by John Jefferson

BREAKING NEWS! Texas is one of the best states in America for deer hunting!

But you probably knew that.

The National Deer Association (NDA) has released its annual report on the 2020-2021 season. The NDA staff annually compiles significant statistics on harvested deer throughout the country.

Most deer hunters already know Texas ranks high in deer hunting. Sure, other states have good hunting, too, but having more whitetail habitat than other states and more deer gives Texas a bootleg up to begin with. And quality habitat makes as much or more difference than just having a lot of land upon which to hunt.

For starters, hunters nationally combined to bring an estimated 6.3 million white-tailed deer to ice during the season. That’s the most since 2011. And the buck harvest totaled 3,041,544 – the most in 21 years. One has to wonder if a year and a half of COVID-isolation played a key role in hunters craving to get back into the woods and leave their masks behind.

But WHICH deer the hunters were dropping was an exciting part of the report from a game management standpoint. Texas hunters and those from many other states have known there was an imbalance in the deer herd composition. First, there were way too many does for the number of bucks on the range.

For years, hunters preferred to shoot bucks before taking a doe or two. Some never shot a doe at all. If doe fawns were unharmed by hunters who were only shooting bucks, it didn’t take long before there were 4, 5, 6, or more does for every buck. One ranch I have hunted had a ratio closer to 10-1! It takes a long time to adjust hunters’ mindsets to do what it takes to lower that severe a skewed buck/doe ratio.

This past season, however, hunters in Texas bagged 402,515 antlerless deer to the 449,933 antlered bucks. Both figures led the nation. The ratio is getting closer, and with just a little effort, it could improve even more. Nationally, the antlerless harvest has surpassed the buck harvest for the first time since 2016.

But there is also good news inside the numbers of bucks and does harvested in Texas. Among bucks, Texas hunters ranked fifth nationally among harvested bucks 3-1/2 years of age or more. That means hunters are shooting more MATURE bucks than they did before antler restrictions became effective in a number of counties. And on the other end of the scale, we are taking fewer bucks 1-1/2 years old, ranking sixth lowest nationally in NOT taking yearling bucks. This category is like golf – the lower the score, the better.

With antlerless deer, Texas ranked among the leaders by taking a very low percentage of fawns. It scored the highest in having taken does 3-1/2 years old, and older, too. Does that age are the most productive and become the most successful mamas. One could call them fawn factories.

NDA provides valuable and trustworthy whitetail information. Check ‘em out.

JJ