Deer hunting is life for many who reside in the Southeast. Seasons start early and run late, liberal bag limits abound, and wildly vast rut dates make for a wave of opportunities for traveling deer hunters. As such, it’s important to understand what’s going on in each state. Here’s the 2024 Southeast region deer season forecast.
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Texas boasts the largest deer herd in the country.
Alabama
Alabama might not be the first state that comes to mind for deer hunting, but it’s home to about 1.25 million deer, which is far more than most states can claim. Interestingly, the rut varies widely throughout the state (mid-November to early February, location depending), making it possible to “chase the rut” without leaving Alabama.
Of course, recent changes including making baiting legal again, thanks to the Baiting Privilege License. Anyone who baits must purchase one. CWD was discovered here a few years ago, so that has produced emergency rulings.
That said, expect a good year. “The deer herd should be in great condition,” said Chris Cook, a deer biologist for the state. “Weather conditions during hunting season usually plays a significant role in whether the annual deer harvest is above or below average. Rainy, hot weather during traditional periods of peak harvest, such as the two weeks prior to the peak of breeding, can greatly reduce the harvest in an area. On the flip side, excellent weather (i.e., cold, clear conditions) can improve harvest rates.”
Arkansas
With about 900,000 deer and 300,000 hunters, Arkansas offers good odds of success. The state regularly ranks in the top five in the nation for the highest percentage of bucks being 3 ½ years old or older. And this year, you can hunt them with a new weapon type.
“Spears are now allowed for deer hunting during archery season,” said Ralph Meeker, deer program coordinator in Arkansas. “An early three-day archery only buck hunt will occur September 7-9. Our muzzleloader season has been renamed to Alternative Firearms Season. Non-semi-automatic firearms which fire straight walled cartridges larger than .30 caliber, certain large bore air rifles, and legal muzzleloaders will be allowed during the Alternative Firearms Season.”
According to Meeker, the state saw a record deer harvest for the 2020-21 deer season with 216,835 deer. This was followed by two seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23) of tremendous acorn production and warm winters. This resulted in two years of abnormally low harvests.
What does Meeker expect for the 2024-25 deer season? “An overall higher deer harvest and more of our harvest shifted to earlier in the season.”
Overall, what’s one unique thing about deer hunting in Arkansas? “Compared to many other states, Arkansas provides a significant amount of public land hunting opportunities,” Meeker said. “These areas represent a wide array of habitats and deer management regimens. This diversity helps to provide hunters with options to help them achieve their deer hunting goals.”
Florida
This season, it’s projected that about 483,000 deer hunters will hunt whitetails in Florida. They have a lot of room to move around, though. “Florida has one of the largest wildlife management area (WMA) systems in the country at 6 million acres,” said Lauren Claerbout, public information coordinator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “The FWC is the lead manager or landowner of over 1.46 million acres and partners with public and private landowners on another 4.54 million acres. Florida’s WMAs offer a wide range of hunting opportunities including quota/limited entry hunts, special opportunity hunts and public hunting areas.”
Several things have changed for Florida deer hunters during the past few years. First, all hunters are required to log and report their harvested deer through the Commission’s harvest reporting system. Hunters must log the deer before moving it and report within 24 hours of harvest. With the discovery of CWD in northern Florida, numerous changes regarding CWD have been enacted.
“This is Florida’s second deer season as a CWD-positive state, and new rules have been implemented for the 2024-25 hunting season,” Claerbout said. “Existing regulations pertaining to the establishment of the CWD Management Zone, prohibition of rehabilitating or releasing injured or orphaned deer, feeding restrictions, and prohibition of exporting high-risk parts remain in effect.”
According to Claerbout, new actions include:
- The feeding of deer within the CWD Management Zone shall be allowed only during the deer hunting season.
- The take of antlerless deer shall be allowed during the entire deer season in Deer Management Unit D2 on lands outside of the WMA system.
- Up to three antlerless deer, as part of the statewide annual bag limit of five, may be taken in DMU D2 on lands outside of the WMA system.
“We expect hunter success rates to stay around the same as they have in previous years,” Claerbout said. “FWC staff have put in a lot of effort to raise awareness about CWD in Florida and sampled a record number of deer from July 2023 to June 2024. Hopefully, with continued outreach efforts, we’ll be able to break last year’s record with the number of samples submitted.
“Florida is unique in that the rut happens at different times of the year depending on where you are in the state, with the rut starting as early as July in south Florida and as late as February in the western part of the Panhandle,” Claerbout continued. “Because of this, Florida is divided into four different hunting zones (A, B, C, and D) with their own season dates. View the Statewide Rut Map here.”
No matter where you hunt, or the quality of your state's forecast, scout wisely to make it a great year.
Georgia
Georgia is home to about 1 million deer and 300,000 deer hunters. For the Southeast, it offers great hunting, big bucks included. It’s known for its long hunting season, generous bag limits, yet an excellent buck age structure.
Some recent changes in the state include the banning of carcass importation from deer outside the state. There’s also been an expansion of either-sex hunting days.
