Interesting read
Contributors to this thread:West Virginia
From: JayD
06-Jun-17
JayD's Link
From: Rutbuster
06-Jun-17
Interesting. Thanks for posting this link.
From: JayD
06-Jun-17
No problem
From: Babysaph
06-Jun-17
Pretty much what I thought. Looks like our state is doing something right. And here I thought we should be one and done. Looks like we need to kill some more bucks.
From: gobbler
06-Jun-17
WV square miles is 24,038 24,038 x .00066= 15.8 booners in last 5 years or 3.16 per year.
OH averages 204 in 5 yrs or 40.8 per year.
KY averages 201 in 5 yrs or 40.2 per yr.
WV 3 per year KY 41 per year OH 40 per year
From: JayD
06-Jun-17
Well I thought it was an interesting read as well as showing WV is making some headway. Guess it ruffled some feathers of the one and done birds..... LOL Just remember even though WV is smaller it has much more public land than both OH and KY - which are both predominantly made up of private land.-
From: Babysaph
07-Jun-17
Well we are in the top 15. It was an eye opener for me. Md is no surprise though. Those eastern counties have big bucks. At least we are not on the bottom. LOL. I have a trip planned to Fayette and Kanawha county this fall. Imma hunt where the big ones are.
From: gobbler
07-Jun-17
No feathers ruffled here. I'm glad to see WV mentioned. I agree that WV is a better option than VA, NC, and TN. Just not sure that is saying a lot. Those are just not the top deer hunting states that hunters tend to seek out for hunting mature deer. We do have more public land than most States in our area, however most of that is National Forest which we all know that with the current National forest lack of timbering management is not prime deer habitat at this point in time. Also, the vast majority of our hunters hunt on private land.
Just did some number crunching with the data provided in the article to get the actual numbers.
What I do think it shows is that WV is capable of producing great whitetails if given the chance to mature.
From: WVBOWHUNTER
07-Jun-17
I do believe we can produce good whitetails in WV throughout the state. I do know of a 186" killed in Jefferson county in the 2016 rifle season. I know its not bow hunting but it shows we can have great deer not only in the bow only counties but also here in the eastern panhandle as well. Just saying.
From: Big-Otis-Jeff
07-Jun-17
And.............Just think what we could do if we didn't kill most of our young bucks first, then holding out for a big one....
From: Babysaph
09-Jun-17
We are doing it. We are in the top 14
From: JayD
09-Jun-17
JR - you are right - WV is doing it just not the way or as quickly as some people prefer it to be done.
From: gobbler
11-Jun-17
JR, if you had a week to hunt and you wanted a mature buck (4.5+) between WV and surrounding States of VA, MD, PA, OH, and KY where would you go and why?
From: Babysaph
11-Jun-17
I play the percentages. I would go to any of the states that kill bigger bucks than WV. However if I was to go on a hunt in WV for a B and C it would be Fayette or kanawha county.
From: gobbler
11-Jun-17
Good choice. That's what we are up against in attracting hunters to our state. People go to where their odds are best.
From: Babysaph
11-Jun-17
But we are better than 36 other states according to the article. It mentioned B and c deer. Wonder where we rank on deer over 125 inches?
From: gobbler
12-Jun-17
gobbler's Link
Yeah, we beat out Alaska and Hawaii for sure!!
I found top 10
From: gobbler
12-Jun-17
Most of out BC caliber bucks are actually taken by bow in the 4 bow counties. Simply because they get old enough.
From: sundaynwv
17-Jun-17
We very, very rarely get any Boone and Crockett bucks killed with a gun
From: sundaynwv
17-Jun-17
We very, very rarely get any Boone and Crockett bucks killed with a gun
From: Babysaph
18-Jun-17
Ok I'm confused . I don't remember that the B and C bucks were killed in the 4 bow only counties. I thought it was Fayette and Kanawha counties according to the article that JayD presented.
From: Babysaph
18-Jun-17
Regardless of where they were killed we are still 14. That shocked me.
From: gobbler
18-Jun-17
It was 2 bucks from Fayette and 2 bucks from Kanawha. 4 bucks. It's the opinion of the author that wrote the article. Another author could write an article and list WV as # 5 or 15. You could write one and call it #1. Regardless, I'm just glad that WV is mentioned.
From: sundaynwv
18-Jun-17
From: sundaynwv
18-Jun-17
Divide by square miles or divide by hunters? Divide by hunters and see where we fall. Also, look at the DNR big bucks list.
From: sundaynwv
18-Jun-17
From: Babysaph
18-Jun-17
Thanks for the info Sunday.
From: WV Mountaineer
20-Jun-17
When did the DNR start measuring all the bucks killed in the state?
From: gobbler
21-Jun-17
October 17th 1943
From: hoppies56
21-Jun-17
They dont measure all the bucks killed in wv, There are bucks killed every year that would make wv book that are not listed because hunters choose not to enter them in big buck contest. i know of a few that were legal kills and scored in 140s and and 50s that have not been measure by dnr
From: Ron Miller
21-Jun-17
I killed 1 that Grossed 167 and netted 160, I never had the DNR to score it nor did I make it to KNOWN, lol I did have it officially scored by an Official P&Y Measure so I could enter it in the WVBA Big Buck Contest, and it won for last year, lol I certainly didnt want it known by the locals I killed a deer of this caliber in their back yard, lol Bill Mason did the mount
From: Jim Casto Jr
21-Jun-17
Beautiful mount, Ron. That Bill's the BEST.
From: Babysaph
21-Jun-17
Ron that is awesome. I'm like you I don't advertise my bucks. I have killed some dandies here in Jefferson county as have other guys. Most don't enter them. I'm even starting to kill some nice spikes in pendleton county. And that is a beautiful mount.,
From: WV Mountaineer
21-Jun-17
I was just wandering. There was some serious statistics being thrown around by a few. I ust wanted to make sure they were using known numbers.
FWIW, there is one green scored 172 inch Mercer County Bowkill I KNOW that's not on the list. God Bless men
From: gobbler
22-Jun-17
There's no doubt not all trophy racks get turned into get scored or scored by a private individual. Over the years lots of BC whitetails, muleys, etc get found hung in a bar, barn or somewhere else. This obviously doesn't just occur in WV. It occurs everywhere because some people don't care, some don't want attention, etc.
There's no way to measure the percentage that don't get scored. I do think more get scored today than 20-30 years ago. I also suspect the percentage doesn't vary that much from state to state.
The only way to compare data from state to state is thru the ones that do get turned into be scored by national or state orginizations.
From: babysaph
23-Jun-17
I agree with that also gobbler. Probably pretty much the same nationwide. And most huge bucks do get turned in I would say. I don't turn in my trophy spikes in Pendleton county because I don't want hunters to know where I hunt. LOL
