VERMONT

VT deer hunters benefit from last year's warm winter

Burlington Free Press

ST. ALBANS - It's a good year for venison recipes in the Tiffany family.

Matt Hill, of Swanton, poses with a buck he killed Saturday during weigh-in at Back Country Sports on St. Albans. Hill said he had been scouting the deer for about two months.

Hannah Tiffany, 17, and John Tiffany, 21, have each taken a buck on their farm in Fairfield. The siblings have been hunting deer since childhood. On Saturday they reported that while they haven't seen as many deer as last year, this year's rifle season was shaping up well.

"We'd never usually get this many deer," John Tiffany said, shortly after reporting a 115-pound buck at Back Country Sports in St. Albans. "It's usually one or two deer for the family. And last year we got six, and this year we've already gotten four. So the last couple years have been really good for us."

Hannah Tiffany shot her second buck ever, an eight-pointer that weighed 155 pounds, on the opening day of rifle season. It was not likely to set any state records — last year's heaviest deer, in Essex County, weighed 239 pounds — but she was happy with the rack of antlers.

"I didn't ever expect to get one that nice," she said.

Leaving aside the question of a hunter's individual luck, state officials say mild winters and abundant food, such as beech nuts, acorns and apples, have helped to strengthen this year's deer population.

"The biggest factor for white tail deer in Vermont is we’re in the northern band of their range, which means that their population and their health is largely dependent on the winter," said Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter, who was hunting in Calais when he took a call from a reporter.

A deer finds an easy meal under a Lincoln apple tree in August. The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife says that strong apple and beech nut crops, combined with last year's mild winter, have strengthened the deer population.

About half of Vermont's entire deer harvest happens now, during the rifle season. Last year hunters took in about 27 percent more deer than the previous year — enough to produce about 3.2 million meals of venison. The state tracks the figures to ensure the deer population remains stable and healthy.

Official statistics for this year won't be available until late December or early January, but Chad Hale, the owner of Back Country Sports, says the weather is cooperating for rifle season this year, and he's seeing more deer reported at his shop.

Chad Hale, left, owner of Back Country Sports in St. Albans, helps Matt Hill transfer his deer to a scale on Saturday, Nov. 18.

Matt Hill climbed into his tree stand before dawn at 5:45 a.m. Saturday. It was the sixth day of watching for a deer he'd been scouting about two months, and the waiting paid off.

After hauling a 124-pound, five-point buck to the scale, Hill said the deer population has improved over his 32 seasons hunting.

"My dad and I, when we first started, we'd be lucky if we saw three, four deer the whole season," Hill said. "And now it's pretty rare for me to go out and not see three, four, six deer a day."

Other hunters have until Nov. 26 to track down a buck.

Mike Fontaine, owner of M & R Guns and Ammo in Highgate Center, says the rifle hunting season for deer this year has been strong, in part thanks to more deer surviving a mild winter.

Contact April McCullum at 802-660-1863 or amccullum@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @April_McCullum.
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