Of these, Lewis County is the unquestioned kingpin. Its average of 14.21 deer per square mile is the region's best, and its central location makes it a favorite among hunters from throughout the state.

Lewis' best public-land hunting occurs on the 18,289-acre Stonewall Jackson Lake WMA near Roanoke. The tract's mixture of wooded hillsides and overgrown farms make it a magnet for deer. Camping, cabins and lodge rooms are available nearby at Stonewall Jackson Resort State Park. A word to the wise, though -- campsites must be booked well in advance, and cabin and lodge rates are considerably higher than those in other state parks.

A large portion of the 3,000-acre Stonecoal Lake WMA also lies within Lewis' borders. Like Stonewall, the tract is a consistent whitetail producer.

A small portion of the Stonecoal property protrudes into Upshur County, the second most productive county in the district. Despite a relative lack of public land, Upshur's hunters bagged a sterling average of 12.73 whitetails per square mile in 2004.

Hunters who can't gain permission to hunt on the many farms that dot the landscape should head for the county's southeastern corner, where coal and timber companies control large parcels of property. Some of their lands are rich in deer and have not yet been posted.

v

WEST VIRGINIA'S 2004 DEER HARVEST
By Total Harvest -- 2004
County	Sq. Mi.	District	2004 Harvest	2004 Harvest/ Sq. Mi.
Barbour	324	1	3,862	11.92
Berkeley	294	2	2,168	7.37
Boone	490	5	1,277	2.61
Braxton	499	3	5,256	10.53
Brooke	76	1	1,715	22.58
Cabell	247	5	2,055	8.32
Calhoun	277	6	3,081	11.12
Clay	335	3	1,034	3.08
Doddridge	310	6	3,873	12.49
Fayette	594	4	2,660	4.49
Gilmer	333	6	3,383	10.16
Grant	474	2	3,653	7.73
Greenbrier	986	4	5,551	5.63
Hampshire	621	2	3,633	5.85
Hancock	61	1	1,723	28.25
Hardy	567	2	5,195	9.16
Harrison	390	1	4,670	11.97
Jackson	452	6	6,004	13.28
Jefferson	192	2	1,770	9.22
Kanawha	804	4	2,730	3.40
Lewis	381	3	5,414	14.21
Lincoln	424	5	2,547	6.01
Logan	444	5	541	1.22
McDowell	486	4	692	1.42
Marion	273	1	4,006	14.67
Marshall	270	1	4,160	15.41
Mason	407	5	6,022	14.80
Mercer	367	4	1,757	4.79

DISTRICT IV
The state's southeastern counties offer something for deer aficionados of all persuasions. Sportsmen who like to kill plenty of deer can hunt in counties where whitetails are abundant, and hunters who prefer trophy bucks can hunt in counties where deer are less populous but grow bigger antlers.

Monroe County sits at the top of the plenty-of-deer list. Monroe's hunters killed 9.06 deer per square mile last year, almost double the district-wide average.

The county's unique combination of limestone-rich farmlands and mountainous woodlands make it a natural haven for whitetails. Its relative abundance of public hunting land makes it a natural magnet for sportsmen.

The Jefferson National Forest's 18,526-acre Potts Creek WMA surrounds the little town of Waiteville. The tract extends from the ridgeline of Peters Mountain in the north to the ridgeline of Potts Mountain in the south. The Virginia border forms the short sides of the WMA's roughly rectangular shape. Hunters also can pit their skills against the deer that inhabit the 898-acre Moncove Lake WMA near Roxalia.

Summers County ranks as the district's other top deer producer. Hunters bagged 7.15 whitetails per square mile within its borders last year. Many of these deer came from the 18,019-acre Bluestone Lake WMA, one of the state's most productive public hunting lands. The WMA's topography ranges from flat bottomlands to rolling uplands, steep mountains and sheer cliffs. Its oak-hickory forests provide precisely the sort of food and cover deer tend to prefer.

Wyoming and McDowell counties produce a mere fraction of the deer that Monroe and Summers do, but almost all those deer are trophy bucks. The DNR has managed Wyoming and McDowell under bowhunting-only regulations since 1979, and the two counties have become the state's leading trophy-buck destinations. Last year, they accounted for more than one-half of the bow-killed bucks that qualified for membership in the DNR's Big Buck Club.

The 18,000-acre Berwind Lake WMA is McDowell County's largest public-land tract. In Wyoming County, that honor goes to the 17,280-acre R.D. Bailey Lake WMA.

DISTRICT V
Two District V counties meet all the criteria necessary to be considered first-rate deer producers. One stands far above the other, though. Nestled in a looping bend of the Ohio River, Mason County has everything a hunter could possibly hope for -- easy access, varied topography, a fine deer herd and plenty of public land. Mason's hunters took advantage of those conditions to the tune of 14.80 whitetails per square mile in 2004.