvest parameters are available in the full Whitetail Report, which also includes a look at numerous other critical issues for whitetails and deer hunters.
Download a free PDF of the 2016 Whitetail Report at https://www.qdma.com/corporate/whitetail-report.
About QDMA: QDMA is dedicated to ensuring the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage. Founded in 1988, QDMA is a national nonprofit wildlife conservation organization with more than 60,000 members in all 50 states and Canada. To learn more about QDMA visit www.QDMA.com.