In District I, Hall lists Brooke, Hancock, Ohio, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Taylor and Wetzel counties as falling under the category of having a lot of deer and thus being prime destinations for bowhunters this October. Interestingly, the leading county -- Preston -- was not in that category.

Nevertheless, Preston is still a very viable destination this autumn. This District I area features numerous farms, mixed wood lots, pastures and a smattering of orchards and regenerating forests. Hall also recommends Coopers Rock State Forest (12,698 acres) as a quality public land in Preston County. Coopers Rock contains heavily forested, mountainous terrain with some stream bottomland and mountainside outcroppings. The state forest is situated 10 miles east of Morgantown off Interstate 68.

DISTRICT II
The Eastern Panhandle
In District II, Grant County led the way with 478 whitetails arrowed. However, this eastern region was not close to being in the top 10 in deer harvest, nor did Hall give it as one of the places that sports large numbers of whitetails. He lists Jefferson as a county that contains large numbers of whitetails and Hardy, Hampshire and Pendleton as being at the BHO counties that also produce a lot of deer.

But once again, the leading county still does offer some quality deer hunting. Grant County, after all, contains the South Branch of the Potomac and a number of tributary streams. Quite a few farms lie along those streams and the South Branch, as do a goodly number of fields. Deer can be quite numerous in both areas. Hall did not list any Grant County public land as qualifying for having too many deer.

An option for those who are locked out of private land is the Potomac Wildlife Management Area (WMA) at 139,786 acres in Grant, Randolph, Pendleton and Tucker counties. This unit of the Monongahela National Forest is not known for its large deer herd, as it offers very steep elevations (up to 4,862 feet) and large expanses of unbroken forests -- conditions often not suitable for growing impressive numbers of deer. Still, the Potomac WMA is a marvelous destination for those archers who like to escape the crowds and pursue big bucks in the hinterlands.

DISTRICT III
Central West Virginia
As it always does, Randolph led District III in the number of deer harvested with a bow as 894 were taken to check stations. That tally was also good for third in the state. Randolph is reputed to be one of the largest counties in size east of the Mississippi, so it is not surprising that it annually ranks high in the harvest charts. Richard Hall said that Lewis County is the top central West Virginia domain in terms of producing a significant number of deer and that still needs to have its herd reduced. Other counties that produce a lot of deer are Upshur, Randolph, Pocahontas and Braxton.

I have hunted a number of times in Randolph, and just about anywhere you venture afield, you will be hunting on top of, on the side of, or in the shadow of mountains. Relatively few farms exist in the county, as much of the land is in either the Monongahela National Forest or WMA units. Even the farms that do exist are often in rather large parcels of forested acreage.

Precious little bottomland exists in Randolph, and much of that is in the form of trout streams shrouded in rhododendron -- not exactly prime deer habitat. The best chance to arrow a whitetail is to wrangle an invitation to one of the county's few farms -- not always an easy task, although I have been able to on several occasions. And if you are able to do so, try to set up on the edge between forest and any kind of opening, whether it is an orchard, corn field or pasture. Edge-type habitat is so scarce in this county that when you do find some, you are very likely to see some deer.