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The mature buck harvest was the highest in history nationwide during the 2023-24 deer season, according to the National Deer Association. Realtree Media image.

The National Deer Association’s 2025 Deer Report is hot off the press and jammed with cool information for whitetail nuts. Here are the highlights.

Hunters across the United States are tagging a historically high number of bucks. The total buck kill of 3,086,182 during the 2023-24 season (the last season for which complete harvest records were available) marks only the second time the harvest has topped 3 million in the past 25 years.

The big news: We’re shooting more mature bucks than ever. In 2023, 43% of the bucks shot across North America were 3 1/2 years old or older. That’s the highest percentage of mature buck harvest the NDA has ever reported.

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Oklahoma hunters get the gold star for holding out for a mature deer. An impressive 85% of bucks shot in the Sooner State in 2023 were 3-1/2 or older. Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas round out the top five for mature buck harvest.

Although the buck kill remains strong across America, the NDA is concerned with the latest doe harvest numbers. “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,” said Kip Adams, NDA’s chief conservation officer and co-author of the 2025 report. “Deer populations are strong and growing in most areas, so it’s critical we continue working to boost doe harvest nationally.”

The top five states for antlerless harvest in 2023 were: Texas, with 314,972 does tagged; Pennsylvania, 258,410; Missouri, 178,598; Georgia, 163,742; and Alabama, 158,212.

Other highlights from the report:

  • Thirty-nine states reported a total of more than 8 million deer hunters. Deer hunters constitute 72% of all people who buy a hunting license each year.

  • Texas has the most firearm hunters, Wisconsin has the most archers, and New York has the most muzzleloader hunters.

  • Resident buck licenses average $40.30 across the country, and nonresident licenses/tags average $278.17.

  • The top three states for percentage of the 2023 deer harvest by archery (vertical and crossbow): New Jersey, 64%; Ohio, 49%; and Connecticut, 48%.

  • The top three states for deer killed with a muzzleloader in 2023: Rhode Island, 41%; Virginia, 26; and Massachusetts, 21%.

  • The top three states for deer shot with a centerfire rifle during the 2023 season: Montana, 95%; Wyoming, 94%; and South Carolina, 91%.

  • Hemorrhagic disease was confirmed in deer in 25 states in 2024. The most significant HD activity occurred in the Midwest, with a concentration of deer mortalities reported in Illinois (43 counties), southern Michigan, northwestern Ohio and northern Indiana.

Three notable findings from the chronic wasting disease front:

  1. CWD has now been identified in deer and elk in 36 states. States tested almost 250,000 tissue samples in 2024 and spent more than $25 million on CWD surveillance and monitoring.

  2. The average length of time a hunter has to wait for the results of a CWD test for a submitted sample is 29 days.

  3. Researchers found that in white-tailed deer, the prevalence of CWD is typically highest in adult bucks, followed by adult does. Adult bucks are often 1.5 to 3 times more likely to be infected with CWD compared to females.

Click here for your free download of the 2025 Deer Report.