Buck hunters head into the woods

ELKINS -- Hunters didn't allow frigid local conditions -- as low as 15 degrees -- deter them from heading out into the woods for the opening day of buck firearms season Monday.

Matt Higgins, owner of Middle Mountain Sporting Goods, located on Route 33 east of Elkins, said hunters had been in-and-out of the store most of the morning and that several bucks were checked in at the location.

"I'm not sure how many bucks total we've actually had checked in, but there have been quite a few," said. "I'd say we've had about the same amount that we had the first morning of last year. We did have a big 9-point buck and two 8-points checked in, though." 

Elkins resident Brock Schoonover harvested his deer early Monday morning around 8 a.m. It was a nice 8-point buck that was harvested in the Cassity area of Randolph County.

"The deer I shot was the only one I saw the entire morning," Schoonover said. "And he was traveling by himself. I'd say he was just out looking for some female deer."

The traditional Thanksgiving week hunting season remains the most popular for both in-state and out-of-state residents of West Virginia. It's estimated that between 250,000 to 300,000 hunters took to the woods on opening day.

The turnout for the rest of the week is usually determined by the weather conditions. With temperatures predicted to be in the 50s for the next five days, the remainder of the first week should be a busy one.

"I'd say it's going to look pretty good the rest of this week," Higgins said. "We have a little bit of that warmer weather coming and a little bit of snow on the mountains -- those deer will move about all day."

The anticipated harvest for the 2022 season is expected to be similar to 2021, when hunters killed a total of 42,143 bucks during firearm season. In all there were 105,278 deer harvested in all the seasons combined a year ago.

Hunters can also kill antlerless deer during a coinciding season with buck season for the entire two weeks, provided they have the required Class N stamps.

According to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, hunters in four West Virginia counties, including Barbour, Upshur, Mason and Jackson, are required to bring deer harvested on Monday and today (Nov. 21-22) to a biological data collection station for carcass examination.

WVDNR personnel will be collecting data on harvested deer at 18 locations each day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. All data collected at these stations will help biologists manage the deer population. Hunters bringing their deer to the data collection stations must still check in their deer at WVhunt.com, by telephone or at a license agent.

Data collection station locations in Barbour County include: Junior Fire Department; Longview One Stop; Nestorville Service Station; Mattchew's Bar and Grill; and the Barbour County Fairgrounds.

Locations in Upshur County include: Hodges Mini Mart; Dean's Variety Mart; Tractor Supply Company; and Rock Cave IGA.