6 Buck Harvest Trends That Deer Hunters Should Know

As deer hunters, we rely on facts and figures. We like analyzing data because it can help us better understand the game we manage, hunt, and work to conserve.

“White-tailed deer are the most important game species in North America,” says Kip Adams, chief conservation officer for the National Deer Association, in the NDA’s latest Deer Report. “More hunters pursue whitetails than any other species, and whitetail hunters contribute more financially than any other hunter segment. Collectively speaking, whitetails are the foundation of the entire hunting industry.”

The following harvest data reflects information from the three most recent deer seasons: 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24. (Information for the 2024-25 deer season is still incoming.) The NDA pulled this information from 48 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. To Adams’ point, the report focuses primarily on whitetail deer due to their popularity, but it also looks at other deer species and subspecies, such as mule deer and blacktail deer.

By looking at this harvest data, we can identify important trends that deer hunters should know about. (As with the larger report, the trends we’ve focused on revolve around whitetails in the U.S.) Here are some of those trends, courtesy of the 2025 NDA Deer Report.

1. Hunters in the U.S. Are Shooting More Bucks Than Ever Before (in the Modern Age)

In 2023, hunters in the southeastern, northeastern, and midwestern U.S. harvested 3,086,182 whitetail bucks. The number climbs to 3,207,109 if you include western hunters in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Washington, and Wyoming. (Other western states, like California, Colorado, and Utah, either didn’t provide harvest information or don’t have whitetail populations.)

Those are incredible numbers on their own, some of the highest seen in decades. Breaking down the whitetail buck harvest by age class shows an even more impressive stat for deer hunters in the U.S.     

“The antlered buck (those 1 1⁄2 years or older) harvest is over three million, which is a historically high value and was only the second time it’s eclipsed the three million mark since the turn of the century (25 years ago),” Adams points out.

That’s a positive for whitetail deer hunters and managers. It shows that the current structures are working and that modern whitetail populations can sustain large harvests.

2. Some States Are Putting Up Better Numbers

This won’t surprise to many hunters, but some states continue to see higher and better deer harvests. The top five states for total antlered buck harvest in 2023 were Texas (by a longshot, with 424,892), Michigan (207,449), Pennsylvania (171,600), Wisconsin (148,585), and Missouri (147,850). These states also have relatively large landmasses (as well as high numbers of deer hunters.)

If we analyze the antlered buck harvest on a per-square-mile basis, a slightly different picture emerges. Looking at the numbers this way, Pennsylvania leads the nation, with 3.8 bucks harvested per square mile. The Keystone State is then followed by Michigan (3.7), Maryland (3.3), Louisiana (3.2), and South Carolina (3.1)      

We can also get a rough idea of the varying hunter success rates in different states by looking at the buck harvest per 100 deer hunters. The clear picture here is that hunters in the South tend to be more successful. South Carolina is the top state, with 73 out of 100 hunters harvesting a buck there in 2023. Next is Louisiana (66), followed by Mississippi (62), Georgia (60), Florida (57), and Virginia (57).

When comparing recent antlered buck harvest increases to the five-year average, Louisiana is up 31%, Rhode Island is up 24%, North Carolina is up 21%, Florida is up 18 %, and Ohio is up 15%.

So, yes, some states deliver better results than others. And the landscape is shifting.

3. Other States Are Posting Declining Figures

Some regions are seeing a greater decline in their buck harvests. While the southeastern and northeastern U.S. are seeing harvests are trending upward, the Midwest and West are trending downward.

Looking at the Midwest, 2021 saw 1.071 million bucks harvested by deer hunters. That number dropped to 1.063 million in 2002 and then 1.062 million in 2023. The West shows steeper declines, with approximately 200,000 bucks harvested in 2021, 181,000 bucks harvested in 2022, and only 121,000 harvested in 2023. (The most recent figure is far below the five-year regional average of 179,000.)

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Meanwhile, the states with the highest yearling buck harvest are mainly in the Northeast. This includes Delaware (where 56% of bucks were less than 1 ½ years old), Maine (46%), Massachusetts (42%), and New Hampshire (41%). Wisconsin is the only midwestern state in the top five in this category, with 39%.

