"Most deer are harvested during the first two days of the rifle season," DuBrock said. "This year, hunters in some areas experienced heavy fog on ridge tops during the opening day, while heavy rain impacted the second day in many areas. As a result, harvests during the first two days were down from 2004-05, but increased on the first and second Saturdays.

"Given the antlerless deer license allocations provided to hunters, we are pleased with the overall results. The 12-day concurrent season increases hunter opportunity, reduces much of the variability in hunter effort associated with shorter seasons and unpredictable weather, and gives our deer management team a more consistent method of monitoring the impacts of the harvest. Given the relationship of antlerless license allocations to antlerless harvest, the 12-day season is a win-win situation for hunters and managers."