ELKINS, W.Va. — The success of hunters a year ago across West Virginia during the two week buck season has many energized for the 2016 opening day. However, weather on the first three days of the season plays a critical role in what the final numbers for bucks will be.
“Last year we had a really nice buck harvest and the year before we had 40 mile an hour winds on the first day and it really impacted the harvest,” said Gary Foster, Assistant Chief of Game Management for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. “Overall I think we’re going to have a good season if the weather holds out. I would anticipate the harvest coming in around the mid-50,000 range somewhere.”
A year ago, the buck harvest topped 60,000 and included some of the best antlers seen in the state in many years. Foster cautioned against expecting that a second straight year because the conditions which led up to the 2015 season were completely different than this year.
“Mast conditions were poor last year and we had a big harvest of bucks last year,” he said. “I think the harvest will be down a little bit and I would anticipate the antler development to be good, but probably not quite as good as last year.”
Last year’s high quality antlers were credited to a very poor harvest the previous year which enabled a lot of young bucks to survive and gain another year of maturity. The antler growth was also bolstered by a tremendous mast year which improved nutrition above the norm. This year, more bucks are gone from the state’s landscape and won’t be around for the season and the mast conditions last year were poor which impacts the size of antlers for this year.
Despite the poor mast from last year, Foster added the winter mortality was lighter than expected and fawn production was pretty good.
“We got very little of that,” he said. “We may have gotten a few calls, just a handful in the western part of the state and that’s probably related to where our deer densities are just to high. We got very few calls from the public about it.”
As a rule heavy mast means bucks won’t travel far from their home range and will stay deeper in the woods. Poor mast tends to move deer into open fields where they become more vulnerable to hunters. This year’s mast report indicated a mix of both across the state. Hunters should have already checked their conditions where they hunt and planned accordingly.
“The oak mast is a little bit above average,” Foster said. “That said, there’s a good bit of variation around the state, so depending on different locations around the state it may be very spotty.”
Reporters to the DNR’s annual Mast Survey indicated the conditions are so spotty, the variation could range from heavy mast in one location and a mast failure less than a mile away.
The two week season includes a concurrent antlerless deer hunting season in all or parts of 42 counties. Hunters need to check the regulations for specific bag limits and counties where the season is concurrent. Hunters also need a Class N stamp to kill a doe.
There is also a concurrent bear season in 33 West Virginia counties during the two week buck season. Hunters need to have a bear damage stamp and in some of those counties needed to be drawn for a lottery permit. Hunters should consult the DNR regulations for the specific county where they are hunting.
The Division of Natural Resources anticipates more than 350,000 hunters will participate in the two week season, most of those in the first three days of the two week season which runs through December 3.