SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Despite some nasty weather during the early part of the 2013 buck hunting season, hunters found success in West Virginia. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources released the preliminary harvest figures and reported hunters in the Mountain State killed 56,333 bucks during the two week firearm season.
The kill was up slightly from the 2012 final total of 56,276 bucks.
State game officials predicted ahead of the season the kill would be close to the 2012 figure, but were dialing back their predictions on days two and three of the season. Although the opening day weather was pleasant, heavy rain struck much of West Virginia on Tuesday and the third day the state was under a blanket of snow. Typically 80 percent of the deer killed are taken in the first three days of the two week season.
Although the season totals were overall higher, the kill actually increased dramatically in the mid-Ohio Valley and slightly in the eastern panhandle. The rest of the state’s biological districts saw a decline over the 2012 numbers.
The top ten counties of the harvest: Jackson (1,914), Ritchie (1,909), Roane (1,878), Preston (1,753), Lewis (1,685), Hampshire (1,637), Braxton (1,623), Wood (1,599), Wetzel (1,534), and Greenbrier (1,529).
A number of counties also had a concurrent antlerless season ongoing during the two week buck season. Data on the number of antlerless deer killed is not yet known and won’t be compiled until the antlerless seasons are over.
The data from the figures, once compiled, will be analyzed and will help formulate the state’s recommendations for bag limits and season dates next fall. County by County totals for 2013 and the past five years of buck season are listed below.
West Virginia Antlered Deer Gun Harvest, 2009-2013 |
|||||
County |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
Barbour |
1307 |
875 |
1372 |
1177 |
1130 |
Brooke |
377 |
337 |
413 |
405 |
386 |
Hancock |
339 |
299 |
324 |
320 |
273 |
Harrison |
1730 |
1053 |
1494 |
1385 |
1279 |
Marion |
1183 |
764 |
1249 |
1089 |
1129 |
Marshall |
1321 |
1087 |
1407 |
1294 |
1034 |
Monongalia |
1536 |
1116 |
1508 |
1297 |
1107 |
Ohio |
412 |
412 |
467 |
446 |
387 |
Preston |
2122 |
2034 |
2224 |
2121 |
1753 |
Taylor |
727 |
494 |
768 |
684 |
630 |
Tucker |
874 |
743 |
738 |
640 |
512 |
Wetzel |
1474 |
958 |
1615 |
1471 |
1534 |
Dist. I Subtotal |
13,402 |
10,172 |
13,579 |
12,329 |
11,154 |
Berkeley |
651 |
661 |
835 |
767 |
891 |
Grant |
1228 |
959 |
1266 |
1249 |
1152 |
Hampshire |
1634 |
1271 |
1676 |
1588 |
1637 |
Hardy |
1601 |
1315 |
1589 |
1429 |
1426 |
Jefferson |
461 |
482 |
447 |
526 |
443 |
Mineral |
1158 |
947 |
1286 |
1181 |
1414 |
Morgan |
573 |
457 |
601 |
602 |
747 |
Pendleton |
1257 |
893 |
1391 |
1373 |
1174 |
Dist. II Subtotal |
8,563 |
6,985 |
9,091 |
8,715 |
8,884 |
Braxton |
1891 |
986 |
1468 |
1401 |
1623 |
Clay |
552 |
353 |
519 |
528 |
490 |
Lewis |
2227 |
1130 |
1586 |
1365 |
1685 |
Nicholas |
1176 |
846 |
1279 |
1212 |
839 |
Pocahontas |
1346 |
1100 |
1106 |
1152 |
976 |
Randolph |
1930 |
1858 |
2032 |
1804 |
1328 |
Upshur |
1383 |
1088 |
1612 |
1283 |
1483 |
Webster |
901 |
807 |
1063 |
817 |
718 |
Dist. III Subtotal |
11,406 |
8,168 |
10,665 |
9,562 |
9,142 |
Fayette |
896 |
742 |
1005 |
992 |
845 |
Greenbrier |
1976 |
1367 |
1783 |
1875 |
1529 |
McDowell |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Mercer |
604 |
362 |
647 |
682 |
534 |
Monroe |
1569 |
1002 |
1364 |
1567 |
1307 |
Raleigh |
706 |
446 |
739 |
736 |
588 |
Summers |
931 |
536 |
865 |
1075 |
985 |
Wyoming |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Dist. IV Subtotal |
6,682 |
4,455 |
6,403 |
6,927 |
5,788 |
Boone |
628 |
471 |
653 |
898 |
712 |
Cabell |
695 |
464 |
705 |
750 |
750 |
Kanawha |
1257 |
896 |
1275 |
1164 |
1370 |
Lincoln |
860 |
747 |
1146 |
1319 |
1112 |
Logan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Mason |
2099 |
1298 |
1944 |
1676 |
1515 |
Mingo |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Putnam |
1065 |
794 |
1170 |
1191 |
1205 |
Wayne |
880 |
570 |
894 |
1041 |
981 |
Dist. V Subtotal |
7,484 |
5,240 |
7,787 |
8,039 |
7,645 |
Calhoun |
1124 |
570 |
962 |
770 |
1163 |
Doddridge |
1416 |
767 |
1000 |
950 |
1199 |
Gilmer |
1398 |
701 |
1029 |
911 |
1399 |
Jackson |
2504 |
1225 |
1962 |
1628 |
1914 |
Pleasants |
531 |
332 |
512 |
371 |
452 |
Ritchie |
2010 |
1195 |
1701 |
1512 |
1909 |
Roane |
2112 |
1049 |
1694 |
1391 |
1878 |
Tyler |
1210 |
833 |
1189 |
922 |
1010 |
Wirt |
1265 |
659 |
944 |
846 |
1197 |
Wood |
1879 |
1110 |
1639 |
1403 |
1599 |
Dist. VI Subtotal |
15,449 |
8,441 |
12,632 |
10,704 |
13,720 |
State Total |
62,986 |
43,461 |
60,157 |
56,276 |
56,333 |