Photo by R.E. ILG.

Like many, if not most, West Virginia bowhunters, I also go afield with a gun or muzzleloader during the respective seasons. But like many state archers, I would rather take a whitetail with a bow than by any other means. In the world of hunting, there is nothing quite like the thrill of standing over a bow-killed whitetail and reveling in the moment.

Last year, the archery deer harvest of 24,752 was 13 percent above the 2005 tally of 21,949, so more West Virginia sportsmen in 2006 experienced the thrill of success. The top 10 counties in archery deer harvest were Preston (1,265), Randolph (1,019), Nicholas (796), Greenbrier (764), Mason (762), Monongalia (715), Fayette (642), McDowell (640), Raleigh (640) and Wyoming (607).

The upsurge in 2006 staunched a recent run of declining bow harvests in 2002, 2003 and 2004, as the totals were 37,144, 29,790 and 26,227, respectively. A closer examination of the numbers from the past two years may well give us some insight on where to go this fall and winter. Specifically, this magazine will cover the top two counties from the 2005 and 2006 seasons based on the combined harvests of those two years.

DISTRICT I
District I consists of the Northern Panhandle and the northern section of the state. It has long been one of the best places for Mountain State archers to tag a doe, although, overall, the region is not known for its trophy whitetails. The obvious No. 1 county is state leader Preston, which recorded 1,012 deer in 2005 for a two-year total of 2,277.

There is no secret concerning why Preston County consistently produces so many deer. Over the years, this magazine has well documented the fact that the northern West Virginia domain features marvelous habitat: a pleasing mixture of farms, wood lots, brushy fields, agricultural concerns, and the occasional small orchard. What's not for deer to like in this county?

Preston possesses public land possibilities, but generally, they are not places to go if archers are seeking to see numbers of deer. A portion of the 58,978-acre Blackwater Wildlife Management Area (WMA) spills over into the county, and it also shares the Coopers Rock State Forest (12,698 acres) with Monongalia County. Mountainous terrain, vast stretches of unbroken forests, and fewer numbers of deer than surrounding private lands characterize both of these public lands.

The No. 2 county over the two-year period is Monongalia, which came in sixth in the state last year and boasts a two-year tally of 1,401. Really, there is very little difference between the two neighbor counties concerning whitetail habitat, and a bowhunter can't go wrong whichever one he chooses to hunt.

Besides the Coopers Rock State Forest, Monongalia County also contains the 2,000-acre Snake Hill WMA, which lies directly across the Cheat River from Coopers. Obviously, the two public lands are very similar in composition, although Snake Hill has some clearings and gas well locations that break up the unbroken forest a little.

DISTRICT II
District II, which covers the Eastern Panhandle and outlying areas, does not contain any large acreage counties. Consequently, no counties ever crack the top 10 list in harvest, regardless of whether the species is deer, bears or turkeys. Size does matter when the topic is overall harvest.

Nevertheless, several counties are well worth bowhunting in this autumn. The leading county for the past two years, Grant, has tallied 388 whitetails in 2005 and 408 last year for a total of 796. Grant is a very interesting county in which to go afield.

The South Branch of the Potomac is a major geographic feature here, and the bottomlands that envelop much of this river often cause deer to congregate. Scattered corn fields lie in these bottomlands, along with a number of poultry and cattle farms. A number of tributaries of the South Branch also provide rich bottomland habitat.

The major public land possibility would have to be the 139,786-acre Potomac WMA, which Grant shares with Randolph, Pendleton and Tucker counties. I have hunted the Potomac WMA, and my advice would be to attempt to gain access to a farm that borders this unit of the Monongahela National Forest. Barring that, I would at least try to receive permission to walk across a farm so that I could hunt in the flanking national forest. This type of situation would offer the best chance at seeing good numbers of whitetails.

Coming in second over the two-year period was Hardy with harvests of 394 and 400 in 2005 and 2006, respectively. The description for Grant goes ditto for Hardy, as these areas (as is the case with Preston and Monongalia) lie adjacent to each other. Hardy contains the 55,327-acre Wardensville WMA, which is a unit of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest. Again, in Hardy, try to gain access to a farm that abuts this public land.