It’s the time of year that we look at deer harvest trends across Tennessee. Call it our annual take on just how well Volunteer whitetail hunters succeeded during last year’s deer hunts and the prospects for hunters across the state to fill some tags this season.

STATE OF THE UNION
Last year, Daryl Ratajczak, Tennessee’s big-game coordinator, told us it would take a couple of seasons or so to return to the record harvest levels we’ve enjoyed over recent years. He also predicted the 2008 harvest would be similar to that of 2007. Ratajczak has been right so far, and the best news is the 2008 deer harvest was still strong considering the lingering effects from the biggest EHD outbreak in a century. In the down year of 2007, hunters harvested 164,856 deer and a comparable 164,414 last year.

In the way of predictions, Ratajczak said state biologists are expecting Tennessee deer hunters to have a comeback year with the 2009 deer harvests. He said they are predicting a bit better harvest — in the neighborhood of just over 170,000 deer — this season.

Ratajczak said it will be more difficult to compare the harvest numbers in 2009 with any other year, however. This season will be the first that Tennessee hunters are allowed to check in deer online through a link on the TWRA’s Web site. Hunters are still encouraged to take deer to checking stations, but will be allowed the online convenience if stations are inaccessible, as can be the case on weekends or evenings after a hunter has had to spend time recovering a deer.

Ratajczak said the Unit L counties have actually started to see reductions in harvests. Those reductions, however, were as expected, since the purpose of the more liberal limits in some counties was to manage the expanding deer herds within them. Nevertheless, the Unit L counties are the driving force behind Tennessee’s deer harvest, with 15 of the top 20 county harvests coming from within Unit L. Three additional counties, Chester, Haywood, and Henderson have been moved into Unit L for the coming season. That brings the Unit L total to 44 counties of 95 statewide.

Now let’s take a look at where the deer numbers came from in 2008 and give you an idea and some tips on where to focus your hunting efforts this fall. If you’re looking to fill a deer tag, here’s a region-by-region forecast of the best places, based on the latest data from the TWRA.

THE TOP COUNTIES BY HARVEST
The annual battle between Hardeman and Henry Counties that raged for years as to which was the top deer producer statewide appears to be over. For two consecutive seasons now, Henry County’s whitetail harvest has been less than Hardeman’s. That means Hardeman County reigns supreme — at least for another year. However, Fayette County is charging hard up the ranks and may threaten its west Tennessee neighbor for top honors in a season or two.