Depending upon one's point of view, West Virginia's 2008 deer-hunting season could be considered a disappointment or a success. Sportsmen who hoped to see more big bucks killed were probably disappointed. Hunters who hoped to see trophy bucks killed over a widespread geographic area were most likely pleased.

The bottom line: Mountain State sportsmen bagged 75 bucks that scored high enough to qualify for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources' (DNR) Big Buck Club, 28 percent fewer than 2007's total of 104. On the other hand, bucks from 30 of the state's 55 counties made the list -- a 25 percent increase from the previous year's record of 24.

Paul Johansen, the DNR's assistant wildlife chief, believes the drop-off in trophy numbers had more to do with what happened in 2005 than what happened in 2008.

"When you're talking about older-aged deer showing up in the harvest, you need to look a year or two back from the year in question. It looks like in 2005, for both the buck and the archery season, there were pretty significant harvest declines from the previous year. The buck kill dropped 11 percent and the archery kill 16 percent.

"A lot of yearling bucks didn't get killed in 2005, and that created a surplus of older-aged deer that showed up in the 2007 season. I think the 2008 results weren't as much a drop-off as a return to normal conditions from the 'bubble' of big bucks we had in 2007."

While he believes the decline in trophy numbers is a statistical anomaly, Johansen believes the increase in trophy-producing counties represents a growing trend.

"When we started concurrent hunting -- allowing hunters to take antlerless deer during the buck season -- we predicted hunters would start seeing more older-aged bucks," he says. "When hunters take does instead of yearling bucks, you get more bucks surviving into their second and third years. Over time, those older-aged bucks start showing up in the harvest."

Perhaps the best way to assess the status of the state's trophy hunting is to take a good close look at results from the DNR's annual Big Buck Contest. Officials with the DNR keep meticulous records on the number of deer entered in the contest, the number of deer that make the Big Buck Club list, and where and when these deer were killed.

Harvest statistics don't necessarily reveal where big bucks will be taken, but it definitely shows where they have been taken. Poring over the Big Buck rankings at least confirms which counties produced the biggest trophies and which counties produced the most.

Last year, most of those counties hailed from West Virginia's southwest, in an area mostly south of Interstate 64 and west of Interstate 77. Three-quarters of last year's Big Buck honorees were killed in counties within those boundaries or immediately adjacent to them.

Four counties -- all closed to deer hunting with firearms -- form the epicenter of the larger big-buck producing area. Logan, McDowell, Mingo and Wyoming counties have been bowhunting-only areas since 1979, and in just three decades have become legendary for their ability to grow big-bodied, big-antlered white­tails.

Of the four, McDowell County is the current leader. Bowhunters there killed 16 deer that made 2008's Big Buck list, the most in the state by a good margin.

The bucks ranged in size from Kevin Blevins' third-ranked typical at 155 5/8 Pope and Young (P&Y) to Jason Carpenter's 49th-ranked typical at 127 0/8.