The county's best public-hunting opportunities exist on the 11,722-acre Chief Cornstalk WMA near Southside. For trophy-oriented sportsmen, the 3,655-acre McClintic WMA near Point Pleasant is an excellent alternative.

For the past two seasons, DNR officials have managed the McClintic tract specifically for trophy bucks. All antlered deer killed on the property must have spreads of at least 14 inches in order to be considered legal.

Mason's neighbor to the southeast, Putnam County, is a rising star in West Virginia's lineup of deer producers. Hunters in the county bagged 10.15 deer per square mile last year. Many of those whitetails came from the 7,061-acre Amherst-Plymouth WMA near Hometown.

Two of District V's counties rank among the state's top trophy producers. Logan and Mingo counties don't yield as many trophies as Wyoming or McDowell; nevertheless, the two bow-only counties are renowned for big-bodied, big-racked whitetails. The 12,854-acre Laurel Lake WMA near the little Mingo County town of Lenore comprises the only sizable public hunting land in either of the counties.

DISTRICT VI
It just so happens that the last stop on the DNR's list of wildlife management districts is its top deer producer. Last year, hunters in District VI killed an average of 13.08 whitetails per square mile, the state's highest ratio.

WEST VIRGINIA'S 2004 DEER HARVEST
By Total Harvest -- 2004
County	Sq. Mi.	District	2004 Harvest	2004 Harvest/ Sq. Mi.
Mineral	318	2	3,126	9.83
Mingo	403	5	292	0.72
Monogalia	312	1	5,070	16.25
Monroe	466	4	4,223	9.06
Morgan	222	2	1,724	7.77
Nicholas	616	3	3,039	4.93
Ohio	83	1	1,542	18.58
Pendleton	689	2	3,269	4.74
Pleasants	119	6	1,413	11.87
Pulnam	331	5	3,361	10.15
Raleigh	548	4	1,897	3.45
Randolph	1,015	3	4,260	4.20
Ritchie	439	6	5,494	12.51
Roane	476	6	5,422	11.39
Summers	344	4	2,459	7.15
Taylor	245	6	4,194	17.05
Tucker	412	1	1,885	4.58
Tyler	246	6	4,194	17.05
Upshur	340	3	4,328	12.73
Wayne	499	5	2,210	4.43
Webster	544	3	2,109	3.88
Wetrel	353	1	5,230	14.82
Wirt	232	6	3,673	15.83
Wood	309	6	5,220	16.89
Wyoming	495	4	495	1.00

Every one of the district's 10 counties finished well ahead of the statewide average. In fact, each one produced at least 10 deer per square mile.

Tyler County's hunters, for example, killed an amazing 17.05 deer per square mile last year. Numbers like that are a natural magnet for whitetail hunters, but the county's relative lack of public hunting land keeps the hordes at arm's length. The 2,065-acre Jug WMA near Middlebourne and the 630-acre Conaway Run WMA are the county's only sizable public tracts.

With 476 square miles of deer habitat, Jackson County boasts the most elbowroom in the district. Its hunters made the most of those square miles by averaging 13.28 whitetails for each one of them in 2004. The 2,735-acre Frozen Camp WMA near Marshall is the county's largest parcel of public land. The 1,700-acre Woodrum WMA near Kentuck is located in much more rugged terrain and is harder to hunt.

No mention of District VI's hunting possibilities would be complete without a glance at Ritchie County. Ritchie's sportsmen killed a respectable 12.51 deer per square mile last year, thanks in good measure to the amount of public land at their disposal. A sizable chunk of the 10,000-acre Hughes River WMA lies within the county's border. Leased to the DNR by Westvaco Corporation, the sprawling property is a patchwork of pine and hardwood stands created by even-aged timber management. A few miles east of the Hughes River tract is the 2,300-acre Ritchie Mines WMA. The site of a former asphalt mine, its rugged and wooded terrain hosts a fine deer herd.

So not all is gloom and doom in the Mountain State. "People need to realize that West Virginia is still a great place to deer hunt," said the DNR's Taylor. "We don't have as many deer as we used to, but we've still got it pretty good. If hunters are willing to put in a little effort and spend a little time, they shouldn't have any trouble killing a deer or two."

Next Month:
FINDING TROPHY BUCKS