The Best States to Tag 2 Deer and More Deer Hunting News

Among the new regulations for the 2024 season, the Missouri Department of Conservation said hunters can now legally use drones to look for and track wounded deer. Also, MDC will have mandatory chronic wasting disease sampling stations for deer harvested during the opening weekend of firearms deer season in certain counties. Hunters must take their deer, or the head of it, to a sampling station within the county of harvest on the day of the kill.

Want to fill your freezer this fall? Choose the right state for multiple deer plus new deer hunting laws and information to help you in the coming season.

Lower Buck Limit

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources announced that for all regular 2024-25 deer seasons combined, the annual bag limit for bucks has been reduced from three to two.

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Options for Recovery

Louisiana hunters can now track wounded deer with dogs and lights, and if necessary, use a handgun to deliver a kill shot if the deer is still alive when found. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said the new law recognizes the ethical obligations of hunters and provides them a legal method for killing deer that don’t die immediately after the shot. Officials said the law was written in a way to prevent the unlawful use of dogs in poaching.

Double Duty

Where are hunters most likely to tag two or more deer this season? According to research from the National Deer Association, the top five states for filling two tags are South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and Ohio.

CWD Head Exemption

Add this twist to the confusing patchwork of state laws pertaining to CWD and the transportation of deer carcasses and parts across state lines. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will now allow hunters to bring whole deer heads into the state as long as they are carried to a licensed taxidermist within 48 hours of entering Minnesota. Taxidermists will be required to use a lined landfill for the disposal of biological waste from buck heads to be mounted, which will help reduce the risk of spreading CWD and other wildlife diseases.

Late Antlerless Options

Michigan’s deer herd is estimated at 2 million animals, with the population expansion most pronounced in the southern Lower Peninsula. In hopes of increasing the doe harvest, the Michigan DNR announced a new antlerless deer season that runs Jan. 2 through the second Sunday of the month for several counties in lower Michigan. The archery season for antlerless deer has also been extended through Jan. 31 in Huron, Kent, Lapeer, Sanilac, Tuscola, and St. Clair counties.

Increased Doe Harvest

Dallas Barber, big-game biologist with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, reminded deer hunters that harvesting antlerless deer remains an important part of the state’s deer herd management strategy.

“Antlerless deer harvest is even more important when populations are growing,” Barber said.

To encourage a greater harvest of does, ODWC allows each hunter to take as many as eight antlerless deer combined during various hunting seasons, and has increased open dates for antlerless deer harvest.

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