MORE DEER COVERAGE • 2004 Deer Outlook, Part 1 • 2004 Rut Report in North American Whitetail Forums

By Mike Marsh

Like most deer hunters, North Carolinians after white-tailed deer are very interested in shooting antlered bucks. During the 2003 hunting season, for example, Tar Heel hunters harvested 76,459 antlered bucks compared to 51,204 does and 6,844 button bucks (most of which were likely mistaken for does).

And hunters in North Carolina are killing more deer. The overall deer harvest in 2003 - and the antlered harvest - increased over the 2002 total. In 2002, the antlered buck harvest was 62,895; that's 13,564 fewer than in 2003.

Most hunters looking for a buck hope to find a trophy. There is a wide disparity among the whitetail habitats occurring across the state. These different habitats produce variations in the deer herd, which partly explains why different hunters have different definitions of what a "trophy" is.

There are three factors that create trophy antlered deer - genetics, age and nutrition. While Tar Heel whitetails have nearly the same genetics, Evin Stanford, the North Carolina Wildlife Commission's deer project leader, believes there may be differences in different parts of the state.

"In the southeastern part of the state where there are hot conditions and poor soils, deer tend to be smaller and have smaller antlers," Stanford said. "Deer in the western and the northern parts of the state tend to be larger. The farther north you go, the animals tend to grow larger because of climate."

That being the case, it can be expected that deer from the cooler parts of the state may have more body size and antler mass than in the regions along the southeastern coastal counties, and that seems to be emphasized in the antler measurements taken from different districts.

Age is a significant factor in growing trophy antlers. However, most North Carolina deer do not achieve old age - and bucks die at younger ages than does.

"The average age of an adult antlered buck when it is harvested is 2.4 years," Stanford said. "That means that the harvest is skewed toward deer that are 1.5 years old. DMAP clubs tend to harvest animals that are a little older. The average age of adult does is 2.8 years old and that harvest also does not include fawns. That means the harvest is skewed toward older does, with more than half the does that are harvested older than age 3.5. There are not many deer aged 5.5 and 6.5 years out there in the herd and they are the deer most likely to have trophy antlers. Most of them are taken by hunters when they are much younger. I would estimate most of the trophy deer taken by hunters are around 3.5 years old."

Aside from genetics and age, nutrition is the most important factor in growing big bucks, and thus is important for hunters who are choosing a place to find a trophy antlered buck in this state. A check of the different North Carolina hunting districts makes this point glaringly obvious: The best counties for antlered buck harvest are the counties with the best soils, large-scale agricultural operations and rich native habitats.

Photo by Jeff Palmer

Counties with high ratios of buck-to-doe harvests are also good areas for producing antlered bucks. Harvesting lots of does allows bucks to receive greater nutrition from the habitat as well as increasing the proportion of bucks in the population.

Biologists gather statistics based on the number of bucks taken by hunters in each county compared to the amount of available deer habitat in that county. The number is presented as "antlered bucks per square mile." In performing this calculation, biologists exclude urban areas where bucks cannot be hunted and other types of areas barren of deer habitat, such as water bodies to give a true view of a county's buck-producing potential.

Another set of statistics we've included in our discussion of the buck-growing potential of each district in the state comes from hunting clubs in the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) and approximately 28 hunter check stations that obtain antler measurements and provide them to the commission.

These are not an accurate reflection of "average" deer in the district, because DMAP club hunters are more likely to pass on small bucks than average hunters are, and because people who kill nice bucks are more likely to check their deer into a check station than those who kill small bucks. Also, not all districts have check stations now; in those districts, the figures represent only DMAP deer. However, the data does present you with a guide to what a slightly above-average buck looks like in these districts.

Bertie County was nearly as productive as Currituck County, with 3.01 antlered bucks harvested per square mile. Agricultural areas play an important role in producing Bertie bucks. The Roanoke and Chowan river corridors also provide excellent soils and hardwoods that produce conditions under which antlered bucks thrive.

Measurements of antlered bucks taken from 58 animals in District 1 averaged 6.5 points, 1 inch in diameter and 11.2 inches inside spread. This is average antler growth on a statewide comparison basis.

Croatan Game Land in Craven Jones and Carteret counties has nearly 160,000 acres of deer habitat. A few good bucks come from the bottomland hardwood areas along the streams that run throughout the game land.

Measurements taken from 122 animals in District 2 averaged 5.7 points, 0.9 inch in diameter and 9.7 inches inside spread.

District 3 also had three other counties in the top 10. Wake County had a harvest of 4.52 antlered bucks per square mile; Halifax County had a harvest of 4.45 and Franklin County had a harvest of 3.92. District 3 is the hands-down winner when it comes to the overall density of antlered bucks.

