The 2008-09 deer season set a harvest record and confirmed a shift in hunter preference for taking antlerless deer over antlered bucks (or at least a willingness to do so) for the second year.

Previously, the buck-to-doe harvest ratio had hovered around 60 percent, following years of liberalization in antlerless deer harvest regulations.

This shift toward hunter willingness to take more does is good news for proponents of quality deer management because at the same time the antlerless deer harvest is increasing, the buck harvest is stabilizing.

During the 2007-08 season, 48.6 percent of the total harvest consisted of antlered bucks. Complete deer harvest figures for the 2007-08 hunting season included 83,665 antlered bucks, 10,887 button bucks and 77,434 does. The total 2007-08 harvest of 171,986 deer set a record, but the antlered buck harvest was only the second highest, following the record antlered buck harvest of 85,459 in 2006-07.

The 2008-09 antlered-buck harvest beat the 2007-08 antlered-buck harvest but not the 2006-07 harvest, so it's in second place. The breakdown by age and sex for the 2008-09 harvest was 85,051 antlered bucks, 13,359 button bucks and 77,887 does for a record 176,297 deer. The buck-to-antlerless deer ratio of harvested deer was 48.2 percent, proving it was probably not an anomaly.

Evin Stanford is the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's Surveys and Research Biologist for Deer, Turkey and Wild Boar. He analyses big-game harvest data.

"The antlered buck harvest was our second-best," Stanford said. "But the difference in buck harvest over the past three years is statistically insignificant. We are seeing a flattening of the deer harvest curve for all ages and sexes. This is a result of stabilization of the deer population through liberalization of regulations regarding the harvest of antlerless deer."

Antlered buck harvests are slightly lower, while overall harvests are higher. One factor is hunter acceptance of the regulatory caps on taking antlered bucks. Impacts of the two-buck rule for Piedmont and mountain counties and the four-buck rule for coastal counties are showing.

The harvest of does and button bucks has increased for two reasons. The first is a shift in hunter preference for taking does over bucks for those harvesting multiple deer. The second is the implementation two years ago of bonus antlerless harvest cards, which increased reported antlerless harvests on private lands.

With more than half of the total harvest consisting of does and button bucks for only the second season since deer restoration began, the establishment of a new trend may show an increasing number of hunters are seeking to improve their deer-hunting territories' trophy buck potential. But this attitude has been taking shape over a long time. Therefore, quality deer management alone does not explain the predisposition for so many individual hunters to harvest does in favor of bucks.

Last fall, for example, other reasons for the higher doe-to-buck harvest ratio could have included economic factors. Hunters, like all other citizens, were paying higher prices for everything, including corn or sweet potatoes used as deer bait, fertilizer and seed for food plots, and fuel for planting and driving to hunting destinations. Meat prices had also increased dramatically. Most deer hunters prefer eating antlerless deer rather than adult bucks. Therefore, the chance to supplement freezers with extra meat may have tempted many hunters into taking the opportunity to harvest more antlerless deer than in the past.