I remember back in 1987 when the deer harvest first exceeded 100,000 animals. I thought at the time that the Game Department had lost their collective minds. Their regulations were far too liberal. Too many deer killed would decimate populations.
Boy was I wrong about that.
The very next year, the deer kill jumped to about 120,000. In 1990, that figure increased to over 160,000 and in 1992, the deer harvest first exceeded the 200,000 mark.
Boy was I really wrong.
In 2009, the deer harvest in Virginia hit a record high of about 255,000. That’s when the Game Department biologists decided to put the brakes on the booming deer population by allowing more does to be harvested with a goal of stabilizing the overall deer herd and that has been achieved.
For the past several years the deer kill has bounced around the 200,000 mark, allowing for a generous harvest but keeping the deer population under control.
The official tally for the 2020/21 season was 208,131, about a 1% increase from the previous year. Archery hunters took 14% of the kill, black powder hunters claimed 24% and firearms hunters took the balance. This figure, however, does not include the many deer harvested by special permits in agricultural and urban areas,
According to Deer Project Leader Matt Knox, the overall fall 2020 deer harvest would have probably been higher if not for several Hemorrhagic Disease events scattered across the state in late summer and early fall 2020. Annual deer harvest totals by county dating back to 1947, including the county specific 2020 deer harvest totals, can be found on the Department’s website.
Bear hunters had another great year, almost equaling the record kill of the previous year. A total of 3,464 bears were checked in, which was 24% higher than the previous 5-year average. Biologists say that good weather contributed to higher bear kills, with later than usual denning and favorable hunting opportunities.
Bears have been adapting nicely to the environment and seem to be moving closer and closer to urban areas where they are finding plenty of food and not as much hunting pressure. When left alone, black bears present little or no threat to humans.
The fall turkey season was also productive. A total of 2,092 turkeys found their way in game bags, up 3.7% from the previous year. Interestingly, the harvest was up by 11% in counties west of the Blue Ridge. and declined by 1.5% in the eastern counties. Archery (bows and crossbows) hunters did particularly well harvesting nearly 20% of the total kill.