Measurements of antlered bucks taken from 154 animals in District 3 averaged 6.7 points, 0.8 inch in diameter and 11.9 inches inside spread.

"District 3 has good soils and lots of agricultural areas," Stanford said. "The Roanoke River Wetlands Game Land and Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge also provide excellent habitat. The soils along the river's floodplains are highly productive for bottomland hardwoods, creating good native deer habitat."

Roanoke River Wetlands Game Land and Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge offer 26,506 acres of deer hunting in Bertie, Halifax, Martin and Northampton counties. Hunting is allowed by permit only. Hunters should consult the regulations digest and special hunt opportunities booklet available from the commission for details on applying for permits to hunt public lands along the Roanoke River.

Hunters with access to private lands in District 3 should concentrate their efforts on fringes of agricultural fields and hardwood bottoms for their best chances at big bucks.

Still, some nice bucks are taken from agricultural areas in Columbus County, with several near-record-book bucks coming from sweet potato and soybean fields in recent seasons. Bladen Lakes and Suggs Millpond game lands are good bets for hunters in District 4. Green Swamp Game Land in Brunswick County has lots of territory, but has poor soils yielding bucks with poor antler growth.

Measurements taken from 88 animals in District 4 averaged 5.9 points, 0.8 inch in diameter and 9.5 inches inside spread, placing it along with District 2 at the bottom in terms of antler characteristics.

Antler measurements taken from 43 animals in District 5 averaged 7.8 points, 1.1 inches in diameter and 13.9 inches inside spread, making it the top district in terms of antler size.

Caswell Game Land has 16,632 acres of prime deer habitat. Lots of hardwood forest and food plots help the game land grow some nice bucks.

District 5 has a good mix of agricultural areas and hardwoods that make excellent deer habitat. It also has some good soils that yield excellent antler growth for bucks.

Anson County has rural and agricultural areas that produce big bucks and the county has areas with excellent soils. Some record-book bucks and near-record bucks have come from the county in recent seasons. The Pee Dee River Game Land, although small, has produced some good bucks.

Many antlered bucks come from the Uwharrie Game Land in Davidson, Randolph and Montgomery counties. The game land has over 50,000 acres of hardwoods, pines and clearcuts that make excellent deer habitat in spite of thin soils. There are a few agricultural areas scattered around District 6 that help produce big bucks. These areas consist mostly of corn crops grown along the stream floodplains and valleys.

Measurements taken from 200 bucks in District 6 averaged 7.1 points, 1 inch in diameter and 12.1 inches inside spread, placing it near the midpoint in terms of antler characteristics across the state.

"It's good escarpment habitat with excellent soils," Stanford said. "There is rich, fertile land that produces big deer. I checked in a 162-pound doe in the county last year."

The county has a mix of pastures and hardwoods that create excellent deer habitat. Yadkin County was also a top 10 county, with a harvest of 4.06 antlered bucks per square mile.

River bottom habitat plays an important role in growing the bucks of District 7. Wilkes County's 6,276-acre Thurmond Chatham Game Land is a good bet for bucks.

Measurements taken from 57 bucks in District 7 averaged 7 points, 1 inch in diameter and 12.6 inches inside spread, placing it in the top three for antler growth characteristics.

The best bet for public-land hunters in District 8 is South Mountains Game Land, which covers 20,665 acres in Burke, Cleveland, McDowell and Rutherford counties. Hardwoods and stream bottoms provide some good habitat on the game land. There is also a CURE upland game project on the game land that should also benefit deer by opening up the habitat to early transitional vegetation. District 8 has a high human population with lots of hunting pressure. Thin soils and hunting pressure limit the area's potential for producing big bucks.

Measurements taken from 69 bucks in District 8 averaged 6.5 points, 0.9 inch in diameter and 11.1 inches inside spread placing it at or below average in antler growth characteristics.

A good place for hunters in District 9 to seek a buck is the 14,477-acre Green River Game Land in Polk and Henderson counties. River bottom habitats along with hardwoods on the uplands combine to make the game land a top buck area for District 9.

While there are over 1 million acres of public hunting territory in the extreme western district, thin soils and mature forests of Pisgah and Nantahala national forests limit the deer population along with the number of bucks that can be produced.

Measurements taken of 43 bucks in District 9 averaged 6.1 points, 1 inch in diameter and 11.4 inches inside spread, placing it about even with District 8.

No matter where you hunt in North Carolina, in the long run, you can take bigger bucks if you do certain things, including killing enough does to balance the herd, providing deer with good sources of year-round nutrition and letting younger bucks walk.