"It's not about buck management anymore," Ratajczak explained. "The greatest focus now is educating the deer hunter."

He went on to say that doe management is the new key to deer management overall. Although there are no new regulations on tap this year that will affect the buck harvest statewide, what happens with the doe harvest has a direct effect.

"Management needs to be focused on does," Ratajczak added. "Doe harvest is not only good, but it's necessary to keep the herd healthy." He said it used to be illegal to shoot does, and many hunters still have the mindsets that it's not a good thing. That's one reason why there are a few changes in deer hunting regulations this year that allow for increased doe opportunities. For example, hunters in Unit B will be able to have two additional days to harvest a doe with a muzzleloader.

The three-buck bag limit still exists in most of the state (the exception being the two-buck limit in Unit B). Ratajczak said the Unit B buck harvest has flat-lined as he expected, and there are no real harvest differences with either a two-buck limit or a three-buck bag limit there.

With all that said, Ratajczak still believes that Tennessee hunters will kill a record number of bucks this year. He said this is a safe assumption because the does and bucks are very likely to have to move more this season than they have in the recent past to find food. Remember, we're on the tail end of two great mast crop seasons and still killed a record number of deer last season. After this past spring's big April freeze, the mast crop is expected to be decimated. That means deer will have to move and will be more vulnerable to hunter efforts. This season may be the year of the food plot.

Ratajczak said the younger, inexperienced bucks may be taken first, but if hunters will be patient, they'll probably get a reward in the number of big bucks as well.

AN AGING DEER HERD
As increasingly older bucks appear in the whitetail harvest each year, the TWRA likes what it's seeing. In the last couple of years, the agency has been proud to note that Tennessee's buck harvest ranks right up there with deer herds from other more popular trophy states.

In fact, the TWRA said if you harvested a buck last season, the odds are that it was an older aged-class deer. Even with more liberal bag limits, Tennessee's buck age structure continues to be impressive: More than half of all bucks harvested in the state are 2 1/2 years of age or older.

The agency said if you compare the Volunteer State's harvest of older-aged deer with that of Kentucky, it's obvious that our regulations aren't hurting the production of older aged-class bucks. The agency also points out the main difference between the two states is that Tennessee continuously harvests more older aged-class bucks than its northern counterpart. That's a testament that Tennessee deer hunters are passing up younger bucks for the older buck options.

Many counties are experiencing the highest number of quality bucks being checked in than at any other point in modern history.

Another factor that drives the quality of antlers from season to season, other than fertile soils with high mineral content, is the overall hard mast production. Because of the high mast crops seen in 2005 and 2006, the 2007 hunts should offer hunters a better opportunity for crossing the path of a quality buck.

As Ratajczak said, these are the glory days of deer hunting in Tennessee. When I began chasing whitetails in Tennessee, the deer herd was estimated at near 400,000 animals in the early 1980s. It's the year 2007, and the herd is approaching one million deer. And it's a herd with older aged bucks out there for the taking.

Find more about Tennessee fishing and hunting at: TennesseeSportsmanMag.com