4. Most States Are Shifting Toward Improved Buck Age Structures

When reflecting on history, cultural change happens slowly. That’s also true for deer hunting culture — especially when it comes to making decisions about which bucks to harvest and which ones to pass. And the data shows that, by and large, today’s hunters are killing older, more mature bucks, and letting younger bucks walk.

Comparing data from the past three decades makes this abundantly clear. In 1989, for example, the yearling (1 ½-year-old) buck harvest comprised 62% of the overall antlered deer harvest. This percentage has slowly come down, and by 2023, it shrunk to around 26%, which is the lowest yearling buck harvest on record, according to the NDA.

“Yearling buck harvest rates are the lowest ever recorded, and the percentage of 3 1⁄2-year-old and older bucks in the harvest is 43% of the total antlered buck harvest, which is the highest percentage ever recorded,” Adams says in the report. “Hunters are clearly reaping the benefits of more naturally balanced age structures in herds across the whitetail’s range.”

Looking at regional breakdowns, these statistics hold mostly true, with some northeastern states being the exception. The takeaway is that our deer hunting culture is shifting further toward a conservation mindset and prioritizing herd health over the long term.

5. The South Is Offering Better Buck Age Structures Than the Midwest

Bring up shooting mature bucks, and most minds drift to the Midwest. Most deer hunters view the buck age structure as a major factor in successfully harvesting older bucks, and many think the Midwest is the best place to do that. But, according to the data, the South currently holds that title.

Read Next: How to Estimate a Buck’s Age (and Why Aging Deer Matters)

Digging into the lowest percentage of yearlings in buck harvests, the top-performing states in 2023 include Oklahoma (7%), Florida (9%), Mississippi (9%), Louisiana (11%), Arkansas (12%), Texas (12%), and West Virginia (12%).

Not surprisingly, hunters in those states also harvest the highest percentage of mature (3 ½-year-old or older) bucks in the country. The rankings here almost mirror those above. Oklahoma led the pack with 85%, followed by Mississippi (82%), Louisiana (77%), Texas (76%), and Arkansas (63%.)

6. Measuring a State’s Deer Hunting Quality Involves Many Metrics

The term “best” should have no place in deer hunting culture. That said, it’s impossible to avoid superlatives in a world driven by competition, and it’s part of the discussion when comparing deer harvest data from across the country.   

As noted above, the Northeast and Southeast are seeing short-term upward trajectories in buck harvests, while the Midwest and West are seeing declines. This is a broad statement, however, and when talking about the best states for deer hunting, this all depends on your definition.

If your definition of “best” is all about high-scoring bucks, for example, it’s hard to ignore Ohio and Nebraska. But South Carolina takes the prize if “best” means the state where you’re most likely to kill a buck. Nearly three out of every four hunters (73%) there shot a buck in 2023. Virginia led the Northeast (57%), and Kansas led the Midwest (45%).

Pennsylvania deserves to be part of the conversation, too. The state consistently produces large deer harvests (both bucks and does) while maintaining a strong age structure.

“Pennsylvania hunters shot the most antlered bucks per square mile (PSM) and the most antlerless deer PSM,” Adams explains. “That’s quite an accomplishment for a state with great age structure for bucks and does.”

If, however, you define the “best” state as the one where the most deer are killed year after year, Texas falls in a category of its own. The Lone Star State has the biggest whitetail population in the U.S. — a figure skewed heavily by its enormous landmass — and one of the highest human populations in the country. So, it’s no surprise that Texas consistently leads the nation in terms of the sheer number of whitetails harvested each year.

“If you remove Pennsylvania’s harvest, Texas shot more bucks than the entire rest of the Northeast combined,” the report points out.

Final Takeaways

With the revelation of deer harvest trends outlined above, it’s clear that deer hunting culture is changing. And in many ways, it’s for the better. As biologists, hunters, and wildlife managers continue compiling and studying harvest data, we’re only increasing the knowledge and wisdom that can guide key management decisions. This time next year, we might discover an entirely new set of trends that can help us hunt smarter.