DEC: Over 223,000 deer were taken across New York during 2024-25 hunting seasons

The New York State DEC estimates over 223,000 deer that were shot and tagged by licensed hunters during the 2024-25 hunting seasons, which is up from the season prior, where nearly 210,000 deer were harvested.

"By engaging in safe and ethical hunting practices and reporting their harvest, hunters continued the tradition of being conservation stewards,” said DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton.

Statewide, officials say over 122,000 antlered bucks were tagged last season, along with another 100,000 some female and/or antlerless deer.

This, the DEC says, represents a nine percent increase in antlered buck harvest and a three percent increase in antlerless deer harvest from last season.

However, the total deer harvest for 2024-25 was still slightly below the five-year average.

The Western Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario Plains regions had the highest deer harvest densities, with more than 10 deer harvested per square mile in WMUs 8G, 8H, 8M, 8N, 8R, 8S, 8T, and 8X.

Locally, over 3,200 bucks were tagged in WMU 6K, while 1,100 some bucks were taken in WMU 6J; nearly 800 bucks were harvested in WMU 6N and over 2,200 bucks taken in 6C.

***View the full report here***

Notable Numbers:

• 15.7 and 0.6 --- number of deer harvested per square mile in the units with the highest (WMU 8R) and lowest (WMU 5F) harvest density.
• 66.9% --- portion of the adult buck harvest that was 2.5 years or older statewide, up from 52% a decade ago, and 30% in the 1990s.
• 53.6% --- portion of successful deer hunters that reported their harvest as required by law. This is greater than the five-year average of 48.2%.
• 13,488 --- number of hunter-harvested deer checked by DEC staff in 2024 to determine hunter reporting rate and collect biological data (e.g., age, sex, antler data). This represents 6% of the total 2024-25 deer harvest.
• 18,372 --- number of deer harvested using a crossbow, less than half as many as were taken with a vertical bow.

Deer harvest data are gathered from two main sources: harvest reports required within seven days of harvest of all successful deer hunters and DEC’s examination of harvested deer at meat processors and check stations across the state.

Harvest estimates are made by cross-referencing these two data sources and calculating the total harvest from the reporting rate for each zone and tag type.

NYS DEC image.