
U.S. deer hunters took more than 3 million whitetail bucks in the 2023-24 hunting season and set a new record in mature buck harvest, as 43% of those bucks were estimated to be 3½ years old or older. These are two findings of the National Deer Association’s 2025 Deer Report, a comprehensive update on the status of deer populations and hunting, released on January 16.
“This is the highest percentage of mature bucks in the harvest ever reported,” said NDA Chief Conservation Officer Kip Adams. “It’s amazing to realize that more than one of every three antlered bucks shot in the U.S. is at least 3½ years old. This is a testament to how far we’ve come as hunters and deer managers in this country.”
At the turn of the century, almost 50% of the national buck harvest was yearling bucks (1½-year-olds), and mature bucks made up less than 20%. Those age classes have flipped in the last 25 years, with yearling-buck harvest declining steadily as mature-buck harvest climbed (see chart below). They passed each other in the 2016 season. Yearling-buck harvest bottomed out at 26% in 2020 and remained at that level in the 2023-24 season.
NDA’s new Deer Report covers data for the 2023-24 hunting season, the most recent season with complete harvest data available from all major deer states. NDA’s 2025 Deer Report is available for free download by clicking here.
New this year, NDA is introducing an Interactive Deer Report page that allow you to visualize state-by-state deer harvest, long term harvest trends, the age structure of the harvest, and more. Data from the newest report has already been added to the interactive page, so check out the new interactive site now.
Buck Harvest Exceeds Doe Harvest
U.S. deer hunters are achieving historically high harvest levels. The total buck harvest of 3,086,182 is only the second time it’s topped 3 million bucks in the last 25 years, the other being the 2020 season harvest of 3,044,735. However, the antlerless harvest is not keeping pace. In the 2023-24 season, hunters harvested 3% more antlered bucks than antlerless deer, the largest gap since 1999. Buck harvest exceeded antlerless harvest in five seasons out of the last 25, all of those within the last seven years (see chart below).
“Buck harvest remains strong, but hunters are struggling to keep the doe harvest higher,” said Adams. “From 2000 to 2015, doe harvest far exceeded buck harvest, sometimes by as much as 31%, but we haven’t seen a season like that in 10 years. Deer populations are strong and growing in most areas, so it’s critical that we continue working to boost doe harvest nationally.”
Buck Harvest by State and Region
Comparing the 2023 buck harvest to the previous five-year average shows hunters had an above average year. Twenty-three of 37 states (62%) shot more bucks in 2023 than their prior five-year average. The Southeast’s 2023 buck harvest was 7% above its five-year average, the Northeast’s was also up 4%, and the Midwest’s was 1% above its five-year average. Notably, Alabama shot 37% more bucks than its five-year average, five states averaged 3.0 to 3.8 bucks PSM, and the Southeast region dominated the buck harvest per deer hunter category with nearly half of its hunters bagging a buck during the 2023-24 season.
“From 2000 to 2015, doe harvest far exceeded buck harvest, sometimes by as much as 31%, but we haven’t seen a season like that in 10 years.”
Kip adams, nda chief conservation officer
Overall, Texas shot the most bucks (424,892) and Rhode Island shot the fewest (1,420). If you remove Pennsylvania’s harvest, Texas shot more bucks than the entire rest of the Northeast combined! Pennsylvania (3.8) and Michigan (3.7) more than doubled the three-region average of 1.7 bucks per square mile, while Nebraska and North Dakota shot the fewest (0.3). An average of 73% of South Carolina hunters shot a buck. Virginia led the Northeast with 57% of hunters shooting a buck, and Kansas topped the Midwest at 45% of hunters.
In 2023, Oklahoma averaged the fewest yearlings with 7% of antlered buck harvest. Delaware reported the most at 56%. It’s noteworthy the top four states with lowest yearling buck harvest rates are all in the Southeast, even though this region has, by far, the longest average deer season length (151 days).
As a region, the Southeast averaged the fewest yearlings (15%), followed by the Midwest (28%) and Northeast (34%). New Jersey had the largest year-to-year decline in harvest percentage by dropping from 51 to 38% yearling bucks. Harvest of mature bucks ranged from 9% percent in New Jersey to 85% in Oklahoma.
Complete state-by-state estimates of total buck harvest, buck age structure, and many other harvest parameters are available in the full Deer Report, which also includes a look at numerous other critical issues for deer hunting. Crop depredation tags, deer harvest by weapon type, trends in wildlife law enforcement officer numbers, fawn recruitment rates, and many more topics are included this year.