With the recent closure of Kentucky’s modern firearm deer season and other hunts to come, the state’s 2021-22 white deer harvest looks destined for a robust but unremarkable total.
After the whitetail deer season ended last weekend, the third weekend of the 16-day season, Kentucky hunters reported having captured around 120,500 deer with all arms at that time. Around 96,000 deer had then been counted by gun hunters.
These numbers compare to an all-arms total of around 125,500 deer in the same period the previous hunting year, 2020-21. Of these, just under 95,000 have been reported to have been carried away by modern firearms.
Overall, the current hunt year is lower, but insignificantly in the Kentucky deer harvest compared to the previous year. Last year’s total deer count by all arms over all weapon-based seasons ended with 141,621 white deer registered with the Telecheck telephone / internet reporting system.
As a perspective, the 2020-21 state deer harvest was significantly lower than in 2019-20, 148,395 and 2018-19, 145,753. Yet last year’s harvest was over. those of 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The average deer harvest for Kentucky over the past five years is 142,251. With typical attendance and, most importantly, considerable days of tolerable to fine weather during the remaining hunting seasons, the current year could come to an end. with a deer harvest close to the five-year average.
Highest deer harvest ever? That was six years ago, achieved in the 2015-16 hunting year when Kentucky White Tail Hunters reported an all-gun harvest of a whopping 155,730.
There is no doubt that the modern gun season will have produced the largest harvest of deer of any hunting year, even if it is only 16 days of hunting. The modern firearms season attracts the greatest participation by far from hunters, drawn to the most efficient method of hunting during the period (peak rut) when maximum deer movement can be expected. .
However, this is certainly not the only way to increase the deer harvest. The archery and crossbow seasons now continue, through January 17. Bow hunters have caught over 12,000 deer so far this season and, based on years past, one would expect to bring the harvest of another 4,000 to 5,000.
Crossbow hunters have reported taking well over 9,000 and could shoot another 3,000-4,000 if previous seasons are a good indicator.
The next stop, however, is the late second session of the muzzle-loading deer season. It starts next Saturday and lasts for nine days, from December 11 to 19, including two weekends. Hunters have captured over 4,400 deer with muzzle chargers this hunting year, and they may well double that number or more by the end of the season.
A final gun season will take place on January 1 and 2 with the free youth deer season, during which junior hunters under the age of 16 can hunt with modern firearms (under the supervision of partners adults). The free portion of the weekend free young deer season is that for these two days, pediatric hunters are not required to have a youth hunting license or a young deer license. One would expect this annual season to produce several hundred to over 1,000 deer.
It’s turkey time in Kentucky again with the end of the shotgun hunting season for birds of both sexes. Shotgun hunters can take gobblers or chickens today through Friday of next week, December 4-10.
The season is a cooler version of the early fall turkey hunt week, October 23-29. These two weeks of fall hunting are the only shotgun hunting options outside of the traditional spring gobbler season. Aside from the big differences in seasons, spring hunting is reserved for gobblers, while the fall seasons are reserved for turkeys of both sexes.
The styles of hunting between spring and fall are also very varied. Spring hunters can count on calls and maybe decoys in a big way to attract food lovers during mating season. Fall hunters do not have the reproductive attractiveness of bringing birds to them, so cool, cold season hunts are typically performed as ambush hunts. Hunters usually set up in blinds or natural shelter along the turkey travel routes to await the arrival of winter flocks.
The bag limit for the combined fall turkey seasons (including two shotgun seasons as well as archery and crossbow seasons) is four turkeys, either hens or gobblers. However, only two turkeys can be taken with a shotgun. Additionally, the restrictions only allow one turkey with a beard of three inches or more in the limit. No more than one turkey may be taken per hunting day.
The Kentucky duck hunting season is about to resume for the duration.
The traditional statewide duck season initially opened on Thanksgiving Day and lasted for four days over the holiday weekend. Released since Monday, duck hunting will become serious since it will resume Tuesday of next week.
Indeed, the late segment of the Kentucky duck season runs from Dec.7 to Jan.31, a 56-day period that is expected to continue as late as the framework of Fish & Wildlife Service regulators allows. Kentucky hunters and wildlife managers prefer the latter opportunities which can be programmed to play the best odds for maximum numbers of migrating ducks at that latitude.
Meanwhile, the hunt for Canada goose, laughing goose, snow goose and Brent Goose continues. The goose hunt also opened Thanksgiving in Kentucky, but it continues uninterrupted until February 15.
Steve Vantreese is a freelance outdoor writer. Email outdoor news to [email protected] or phone 270-575-8650.
Steve Vantreese is a freelance outdoor writer. Email outdoor news to [email protected] or phone 270-575-8650.
