Deer seasons are not that far off. Bow season in our part of the state begins Sept. 15. And there are lots of deer out there.
Last year, surveys showed about 270,000 of the animal in the state ? up from almost zero of 100 years ago and down a tad from 2001, when we hit 297,000. With good wildlife management, stocking from the few left in Western Md. and later from Aberdeen Proving Grounds after WWII, we now have deer everywhere.
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That?s a subtle understatement, since he notes that in suburban areas, the “primary mortality [of deer] is most likely from a Buick or BMW.”
Current regulations allow two antlered and 10 antlerless deer during the firearms season. Ditto during the separate muzzleloader and bow seasons. In Region B (eastern counties), you have to take two antlerless deer before taking a second antlered deer, and for that second deer, you must have in advance a $10 Bonus Antlered Deer Stamp. In Region A (Garrett and Allegany counties), the deal is a total bag limit of one antlered and one antlerless deer.
If you?re lucky, bow hunt and live in the suburban counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery, or Prince George?s, you can take the place of a Buick or BMW in thinning deer. Here, you can take unlimited antlerless deer during the bow season.
Even without the “unlimited” slot, you can take up to a few dozen deer if you are very, very good ? and use bow, muzzleloader and firearm. That hunting prowess would add up to second-mortgage level processing and freezer-storage fees, or require a whole mess of freezers and friends to take advantage of all that venison.
Where to go to getall these deer? For Hotton, that is a simple question. The best shot, (pardon the pun) for numbers of deer, is around suburban areas. For quality deer, according to Hotton, check out the big horseshoe of land surrounding the upper Bay. It goes as far west as the Baltimore/Carroll county line, and then east through Harford, Cecil and down into those eastern shore areas of Kent, Queen Anne?s and Talbot counties.
The good news is that suburban areas for quality deer can be found in those areas noted for numbers of deer. This includes suburban areas around Baltimore, Bel Air, Aberdeen, Elkton and Chestertown. You might be able to have your cake (a quality rack) and eat it (several deer in the freezer).
At least you?ll be taking those Buicks and BMWs out of the deer population equation.
C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally known sportsman and award-winning writer on fishing, hunting, and the outdoors, and he has more than 20 books to his credit. He can be reached at [email protected].
