VAhuntr

I hunt east of the Blue Ridge but west of the "dog line", so running dogs is illegal. For the most part our deer here are small. So, I'm not going to blame running dogs for small deer.

If I had to guess I would say genetics and nutrition contribute to the smaller deer. The winters are relatively mild so they don't need the fat reserves like deer in other parts of the country do.

Average Joe

Virginia's whitetails are a different strain than the deer in the Northern and Western states. If you start seeing deer in Northern Maryland and farther North you will see a bigger deer which is a Northern strain deer. I took an 8pt. yesterday evening and even though he had a respectable set of antlers I bet he wasn't 150lbs.

richwrench

You think VA deer are small, come down to FL and hunt! 3 years ago I killed a 95 lb. 4 point antelope looking buck at Chaz WMA & it was the biggest deer taken there all week. I'm not saying all FL deer are small - I killed a 180 pound 8 point in BP season this year, but they are rare. I believe genetics & food crops are a big influence on deer size. Just for the record, that 4 point tasted GREAT! My buddy killed a 10 point in Homasassa a few years ago & the basket was the size of a volley-ball. I guess my point is enjoy the hunt & the meat - the B&C record bucks are for the TV shows...

mackesr

There is a scientific term for this, but I forget what it was. Basically the warmer the climate the smaller the animal will get. Big deer are able to stay warmer in the cold climates while the smaller deer can take the heat better in the hot climates. Aint got a thing to do with dogs running the deer. I dont know what some hunters will do when dog hunting is finally outlawed for good. They wont have nothing to blame everything on. JMHO!

BIGBUCKDOWN15

What about florida deer? i think its a matter of what property you hunt we have aplace in florida called greenswamp its 49000 acres and in 1994 there was a buck out of there that was 206 b&c dont belive me? look here http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/...ent-areas.html

BIGBUCKDOWN15

im in clermont fl and i hunt citrus and next year green swamp you should add me as a friend so we can talk about stuff i wanna ask some questions

Alpine_Archer

Come down to FL and then tell me how small ya'lls deer are.... Be thankfull for what you got.

I got a general gun and ML permit for citrus this year. Also I hunted goethe Gun but it was a flop.

rlpsystems

Virginia deer are tasty........don't care to much 'bout the size....... but seriously, i've seen some big doe's and nice size bucks.......

VA5326

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. No one can refute the fact that it does affect the herd as a whole in Va. I sure as heck can't tell how big a deer is when it's running at mach speed with dogs hot on their heals. I enjoy hunting with dogs but I will throw a party with all the trimmings when they ban deer hunting with them. It's time to move on and get with the times. But that's just me though.

VAhuntr

Problem with that line of thought IMO is, once you ban one form of hunting, then what is next? Would the anti's then target bowhunting as being too cruel?

Genetics, nutrition, and sheer numbers of deer are the main reasons for the smaller size deer in VA. According to the VDGIF, there may be more deer in the state now then there were when Jamestown was settled. I must admit to wondering how they know that little tidbit?