15,000 Deer Killed in This New York State County
The 2026-27 whitetail deer hunting season will begin in just over a month here in New York State! This coming season could be one of the most anticipated in a long time as new regulations and changes are being made to hunting licenses and the number of deer hunters can harvest.
Have you gotten your license yet? Are you on the mailing list for a lifetime license? Now is the time to get your license ready and prepare for the upcoming season.
It is also important to be aware of the changes that have been made. If you don’t have a lifetime hunting license yet, you may want to consider getting one for yourself or perhaps for your kids if they are going to be hunting. It seems to me that a lifetime license for kids can pay for itself in just a couple of years.
New York Hunters Could See Changes to Deer Harvest Limits
Some of the changes this year include the ability to harvest more does in various areas of New York State.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has done a great job of explaining the rule changes and the reasons behind them. There is a large number of deer throughout New York State, and I have seen more deer in areas where they previously appeared only occasionally.
Read More: Get Unlimited Doe Tags in These New York State Areas.
One example is East Aurora, New York, where officials have discussed a bait-and-shoot program for deer, primarily because of concerns about ticks and tick-borne diseases.
The deer population remains strong throughout much of the state, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has released its 2025 whitetail deer harvest summary.
It is pretty incredible to see the number of deer harvested in each county. The data is broken down into adult males, adult females and fawns.
Steuben County Leads New York in 2025 Buck Harvest
In 2025, the county with the largest number of deer harvested was, by far, Steuben County.
According to the numbers, the county recorded a harvest of more than 7,730 adult male deer, or bucks. To put that into perspective, that’s a couple thousand more than the runner-up, Cattaraugus County. The total, with doe combined, is over 15,000! Chautauqua County was in second place with 10,120!
I was also surprised to see how many bucks were harvested in Erie County. Erie County is home to the city of Buffalo, where deer hunting is not allowed, and that takes up a pretty significant portion of the county.
Even so, during the 2025 deer season, more than 3,000 adult male deer were harvested and reported in Erie County.
Hunting Remains an Important Part of Deer Management
If the number of hunters were to increase, perhaps we would see these numbers change. However, over the last couple of years, I have noticed a decline in the number of people hunting.
It is not for a lack of trying, though. I have seen an uptick in kids taking hunter education courses, and that is a great sign for the future of hunting in New York State.
I have said before that hunting, at its core, is all about conservation. The number of deer we are seeing in herds around more populated areas has become an issue in many parts of New York State.
Hunting can be an important tool for properly harvesting deer and managing the herd.
Good luck this coming season, and if you’re wondering which county had the lowest number of bucks reported as harvested in 2025, that would be Rockland County, with just 200 adult male deer taken.