How many deer can you kill in your home state?

[idelkslayer]

A recent exchange on another thread has me curious how many deer the average hunter can kill in each state.

Please note that I am not asking how many deer the average hunter kills, I am asking how many they could legally kill if they maxed out the available opportunity. Although the number of deer the average hunter kills could be good additional info. I'm sure there is a lot of nuance and individual state regulations that makes an apples to apples comparison difficult but let's give it shot. I guess I could go to each state's game management website and try to figure it out but I bet I can get faster answers here.

Generally, I'm most interested in item 1 below, the number of tags a single resident hunter can have each season; or if your state allows multiple deer to be harvested per tag, the number of deer that can be harvested on OTC opportunities.

If you choose to respond I would ask that you separate your answers into the following categories. If your state has another category, by all means list it as well. Provide a short explanation as you feel is necessary or average success rates.

1. How many deer can the average hunter kill on OTC tags?
2. How many deer can be added to item 1 by drawing limited quota or controlled tags?
3. How many deer can be added to the total by utilizing landowner tags?

For Idaho:
1. 1 OTC tag per resident. 1 more if there are leftover NR tags and you pay the NR price tag. The tag can be used on a buck or doe depending on specific seasons and units. Success rates generally fall between 20-30%.
2. 1 extra antlerless tag in specific units. A resident who draws a tag for antlered deer cannot buy a OTC tag for deer in the same year.
3. Depends on acreage but these tags are also limited on a unit by unit basis and landowners must enter a separate Landowner drawing pool.

In Idaho if you draw a limited quota tag for antlered deer, you cannot buy an OTC tag; it is an either/or situation. You are limited to 1 deer tag per year unless you draw an extra-antlerless tag or buy a leftover NR tag at the NR price.

So in general, the average hunter in Idaho can kill 1 deer per year and only 30% of them are successful.

 

[seeth07]

For WI:
1. Essentially its unlimited. Each person can by default get 2 buck and 2 doe tags over the counter with very few restrictions placed on them. After that, you can buy "bonus" antlerless tags and some of those tag caps don't get sold out by the start of the firearm season.
2. No draw for deer.
3. No landowner tags for the most part as its not really necessary due to item 1 but there are some exceptions. Enrolled managed properties with the WDNR habitat program and grant "bonus" tags as well as crop damage tags get issued to landowners.

 

[WesternRookie]

Georgia:

There is no draw or tags. Hunting license + big game license = right to kill 12 whitetails.

12 total, no more than 2 of which can be antlered*
Of the 2 antlered, one has to have 4 points on one side.

*a button head is antlerless, a spike is antlered

Season opens 2nd week of Sept and runs through 2nd week of January

Landowners cannot kill more than a non-landowner, however landowners do not have to purchase a hunting license. Landowners must report their kill before moving the carcass just like everyone else.

 

[Dougfirtree]

In NY, the answer is basically 4.

1 rifle season buck
2 archery/muzzleloader deer (one of which has to be antlerless).
1 doe tag which can be used for a specific unit, during the regular season (you have to draw this. The others are OTC).

There are some ways in which you could get more; doe tags are transferrable, nuisance permits issued to landowners, which can be used by designees, I think there are ways in which someone might be able to draw two doe tags, etc. But, the general answer is 4.

*Fun fact: In NY, when you buy a deer tag, you automatically get a bear tag with it (as well as small game). It's just called a "hunting license" Cost is $22 for resident adults, $5 for kids and seniors. $100 for NR adults, $5 for NR kids.

 

[FI460]

Oregon- Max 2 tags
1. One buck tag.
- West of the Cascade crest is OTC for blacktail. There are no OTC mule deer opportunities
- East of the cascades is all limited entry draw for mule deer. Some tags can be drawn every year, though many units take multiple points to draw.
2. 600 series antlerless deer seasons are limited to one tag. Generally takes a few points to draw.
3. I'm not familiar with LOP tags, but I don't think they're as generous as many other western states.

Leftover controlled tags are not available as additional tags.

Edit: Wanted to add the season timing.
OTC blacktail rifle season is the month of October. Archery season on both sides is generally the month of September. Controlled mule deer seasons are generally 10 days in early October.

 

[sccritterkiller]

SC OTC
I get 5 deer tags with my $35 R license
3 unrestricted Antlered tags
2 antlerless tags
I can purchase 2 additional restricted antlered tags, $5 each, 4 or more points on one side
I can purchase 4 additional anterless tags, also $5 each

Depending on which part of the state season goes from 8-1 to 1-1

Total of 11 tags.

