The following Tables 1 through 9 contain the 2002 white-tailed deer hunter harvest information for each of West Virginia’s 55 counties and the various public lands scattered across the state.  In 2002, deer hunters harvested a total of 255,356 deer in the combined deer seasons.  This is a 17% increase from the 2001 harvest and 8.5% more than the previous record harvest of 235,305 in 1997.  The combined deer season harvest for 2002 is the largest total deer harvest on record for West Virginia.  The 2002 total deer harvest represents one deer killed for every 57 acres of deer habitat in the state (Table 9), and a 23% harvest increase from that of 10 years ago.  From 1945 through 2002, 4,246,101 deer have been recorded as harvested in West Virginia.

Click On Links Below For PDF Versions of Tables 1-9.

Table 1. West Virginia Antlered Buck Harvest, 1998-2002.
(PDF format, 6.02KB)

Table 2. Antlered Buck Gun Harvest By Locality In West Virginia, 1998-2002.
(PDF format, 7.37KB)

Table 3. West Virginia White-Tailed Deer Bow Harvest, 1998-2002.
(PDF format, 5.85KB)

Table 4. Deer Bow Harvest By Locality In West Virginia, 1998-2002.
(PDF format, 7.21KB)

Table 5. West Virginia Anterless Gun Harvest, 1998-2002.
(PDF format, 6.00KB)

Table 6. Antlerless Deer Harvest By Locality In West Virginia, 1998-2002.
(PDF format, 6.96KB)

Table 7. Muzzleloader Deer Seasons In West Virginia, 1998-2002.
(PDF format, 6.33KB)

Table 8. Deer Mortality By Type of Season, 2002.
(PDF format, 6.19KB)

Table 9. West Virginia 2002 Deer Kill Per Square Mile of Habitat By Season
(PDF format, 6.39KB)

(You will need Acrobat Reader to view these files)

 

In 2002, the traditional bucks-only firearm season harvest of antlered bucks was 96,555, a decrease of three percent from the 2001 harvest (Table 1). This is six percent less than the record harvest of 102,484 in 1997, and ranks fourth among all past years.  The 2002 antlerless season deer harvest increased by 51%.  A total of 104,199 antlerless deer (Table 5) were taken in an antlerless season that was open for 22 days in 40 counties and 10 days in nine counties, or portions thereof and a three-day antlerless-only youth and Class Q (physically challenged) season.  The 2002 antlerless season harvest was the highest on record and 11% more than the record antlerless harvest of 93,879 recorded in 1999.  The 2002 archery season harvest of 37,144 increased seven percent from that of the 2001 archery season.  This year’s archery harvest was a new record (Table 3).  The 2002 muzzleloader season harvest was 17,458, an increase of 23% from 2001, and the second-highest harvest recorded for this season (Table 7).

 

In 2002, hunting on Sunday was permissible in West Virginia for the second year since 1956. In 2001 all counties were open to hunting on Sunday.  In 2002, 20 of 55 counties were open to hunting on Sunday.  These 20 counties had seven additional days available for deer hunting.  All seven days were open for archery hunters who recorded taking 692 deer on Sundays, or two percent of the total 2002 archery harvest.  One Sunday was open for firearms deer hunting, the Sunday after Thanksgiving December 1, and 324 deer were recorded as harvested.

 

In the 2002 deer season, of the 51 counties open to the two-week bucks-only season, the desired buck harvest per square mile was exceeded in 38 counties, or 59% of the deer habitat in the state, indicating the deer population needs to be reduced.  The remaining 13 counties were lower than the desired harvest.  In contrast to 2001, 39 counties, or 61% of deer habitat in the state, were above the desired buck harvest per square mile and the remaining 12 were lower than desired.  With the success of the 2002 antlerless deer harvest the number of counties in 2003 exceeding the desired buck harvest per square mile should decline and the deer habitat in the state will be better able to provide food for the deer population.

 

The harvest of antlerless deer is the key to healthier, heavier, and more productive deer herds.  This is because there are natural limits to the number of deer the land can support.  When these natural limits are exceeded deer body weights, reproductive rates, antler development, and herd health declines.  If deer exceed natural limits long enough habitat quality is reduced which produces a long-term reduction in the natural limit of deer the land can support.  To avoid these problems a minimum of 70 females for every 100 bucks is generally required just to stabilize a deer herd.  If a decrease in the herd is warranted the percentage of females needs to be above 40%.  Prior to the 2000 deer season, West Virginia’s deer herd was on track for a better healthier herd.  Decreases in antlerless harvest in the 2000 and 2001 deer seasons temporarily slowed progress toward a better deer herd but, with landowners and hunters in the 2002 deer season recognizing the need to harvest antlerless deer, the pace toward a better deer herd has quickened.

Written by James M. Crum