There's been enough herd growth in Unit B in recent years that the TWRA proposed adding two more either-sex days to the muzzleloader hunt in the east. Instead of having only the first three days of the muzzleloader hunt include the option of shooting a buck or doe, hunters in Unit B will be able to harvest one deer of either sex on the first five days of the opening muzzleloader segment. From Saturday through Wednesday, all deer should be fair game in Unit B in 2007.

In Region I and Region II, management is more focused on limiting herd growth. That's why you see more liberal limits in these areas. Ratajczak said most all of Middle Tennessee counties are located in Unit L, where three does can still be harvested per day. In the west, where you find most of Unit A, Ratajczak said the deer herd for the most part is in great shape. There's still some room for growth as managers try to maintain the herd there.

Despite the liberal limits in Unit L, Ratajczak said there is some reason for concern. There are still more bucks being harvested in Unit L than does. Of the Unit L total harvest, only 46 percent are does. If the trend continues, Ratajczak said deer managers would have to look at other options to increase the doe harvest in Unit L.

In 2007, Ratajczak said five more counties will be added to Unit L as well. They are Chester, Decatur, Houston, McNairy and Stewart. The only addition this year to Unit A limit status will be in Cumberland County.

The mineral content found in soils in areas like Montgomery and Stewart counties does more than grow great antlers. It makes for better crop production. Better quality food also leads to a bigger and healthier herd or greater herd density. Ratajczak said many biologists say 20 deer per square mile is too many, but he said that number is manageable and makes for some great deer hunting.

Probably the best news for Tennessee deer hunters, and biologists as well, is the lack of chronic wasting disease (CWD) here. Ratajczak said we're still clean and around 8,800 deer have been sampled in the Volunteer State since 2000. As far as he can tell, the disease that's hit other states has not breached our borders.

Ratajczak said biologists in West Virginia have found CWD by testing road-killed deer instead of deer brought to checking stations. He said Tennessee biologists can learn from this approach and plan to change their CWD testing to focus on target surveillance by looking closer at road-killed deer. He said CWD affects the central nervous system of whitetails. The key is to target deer that look or are sick. Deer that have been affected by the disease are more apt to be hit by cars. So far, so good, for Volunteer whitetails, but the TWRA will keep checking and monitoring the herd's status annually.

THE BEST OF THE BEST AND THEN THE REST
Each year for several seasons now, Hardeman County and Henry County hunters battle it out for the state's top deer-producing county. One year, it's Hardeman County and then the next, it's Henry County on top. Hardeman County hunters must have tired of the fight because they made a bold statement in 2006 with a huge harvest, leading the rest of the state for back-to-back years.

Hardeman County hunters took 6,388 deer during the 2006 hunts and led Henry County this year by nearly 1,000 whitetails. The Hardeman County harvest was also more than 500 deer better than in 2005. Henry County didn't totally fall out of grace, though: The 5,399 deer taken here was the second-highest figure for a county in Tennessee.

Giles County took its familiar spot in third among the top 10 deer producers in the Volunteer State with a harvest of 5,184.

Fayette County, Lincoln County and Carroll County hunters were also in familiar territory among the state's best. Fayette County hunters tagged 5,081 deer for the fourth spot, followed by Lincoln County with 4,709, and then Carroll County with a harvest of 4,313 whitetails. Weakley County hunters moved up the ranks from ninth in 2005 to seventh in 2006 with a harvest of 4,114.

Montgomery County hunters did take more deer in 2006 compared with 2005 but didn't keep pace with some of the other counties. Montgomery County's harvest of 4,112 was good enough for the eighth spot, but they fell down from sixth place in 2005.

Madison County and Franklin County moved into the top 10 in 2006, while Maury and Wayne counties fell out. Madison County hunters finished in the ninth spot with a take of 3,840 deer, followed by Franklin County's harvest of 3,762 whitetails for the last spot in the top 10. These top 10 counties statewide are also the best of the best in their respective areas in Region I and Region II.

In Region III and Region IV, there was little change among the names of the top deer-producing counties. In Region III, Roane County again led the way with a harvest of 2,928 deer in 2006. Jackson County was in the familiar second spot with a take of 2,464 deer, followed again by Rhea County with a harvest of 2,134 whitetails.