https://www.outdoorlife.com/story/hunting/the-state-by-state-2020-deer-hunting-forecast/ Take a look and see what yall think. Id say for VA it's fairly accurate
Shocker...the zone I hunt in CT has a low deer population....Sounds about right! I just need to seal the deal on a buck the size my dad got when I was 8, and then I will hunt anywhere and everywhere!!
my takeaway- all the Great Lake states are looking at good seasons. Carry on. EDIT- New York- you don't count. We don't want to be associated with the likes of you.
I really hate these... Go here or there for lots of big bucks. Well these areas are already filled with land owners and hunting camps. Unfortunately one of the best has very little public land. It just causes problems, why we have to drive by posted signs every 30 ft and still they don't get the point. Just say the state has lots of deer this year good luck!
The Arkansas forecast is right about the flooding. The eastern part of the state, especially south of I-40 may have a tougher year. All those river systems flooded pretty bad in mid-May which is typically when fawns drop. Although, I would think that would mean two to three years would be rough when the fawns are not around to grow into big bucks. This year should be decent if the adult deer survived the worst of the flooding.
They nailed it for Iowa. Southern third of the state got hammered by EHD last year. We got hit two years in a row with EHD about 8 years ago and had just gotten back to having a lot of good, mature bucks. Sadly, EHD seems to be especially hard on the mature bucks. I know of literally hundreds of good ones that were found dead. One of my clients had to stop his combine many times last Fall to drag dead deer out of the way. Normally they die in or near water, but last year was so bad that we found them everywhere. We had to leave one farm where we went to mow trails and hang stands in August because there were so many dead deer that we could not stand the smell. That is no exaggeration. My buddy was gagging and about to puke. I have a pretty strong stomach and was also beyond my limit of stench. There were only a couple thousand cases reported, but I can assure you that the actual death count was several times that. My cameras are reflecting the much lower numbers and definitely fewer good bucks. Honestly, if you have Iowa points you have been banking, look to NE or W parts of the state, or give it a couple of years so you don't get disappointed. When someone around here sees a good one now, they get excited. We used to drive around in the evening and see 10 or more good bucks. And I mean 150 and better to qualify as a "good" one. It is going to take several years of no EHD before that happens again. They are still out there, but you are going to have to have some local knowledge or get lucky to take one home at this point.
Just started hunting PA last season. Talked to a guy at A local QDMA and he was sense the introduction of antler restrictions they have been seeing a lot more bigger deer hitting the ground. I personally saw a beautiful 2.5 year old 8 point last season and believe to have a 3.5 year old tall 8 running around the property where I hunt. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
