This year over 230,000 deer hunters in Tennessee will take to the field in hopes of bagging a deer.

What are the odds of harvesting a deer during this year’s hunting season? That statistic is up to the hunter. As for the deer population of Tennessee, it is one of the healthiest of the nation.

“Most counties in Tennessee have deer populations that are increasing slightly or are stabilized,” said Allen Peterson, Region I Wildlife Biologist.

Tennessee’s deer heard is now estimated at approximately 990,000 animals, and hunters harvest more than 150.000 deer each hunting season.

Last year was no exception, with 157,599 total deer harvested. What about our area? During the past four years, Weakley County has been one of the top five deer-producing counties in the state.

Last year alone, hunters in Weakley County harvested 3,991 deer.

As for the food prediction, no mast surveys have been compiled completely this year, but some of the local areas are seeing some of the best acorn production in years.

“A great mast crop coupled with good weather during the next few months is the difference between an ordinary deer season and an excellent one,” said Peterson.

The 2002-2003 deer season is broken up into several segments. Archery hunting will be allowed Sept. 28 through Nov. 1, Nov. 11-22 and Dec. 16-20, with a bag limit of four deer, only two of those being bucks.

Muzzleloader and archery hunting will be allowed Nov. 4-10 and Dec. 9-15 with a bag limit of two deer and only one of those may be a buck.

Gun, muzzleloader and archery hunting will be allowed Nov. 23 through Dec. 8 and Dec. 21 through Jan. 10 with a bag limit of two bucks only.

The bag limits vary for each portion of the season, but no more than three bucks may be harvested during the entire hunting season.

Other regulations apply. Please refer to the 2002-2003 hunting guide or visit http://www.tnwildlife.org.

Please email any outdoor news, upcoming events, comments or questions to me at thaxtonjd1@aol.com