According to the National Deer Association’s 2023 Deer Report hunters in the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest regions combined killed a total of 2,969,596 whitetail bucks during the 2021-22 season. That’s the fourth highest buck kill in America over the past 10 seasons.

An impressive 40% of those bucks harvested across the nation were 3½ years of age or older. Hunters in the Southeast shoot the most mature deer; 84% of the bucks tagged in Dixie in 2021-22 were 2½ years or older.

Top 5 states for total buck harvest: Texas (447,972 bucks); Michigan (223,476); Wisconsin (153,112); Pennsylvania (145,320); Missouri (143,815).