Category: deer hunting

Michael A. Sawyers Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — The buck kill of 535 from the first weekend of Maryland’s firearms season is up noticeably in Allegany County, according to Brian Eyler of the Maryland Wildlife Service.

“A year ago on the same two days, there were 408 bucks checked in,” Eyler said Wednesday.

The season continues through Dec. 10.

Eyler said there was a slight increase in the buck harvest in Garrett County on the first Saturday and Sunday of the season, 553 this year compared to 542 a year ago.

Statewide, the opening weekend gave up 15,598 deer. From mid-Washington County eastward, antlerless deer were also legal game.

“We were happy to see the increase in the buck harvest in Allegany County,” Eyler said. “There were fewer acorns this year and that likely had the deer moving around more as they fed.”

Although the opening days were a little warm, according to Eyler, the weather was such that hunters stayed afield throughout daylight.

“The opening weekend accounts for about one-third of the firearms season harvest,” Eyler said.

After having only one hunter bring a deer for chronic wasting disease sampling during the October muzzleloader season, the agency chose to close a surveillance station in Green Ridge State Forest.

“Instead, we put our people at meat processors and right now have 150 to 200 deer sampled,” Eyler said. A buck killed in that area a year ago was confirmed as the state’s first with CWD.

Hunting pressure on the Green Ridge State Forest continues to decrease. Eyler said 304 vehicles were counted there on opening day compared to 387 a year ago and 560 in 2008.

“Out car counts on the other public lands such as Warrior Mountain, Dan’s Mountain and Mount Nebo are pretty stable,” he said.

Young Maryland firearms hunters who have two days set aside for them in mid-November were particularly successful this year in far Western Maryland.

In Allegany County, those youthful hunters bagged 96 bucks and 88 antlerless deer compared to 69 and 46 in 2010.

Of the bucks, 13 were 8-pointers and 20 were 6-pointers.

In Garrett County, 230 bucks were checked in along with 163 antlerless deer. The buck harvest included 12 9-pointers, 50 8-pointers and 29 6-pointers.

A year ago there were 153 bucks and 87 antlerless in Garrett.

“The deer were really moving around that weekend and made them available to the young hunters,” said the agency’s Clarissa Harris.

When the junior hunt and the first weekend of firearms season are combined, the buck harvest in Allegany has been 631 and in Garrett 783.

Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.

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>DNR Announces Deer Season Harvest Results for 2010-11
2/16/2011

Maryland deer hunters harvested a total of 98,663 deer during the 2010-2011 bow, muzzleloader and firearm seasons combined. This figure is down just 2 percent from last year’s record harvest of 100,663 deer. The antlered harvest declined 1 percent to 33,341 deer this year, while the antlerless harvest decreased 2 percent to 65,322 deer. The harvest totals include 2,780 sika deer; a 17 percent increase over last year’s total for this species.

“Deer hunting was more challenging this year but success rates were high in most areas by the end of the season,” said DNR’s Deer Project Leader Brian Eyler. “The strong winds and very cold weather that plagued hunters during many of the most popular hunting days initially kept harvest down. We also had an abundant acorn crop that changed deer movements and had many hunters wondering where the deer were. Despite these challenges, hunters adapted and finished with a strong antlerless deer harvest — something we consider essential to managing the State’s deer population.”
A regulation change enacted in 2010 moved the western half of Washington County into Deer Management Region A, which includes Allegany and Garrett counties. The regulation change was instituted to reduce the deer harvest in that portion of Washington County. As a result of the boundary change, deer harvest numbers for the region are not directly comparable to previous years. A total of 9,324 deer (5,412 antlered, 3,912 antlerless) were harvested in Region A during the 2010-2011 season. The Garrett County harvest remained stable while the harvest in Allegany and Washington counties dropped approximately 30 percent. The decline in Washington County was an expected outcome of the change in the Region A boundary. While the decline in Allegany County was partly due to a decrease in the overall deer herd, the boundary change further reduced harvest by putting several popular public hunting areas in the same Management Region, removing the option to take deer under two separate bag limits.

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Posted: Sunday, January 9, 2011 12:00 am

Hunting a deer in the pines 0 comments

There was one more place I wanted to investigate before my afternoon hunt. The woods and fields were covered in more than a foot of white in Garrett County. The presence of deer was easy to locate with the blanket of snow. They left prints of their presence when traveling through an area.

I parked the Jeep at the end of the snow covered gravel lane. The overhanging green briars painted both sides of Jeep as I drove the seldom-used road. The boards on the old steel bridge were no longer strong enough to handle vehicle traffic.

I opened the door of the Jeep and grabbed my rifle. No need to take my pack. I was just going to walk a few hundred yards and check for sign.

Deer tracks punched the snow across the bridge. The deer have learned to keep their feet dry from the frigid creek by using the bridge. Interesting I thought. The snow on the far side of the bridge was littered with paw prints. More than just a few deer have walked these woods. Some tracks old, some with sharp edges seemingly fresh. The hunt was turning positive.

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If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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