In 22 DNR stated success rate for deer was 70% for R and 76% for NR. Guided hunts were responsible for higher NR success rate. Almost 180k deer were harvested in 22

Pigs
Unlimited 24/7/365. Please come shoot all you want!

Turkey
Comes with your R $35 license but you have to pay a $5 printing fee for you 3 tags.

Gator
It's a draw with PP system.

 

[mdhunter]

It’s almost silly in Maryland.

15 archery doe
10 muzzleloader doe
10 rifle doe

You can also shoot two bucks annually but not more than one in each season.

The same regs apply for you lousy NR wildlife takers . Licenses are $130. No draws to deal with.

 

[Gellar]

Iowa
1 anysex statewide archery tag - $33.00
1 anysex statewide gun tag - $33.00 (can be for early muzzleloader, gun 1, gun 2, or late muzzleloader but must specify
unlimited antlerless tags. anterless tags are issued by county, each county has a different quota but a hunter may buy antlerless tags for any county until that counties quota is met - $28.50 for the first and $15.00 for every antlerless tag after

 

[Bigjay73]

416,000 apparently

 

[Gut Shot]

Iowa:

3 either sex and as many doe tags as I want.

 

[kwyeewyk]

Washington state:

1. One deer, must choose modern, archery or muzzle, usually 3pt min for mule deer rifle, some opportunity for doe on archery and muzzle or special permit for rifle.

2. Can draw permit for one additional doe deer, or some opportunity without draw for Master Hunter program maybe?

3. No transferable land owner tags, only damage control tags for some ag operators

We're stuck on OTC here, unfortunately APR is necessary for mule deer to keep any bucks around with so many unrestricted hunters.

Edit: NR are on equal ground as R; OTC, no split for tags or special permits, just about 10x the cost.

 

[Kiwi]

New Zealand: as many as you want. Any time, any where and any big game species.

 

[BuzzH]

Depends in WY. In some cases up to the total quota in a given unit or as many antlerless tags are still available after the initial and leftover draws.

Through the draw 2 buck tags and 4 doe tags.

 

[jpcoll01]

KY:
One deer with visible antlers and (depending on zone) up to unlimited antlerless deer as long as you keep buying tags

 

[rjthehunter]

5 in MN, only 1 can be a buck.

 

[nhenry]

KS:
Six total. 1 antlered, 5 antlerless.

 

[nhenry]

New Zealand: as many as you want. Any time, any where and any big game species.

Do you have to pay for tags, or is it truly a "whenever" thing?

 

[Foxtrot1]

AL- no tags. Deer checked with app. 3 bucks per license. 3rd buck must have 4 on 1 side. Some public land hunts offer bonus bucks that don't count toward total. 1 antlerless per day in most units. Season runs 15-Oct- 10-Feb. So for my zone the total would be 3 bucks, 119 antlerless

 

[npaden]

Texas you could shoot 3 whitetail bucks and 1 mule deer buck. You would need to shoot the whitetail bucks in different counties. Some counties are 1 buck counties and some are 2 buck counties so to get 3 you would need to get them in at least 2 different counties but possibly 3. Most counties have a limit of 3 doe tags.

If you work with Texas Parks and Wildlife and get your property enrolled in the managed lands deer program then there is no bag limit for bucks or does for an individual. The property must me managed to keep the population within the management plan and there is actually more trouble with people in the program not shooting enough deer instead of the other way around. You hear of workers shooting 50+ does a year on some of the larger properties to keep the harvest within guidelines.

One of the crazy deals here is our sandhill crane bag limits. The permit is free and the daily limit is 3 birds and possession limit is 9 birds. Crazy that in other states you have to draw a single tag in the drawing.

 

[Jamen]

North dakota

1 otc statewide archery buck or doe whitetail or mule deer. " they had restrictions years past on MD doe"

Lottery 1 rifle tag need to specify buck or doe and what species. Most mule deer buck tags take 5-8 years to draw. Whitetail bucks depending on unit 1-5 years.

Lottery 1 muzzleloader tag state wide for a whitetail buck or for a whitetail doe need to specify which. My buck tag took 15 years to draw.

32 years old, given the state of affairs I should get 3 maybe 4 mule deer tags 1 Maybe 2 if I'm lucky muzzleloader tags and don't even get me started on antelope by tye time I hit 50 :/ so I have been really focusing on bow hunting last several years. Yes I could change units and get whitetail tags more but I don't.