Once again, Mississippi hunters are No. 1 at harvesting mature deer

According to the Quality Deer Management Association, Mississippi hunters are No. 1 when it comes to harvesting mature deer.

In QDMA's Whitetail Report 2019, 77 percent of antlered deer harvested in the 2017-2018 season were 3½ years old or older. That put Mississippi at the top of the list for the fourth consecutive year. Arkansas hunters came in second place at 74 percent and Louisiana took third place at 73 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, Wisconsin harvested the lowest percentage of 3½-year-old bucks at 12 percent. The second lowest state was New York at 19 percent with Vermont and Tennessee in a tie for third at 20 percent.

Mississippi hunters also made a strong showing in the lowest percentage of yearling bucks harvested. The state was ranked second with 11 percent of bucks harvested being yearlings. Arkansas took first place with 7 percent and Louisiana third with 13 percent.

The news came as no surprise to Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Deer Program coordinator William McKinley.

"Overall, it's basically what we've seen in the past," McKinley said. "Mississippi hunters are choosing to let deer reach older age classes. That is very evident."

McKinley said that choice is the product of years of education and firsthand knowledge of what can happen when hunters allow younger bucks to walk, along with harvesting the appropriate number of does.

"I think that deer management is a long-term process," McKinley said. "It's an education process.

"Deer management is a changing process. The Deer Management Assistance Program originated in Mississippi in 1980. Most of the states have copied that. It's an educational tool. It showed what can happen when you increase antlerless harvests. It showed what can happen when you protect younger bucks."

McKinley said the department's biologists played a role in educating hunters about how to manage for older, bigger bucks, but the role played by hunters was larger. Hunters that managed properties for mature bucks saw results and they spread the word.

"I attribute it to our hunters," McKinley said. "They learned about it and told others and that's how it spread out."

In years past, some Mississippi hunters expressed doubt that Mississippi was No. 1 for mature bucks, often stating that the numbers came from exclusive clubs and were not representative of the state as a whole. McKinley said that is not the case. He said the numbers come from a variety of sources including public and private lands and are a reasonably accurate representation of the state's harvest.

"There are DMAP clubs scattered throughout all the different soil regions all across the state," McKinley said. "It includes the WMAs (wildlife management areas) and most of the national wildlife refuges. We believe it to be (representative of the state), but we accept there are inherent biases in it." 

More Outdoors:A bear joined two hunters in a Mississippi deer stand. They had just eaten honeybuns.

More Outdoors:Turkey season looks promising, but will open late in some areas

More Outdoors:'I was bawling like a child.' Hunter feels late mother's presence after harvesting buck

Magnolia:'She has no one to pray over her:' Lady in Red remains a Mississippi mystery. Who is she?

Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com. Follow Clarion Ledger Outdoors on Facebook and @BrianBroom on Twitter.