When it comes to overall numbers of bucks taken on WMA and public lands last season, Cherokee was the clear leader in the number of bucks harvested with 362 tagged in both units. But LBL was probably the strongest in relation to size with 298 whitetail bucks killed, followed by AEDC with 272. Chuck Swan's 263 bucks bagged took the fourth spot in overall buck harvest. Catoosa held the fifth spot with 254 bucks tagged, and Oak Ridge gets the honorable mention nod with 225 bucks harvested.

2008 EXPECTATIONS
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the EHD outbreak last year adversely affected the 2007 deer harvest. On the brighter side, last year's outbreak may be a prelude to a better deer harvest in 2008 -- not so much in numbers but in quality.

Daryl Ratajczak, Tennessee's big-game coordinator, said it'll take a couple of seasons for the overall deer numbers to bounce back from the 60,000 deer lost to EHD, but in the meantime, the deer herd should be healthier overall. He expects to see some nice bucks harvested in 2008.

What the EHD factor did on the positive side was to lower the deer density in many of the overpopulated counties like those found in Unit L. The lower density tends to result in more -- and higher quality -- food for the remaining deer. So far this year, the does seem to be in good condition, and there was no adverse effect on fawn recruitment by the EHD factor. In fact, the decrease in the deer herd opened up more food reserves when the mast crop was already low.

What biologists and managers have seen from the field this year in their thermal imaging program, Ratajczak said, is proof positive. Many, if not most, of the counties in Unit L now have a 1-to-1 doe-to-buck ratio. The harvests from Unit L also show that the harvest ratio for deer has been 50 percent does, 50 percent bucks for the last couple of seasons. That's far better than anyone expected. He said we're starting to see the fruits of Unit L's liberal limits as the deer population becomes more balanced there, and hunters interested in seeing larger and older bucks should start to reap the benefits.

With thermal imaging, biologists are able to get more accurate counts than they ever did with spotlighting methods. Ratajczak said even in the counties with restrictive doe harvests, they're finding doe-to-buck ratios of no more than 2-to-1 in most places and 3-to-1 has been the maximum recorded.

Ratajczak said Presidents Island is still your best bet for taking a buck of a lifetime, but there are certainly other counties worth your hunting efforts. He recently taught a deer scoring class, and Dale Grindstaff, a wildlife officer from Montgomery County, brought in some sheds from there. Ratajczak said Grindstaff lives in a different world than the rest of us. Montgomery County is producing some bucks with tremendous mass, and Stewart County isn't far behind. There is something in the soil in those counties that, as Ratajczak said, "produces some whoppers."