Although it still may be a year or two before we again set overall harvest records in Tennessee, Volunteer deer hunters did experience better hunting in 2008 when it comes to quality bucks. Tennessee keeps lots of statistics on where the biggest bucks come from. Here's what the trends show as you hit the woods in 2009.

The 2008 Top Big-Buck Counties
Despite the effects of the EHD outbreak in 2007, the densest populations of Volunteer deer still reside in middle and West Tennessee, and that's also where most of the state's big bucks are taken year to year. That doesn't mean you can't take a trophy east of the state capitol, but the majority of quality bucks come from Region I and Region II historically.

Although Hardeman County led the state for another season in overall deer harvest, they did not when it to comes to bigger bucks. Hardeman did lead the harvest in the number of bucks with 7 and 8 points, but when looking at the real trophies, the spotlight fell outside of Region I into Region II, where Lincoln and Montgomery counties reign supreme.

Montgomery led the way with 68 bucks tagged with 11 or more points followed closely by Lincoln County's take of 61 big bucks. Fayette County with 49 bucks with 11 points or better was a distant third, followed by Henry County hunters with a harvest of 47 big bucks.

The next closest rivals in the monster buck category were Hardeman and Williamson counties with their equal total of 43 bucks with 11 or more points.

Fayette County produced more 9- and 10-point bucks (284) than any other county in the state. Henry County was next at 278 bucks with 9- and 10-point bucks. Montgomery County hunters also made their mark with 272 bucks with 9 and 10 points. Honorable mentions in this group go to Lincoln County with 262 bucks and Giles County with 244 of these trophies.

Behind Hardeman County's 1,071 bucks with in the 7- and 8-point buck category, you'll find Lincoln County with 1,040 bucks followed closely by Giles County's 1,017 bucks sporting 7 or 8 points. Fayette County also had a very respectable harvest of 7- or 8-pointers with 1,003 of them taken. None of these counties took more than a thousand bucks with 7 or 8 points in 2007. These all deserve your hunting attention in 2009 when it comes to bucks.

Looking at the statewide map and table of big bucks harvested accompanying this article will show you exactly where the big boys come from in each region. Again, things drop way off after you leave Region II. In Region I, Fayette led the way in the number of bucks harvested with 11 or more points, followed by Henry and Hardeman counties. In Region II, Montgomery was again tops in the bucks with 11 or more points followed by Lincoln and Williamson counties.

In Region III, respectable numbers of bucks with 11 or more points harvested are found in the neighboring counties of Cumberland, Fentress, and Scott. Cumberland County led the way in the plateau region with 33 big bucks harvested, followed by 20 in Fentress County and 17 in Scott County.