“We have incredible variety in hunting experiences from barrier island hunts, woodlots between ag fields similar to Midwest hunting, to backcountry mountain hunts,” said Charlie Killmaster, state deer biologist. “I fully expect an excellent deer season.”
Kentucky
Perhaps the heaviest hitter in the Southeast, Kentucky is shaping up to have another excellent season. According to Joe McDermott, acting deer program coordinator with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the current herd is about 990,000-strong. About 300,000 hunters are expected to hit the woods this fall. Incredibly, according to McDermott, Boone & Crockett bucks have been taken in every Kentucky County except for one.
This year, there are some notable changes. “The CWD Surveillance Zone in western Kentucky was expanded from five to eight counties following Kentucky’s first positive CWD detection from a hunter-harvested deer in Ballard County,” said Tommy Apostolopoulos, a wildlife biologist in the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources deer program. “All counties west of Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River fall into the CWD Surveillance Zone.”
Furthermore, according to Apostolopoulos, Simpson County in southern Kentucky is now a Zone 2 county, allowing up to four deer to be harvested with any method of take. But remember, it’s a one-buck state.
“Kentucky’s one-buck statewide limit,” Apostolopoulos said. “This unique regulation has resulted in Kentucky being a destination state for trophy bucks that can be found in any of our 120 counties. The buck harvest has shifted from about 20% mature bucks in the late 1980s to 80% today, most of which can be attributed to the one-buck limit encouraging hunters to let young bucks walk.
“I expect another stellar year for Kentucky deer hunters,” Apostolopoulos continued. “We are coming off of two incredible years in which harvest was high despite a lot of mast around with over 140,000 deer harvested. Early surveys indicate that oaks may not produce as many acorns this year. This should force deer on their feet more frequently in search of food, allowing for more opportunities for hunters.”
Louisiana
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the state holds more than 500,000 deer. Each year, about 294,000 hunters head afield.
In recent seasons, the state added electronic deer tagging and license options. Additionally, the state expanded the existing CWD control area. Despite that, this season holds a lot of promise for Pelican State deer hunters.
“Expecting a good deer season based on current conditions,” said Johnathan Bordelon, deer program manager for the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries. “The 2023-24 harvest was the highest reported deer harvest since mandatory harvest reporting began in 2008. Similarly, estimated harvest as reported through the Annual Hunter Harvest Survey revealed a high in estimated harvest for the same period.”
“The reported harvest has set a new 10-year high for each of the past three seasons,” Bordelon continued. “Based on available data, there is no reason to expect a drop-off for the upcoming season. With any state, despite statewide harvest trends pointing upward, there are areas within the state that do not follow the same trend. Local habitat and environmental conditions, and hunter density, play a role in harvest trends at the local level.”
Furthermore, Bordelon says this is a great place to “chase the rut.” Depending on location within Louisiana, there is peak rut in the months of October, November, December, and January.
“In addition, Louisiana has diverse habitats, all of which are occupied by deer,” Bordelon said. “Hardwood swamps, coastal marshes, bottomland hardwood forests, historic longleaf pine forests, and a variety of pine and mixed/pine hardwood forests are found in Louisiana.”
Note: According to Bordelon, there is clarified information regarding the retrieval of deer with the use of drones. It is not allowed to pursue wounded deer with the aid of drones.
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Florida now has CWD.
Mississippi
The current state of whitetails in Mississippi puts the herd at 1.5 million and about 160,000 hunters in the field. Incredibly, almost 70% of the bucks harvested are reportedly 3 ½ years old or older.
There have been some changes in recent years. Notably, a velvet season started in 2022. The three-day, private-land-lonely hunt is archery and antlered deer only. This year, it runs September 15-17. Furthermore, new for this year is a CWD Management Zone expansion.
All said, the 2024 season forecast has high and low points. “Total deer population is at or near an all-time high, so there are a lot of opportunities for harvest,” said William McKinley, deer program coordinator. “Another note, Mississippi experienced an extreme prolonged cold snap last winter. Our spring deer herd health evaluations revealed below average body conditions across the state. This is expected to impact antler size for the upcoming season.”
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North Carolina
In 2024, it’s projected that about 1.1 million deer live in North Carolina. Furthermore, approximately 240,000 deer hunters are expected to head afield this season. They should expect a few changes.
“New rules adopted by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) have shifted the timing of black-powder and gun seasons and increased antlerless hunting opportunity in almost all counties in western North Carolina,” said April Boggs Pope, a deer biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. “The new black-powder season will begin on Saturday, November 16 and end on Friday, November 29. Importantly, Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after Thanksgiving (i.e., November 28 and 29) are designated as Youth Days in the western zone, which means youth under 18 can use a gun to harvest antlered or antlerless deer on those two days of the black-powder season. Gun season will begin on Saturday, November 30 and end on January 1, 2025.”
If land access is a challenge this year, don’t give up on public land. It can produce. “There are a variety of excellent public land hunting opportunities from the mountains to the coast,” said Moriah Boggess, a deer biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. “However, before you go, check the regulations for the Game Land you plan to hunt. Some Game Lands are permit-only or have certain days of the week when hunting is not allowed.”
