Season: October - December
For full season details, click here
ESPNOutdoors.com rating (1-10): 3
2007 harvest: 14,550
Sq. Miles: 9,620
Deer/ sq. mile harvested in 2007: 1.5
2008 Outlook: Vermont had the best white-tail deer harvest they've had in eight years in 2007, continuing a rising trend since a decade-low 1,750 were harvested in 2004.
The total deer harvest in general was also up 14 percent from 2006 and the antlered buck harvest was up 15 percent.
According to a report from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department the increase could be due to the mild winter of 2006 and the antler restriction helping recruit fawns into the 2-year-old age class this year.
Unfortunately, the 2007/2008 winter wasn't so kind. Much of the state experienced an above-average winter severity for deer, because snow depths were significant for an extended period of time.
One thing Vermont does have going for it is fat deer: Compared to the mid to late1990s, harvested fawns in more recent years weighed about 5 pounds heavier on average, indicating a healthier deer herd more capable of surviving winter than in past years.
Vermont hunters may once again take up to three deer in a calendar year with appropriate licenses and permits, which will allow them more hunting opportunity and implies confidence in the herd. But overall harvest will most likely be slightly down this season, because the harvest typically goes the way of the winter.
— Kyle Carter