Pennsylvania’s 2015-16 deer season saw the highest number of antlered deer taken in 13 years. The Pennsylvania Game Commission estimates 137,580 bucks were killed last season, with the total deer harvest estimated at 315,813. Both numbers reflect growth over the 2014-15 season.
“The pictures I’ve seen of trophy bucks this season came from all over the Commonwealth — including the big woods of the northcentral — and they were jaw-dropping and impressive,” PGC Executive Director R. Matthew Hough said in a press release. “And the best news is there are plenty of new memories waiting to be made when deer hunters get back out there in the coming license year.”
The 2015-16 data shows the highest number of bucks taken since the 2003-4 season; Penn Live reported 142,270 killed in that year.
Last season was considerably higher than the 2014-15 season, as well. Poor weather during key hunting periods of the season limited the amount of activity hunters saw. Mast crops were at a cyclic high, combining with the weather to keep the deer from moving much if at all. Only 119,260 bucks were killed — 15 percent fewer than the 2015-16 season.
One cause of the higher number of bucks taken in 2015-16 was the fewer doe tags issued — 33,000 less. Pennsylvania is limiting the number of tags to allow for higher recruitment in the herd.
The bucks that were taken weren’t wearing spikes or spots, though. Antler restrictions across much of the state meant older, more mature bucks with at least three tines per antler (excluding the brow tine) were the ones killed.
“A whopping 59 percent of whitetail bucks taken by Pennsylvania hunters during the 2015-16 deer seasons were 2½ years old or older, making for the highest percentage of adult bucks in the harvest in decades,” the release read.
Bucks made up 57 percent of the total deer killed in the 2014-15 season.
“It goes to show what antler restrictions have accomplished — they’ve created a Pennsylvania where every deer hunter in the woods has a real chance of taking the buck of a lifetime.”
For the press release and a full breakdown of Pennsylvania’s deer harvest, click here.