It really is a diverse state, too. “North Carolina encompasses the mountains to the coast, with all sorts of eco-regions in between,” Pope said. “We have a variety of hunting options on game lands, and different methods of hunting (such as using dogs) are allowed in some areas of the state. Rut activity ranges from October through December from the coast to the mountains, and our season is relatively long.”
Unfortunately, in 2022, CWD was discovered in the state. That led to serious changes. Additionally, for 2024, antlerless season days have been increased in nine western counties.
Changes aside, Pope expects the 2024 season to be good. “I expect that harvest will be close to the average of the past three years, which would be around 174,000 deer,” Pope said. “We had a record harvest of 189,803 deer during the 2023-2024 deer season.”
Oklahoma
Perhaps the most underrated state in the region, Oklahoma has about 700,000 whitetails and 450,000 deer hunters. It’s a bit pricey to hunt here for non-residents, but that’s less than a lot of states with poorer deer hunting.
“The only changes for the upcoming season come in the form of licensing increases for nonresidents,” said Dallas Barber, a big game biologist with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “You can find that pricing information on our website.”
Overall, the 2024 season looks promising. The deer density is stable, buck age structure increasing, and trophy bucks are popping up in key areas. And with 1.7 million acres of public land, it’s hard to overlook the Sooner State.
“The 2024-25 season should be more of the same in regard to good harvest numbers due to great habitat conditions,” Barber said. “Oklahoma is unique as a hunting destination, as it is one of the most ecologically diverse states in the country. If there’s a type of habitat that you prefer to hunt, there’s a good chance that we can offer it. From pine mountains to big woods to sage covered sand hills, we’ve got it.”
Things are looking up for most states in the Southeast.
South Carolina
Another state with a long history of deer hunting, South Carolina has about 675,000 whitetails on the landscape. About 140,000 deer hunters chase them each season. And if nothing else, it can boast one thing. Long seasons and liberal bag limits.
“Certain regions of South Carolina have the longest modern firearms season in the country–140 days,” said Charles Ruth, certified wildlife biologist with the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources.
Interestingly, according to Ruth, South Carolina hunters enjoy 70% success rates. Each year, it produces one of the highest deer harvests in the country. This year, he expects the hunting to be about the same. Hunting during the rut boosts the odds, though.
“Peak breeding for most of South Carolina is from October 6 to November 16 with over 80% of does breeding during that time,” Ruth said. “The last week in October and the first week in November are the two weeks during which the highest percentage of does breed.
One big change this year? “Electronic harvest reporting for deer through SC Game Check will be required for the first time during the 2024 deer season,” Ruth said.
Tennessee
Another southeastern state that’s come on strong in recent years, Tennessee should put some good numbers on the board in 2024. Here, more than 700,000 deer thrive, and nearly 160,000 deer hunters benefit from it.
This year, expect a season and harvest very similar to last fall and winter. Deer densities are shaping up quite nicely, bucks are reaching older age classes, and hunters are reporting quality experiences in the field. It’s mostly green lights for 2024.
Texas
Everything really is bigger in Texas, including the deer herd, which is 5.6 million strong. With about 1.2 million deer hunters, plenty of them hit the ground each season. It is costly to hunt here for non-residents (nearly $400), but if you secure a hunting spot, it can certainly be worth it.
This year, there are changes, though. “Statewide carcass disposal requirements are now in place for both white-tailed deer and mule deer,” said Blaise Korzekwa, white-tailed deer program leader with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. “This regulation provides hunters the option to debone a deer carcass at the property of harvest and leave all unused carcass parts at the property of harvest. The ability to debone a deer carcass at the property of harvest will alleviate the conundrum that out-of-state hunters often faced regarding the importation of carcass parts into their home state. If the carcass is transported away from the property of harvest and deboned elsewhere, all unused parts must be disposed of in either a commercial trash service, returned to the property of harvest, or buried at least three feet below the ground. Harvested deer can still be taken to a commercial processor and the processor must properly dispose of unused parts. These regulations are an important management action for reducing the risk of unintentional transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease to areas of the state where CWD is not yet known to exist.”
Checking in on the current state of the herd, Texas deer are pretty healthy. CWD continues to spread, of course. But that aside, the herd appears to be doing quite well. As a result, expect a 2024 season and harvest similar to recent years.
“Overall, the 2024-25 deer season is expected to be good in terms of harvest and opportunities for quality bucks,” Korzekwa said. “Historical statewide fawn recruitment will produce an above-average number of middle-age and mature bucks this season. Aside from portions of the Edwards Plateau and southwest Texas, the rest of the state experienced timely spring rains and should expect above-average antler quality this season.”
Virginia
Finally, we end the forecast with Virginia. This year, it estimates about 1.27 million deer and 185,000 deer hunters. Interestingly, it’s put around 220 bucks in the B&C book. And it’s quite affordable to hunt here, even as a non-resident.
EHD has made an impact in recent years, but the herd has largely rebounded from these occurrences. Today, aside from isolated pockets of CWD, the herd is healthy. There seems to be an improving number of older bucks, and the 2024 season looks bright.
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