In terms of number of deer shot compared to the size of the state, Pennsylvania was the top deer-hunting destination in the country during the 2024-25 hunting season, a national report found.

According to its 2026 Deer Report, the National Deer Alliance stated Pennsylvania deer hunters killed more bucks per square mile than any other state in the nation during the 2024-25 deer season – the last season for which figures were available.

Additionally, Pennsylvania ranked second only to Delaware for the number of antlerless deer taken per square mile.

Combined, that means Pennsylvania reported the most total deer taken per square mile among all 50 states, according to the National Deer Alliance.

“White-tailed deer are the most important game species in North America,” said Kip Adams, the National Deer Alliance’s chief conservation officer, and an avid Pennsylvania hunter.

“More hunters pursue whitetails than any other species, and whitetail hunters contribute more financially than any other hunter segment.”

In its annual national deer report, the Alliance compiles all the harvest data provided by the 50 states and breaks down the numbers to highlight various trends in numbers of deer and deer hunters, as well as in hunting effort.

During the 2024-25 hunting season, Pennsylvania hunters tagged 175,280 antlered deer and 301,600 antlerless deer.

(Harvest figures for Pennsylvania’s recently ended 2025-26 deer season are expected to be released in about one month.)

Taking those numbers in comparison to Pennsylvania’s total land mass – water area is excluded – the Alliance reported Pennsylvania hunters took 3.9 bucks per square mile and 6.7 antlerless deer per square mile.

The buck number was tops in the country.

“This is not surprising, as Pennsylvania has consistently been at the top nationally for deer harvest densities,” said David Stainbrook, Deer and Elk Section Supervisor for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

“PA’s deer population has and continues to provide for high sustainable deer harvests. PA also ranks in the top nationally for deer hunter densities.”

Pennsylvania was followed by Maryland in second place, with 3.3 bucks per square mile and Louisiana, South Carolina and Wisconsin, all with 3 bucks per square mile.

Texas accounted for the most bucks shot, with 425,529, but Texas is more than six times larger than Pennsylvania.

Despite its size, Pennsylvania ranked second to Texas in total number of bucks shot in 2024-25. Wisconsin was third with 162,336.

The annual Pennsylvania buck kill increased from 2022 to 2023 and then again from 2023 to 2024, according to harvest statistics.

Something the National Deer Alliance – and the Pennsylvania Game Commission – strives for is to protect yearling bucks, and have hunters take bucks older than 1.5, which typically would be the first year they’d have antlers.

While the Alliance tracks buck harvest numbers for deer aged 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5, Pennsylvania only tracks whether bucks are 1.5 and whether they are older than that.

In each hunting year for 2022, 2023 and 2024, about 35 percent of the bucks taken in Pennsylvania were 1.5 years old, while the rest were older than that.

Among the 50 states, that yearling-buck percentage is on the high side.

Iowa and Wisconsin hunters in 2024-25 took the most yearling bucks in their annual harvest, with 42 percent of those deer being 1.5 years old.

Only five states ranked higher than Pennsylvania for the percentage of yearling bucks taken in the harvest.

Conversely, the percentage of yearling buck in the harvest was lowest in Florida, at just 7 percent.

But just because Pennsylvania ranks high among the 50 states in this category doesn’t mean Pennsylvania isn’t protecting enough yearling bucks.

“Yearling bucks used to make up 80 percent of the antlered harvest in PA,” Stainbrook said.

“Biologically and socially, we are not aware of any evidence to indicate that having yearlings make up 34 percent of the antlered harvest is detrimental to deer or hunters.”

Oklahoma, which had the second-lowest percentage of yearling bucks in its harvest, had the highest percentage of bucks 3.5 and older. Eighty-one percent of the bucks taken in Oklahoma in 2024-25 were 3.5 and older.

Switching to the antlerless harvest, Pennsylvania’s 6.7 antlerless deer per square mile was second only to Delaware’s 7 per square mile.

Once again, Pennsylvania’s total antlerless kill of 301,660 ranked second in the nation to Texas, where hunters shot 411,480 antlerless deer in 2024-25.

Hunters in both of those states shot considerably more antlerless deer than the next closest state, which was Alabama, where hunters took 176,220 antlerless deer.

When it comes to age of the antlerless deer taken in 2024-25, Pennsylvania once again ranked high for taking young deer.

Pennsylvania had the third highest percentage of antlerless fawns – 31 percent – in its 2024-25 kill.

Maine had the highest percentage, with 34, followed by Massachusetts, with 33.

Kansas ranked lowest, with just 3 percent of its antlerless kill made up of fawns.

Again, Pennsylvania’s high ranking in this category shouldn’t be considered as a negative.

“PA’s deer population has sustained this level of fawn harvest for decades,” Stainbrook said.

“As a result, there is no evidence that this is a bad thing. In fact, a sustainable, high percentage of fawns in the harvest suggests a highly productive deer population.

“In other words, hunters cannot harvest fawns if they are not born and survive to the hunting season.”

In terms of the type of weapons used to take deer, Pennsylvania is in the middle of the pack among the 50 states.

In 2024-25, 60 percent of the deer taken in Pennsylvania were taken with firearms, 37 percent were taken with archery tackle and 3 percent were taken with muzzleloaders.

The top archery state was New Jersey, where 63 percent of the kill was attributed to archery gear.

Montana was the top gun-hunting state, with 95 percent of the deer kill attributed to firearms.

And Rhode Island was the top muzzleloading state, with 45 percent of the deer kill attributed to muzzleloaders.

P.J. Reilly is an LNP | LancasterOnline outdoors writer. Email him at preilly@lnpnews.com.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.