A good year for deer hunters

Josh Dufresne, of Springfield, shot an impressive 8-point buck in Vermont's 2016 November deer season. Hunters took 9,968 bucks in all of the state's different 2016 deer seasons, the highest buck harvest since 2002.

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A good year for deer hunters PHOTO provided BY VERMONT FISH AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT Josh Dufresne, of Springfield, shot an impressive 8-point buck in Vermont's 2016 November deer season. Hunters took 9,968 bucks in all of the state's different 2016 deer seasons. PHOTO provided BY VERMONT FISH AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT Josh Dufresne, of Springfield, shot an impressive 8-point buck in Vermont's 2016 November deer season. Hunters took 9,968 bucks in all of the state's different 2016 deer seasons. Posted Thursday, January 5, 2017 7:00 pm By Keith Whitcomb Jr., kwhitcomb @benningtonbanner.com BENNINGTON — It was a good year to be a deer hunter in 2016, with the total harvest being above average. "The legal buck harvest of 9,968 was 19 percent more than the previous three-year average of 8,372, and the highest buck harvest since 2002," said Nick Fortin, deer project leader for the Fish and Wildlife Department. "Harvest numbers increased during all four seasons, and the total harvest of 16,160 is the second-highest since 2002." In Vermont, deer can be hunted with a bow, crossbow, rifle, and muzzleloader. Each has its own season, plus there is a "youth weekend" right before the November rifle season where people under 15 can hunt without a license in the company of an adult who has one. According to the Fish and Wildlife Department, 3,447 deer were taken in archery season, 1,438 in the youth season, 7,725 in rifle season, and 3,550 during muzzleloader season. The department estimates that, all told, the deer meat taken is equal to about 3 million meals. A mild winter and ideal hunting conditions — not too warm, not too cold — likely led to a 25 percent increase in the rifle season harvest over last year, said Fortin. This past season was also the first time anyone 50 or over could use a crossbow without first obtaining a disability permit. Fortin said about one third of the deer taken during archery season were taken with a crossbow. This up from 2015 when it was about 12 to 15 percent. The department does not yet know how many hunters actually used a crossbow. The largest bump in season numbers was during the muzzleloader season. This is because the department issued twice as many antlerless muzzleloader permits as it did last year. "Maintaining an appropriate number of deer on the landscape ensures deer and the habitats that support them remain in good condition and productive," said Fortin. "This year's harvest clearly demonstrates how productive our deer herd can be." When a hunter kills a deer, they must report it to the state by taking it to a designated check station — typically a small business — where it is weighed and the size of its antlers, if it's a buck, are recorded. Some of these check stations log additional data, and this year, during the youth and rifle seasons, hunters were also asked to give the department certain teeth from the deer they harvested. "The effort made by hunters and many of our big game reporting stations to collect teeth during rifle season will greatly improve our understanding of Vermont's buck population," said Fortin. It generally takes until February for all of the data garnered by hunters to be reported and organized. From what the department can tell at this point, the herd appears healthy. Fortin said deer weights appeared to be doing well, as were antler sizes. The final report will be published on the department's website, www.vtfishandwildlife.com.