Vermont Fish and Wildlife says numbers show a decline.

RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) – The 2003 firearms buck season has been disappointing for many hunters.

Figures released by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Friday reveal what most deer hunters already know: The bucks just aren’t out there. And hunters also are complaining that overall deer sightings are down.

As of Nov. 26, the buck kill had declined by about 33 percent compared to 2002. Add the fact that last season’s firearms season wasn’t anything to write home about – 8,726 bucks – and you have all the ingredients for some very disappointed deer hunters. The figures released from Fish & Wildlife show that 3,016 bucks were checked in as of Nov. 26, when the last report was issued. At the same point in the season a year ago, 4,517 bucks were checked in by deer hunters in Vermont.

Fish & Wildlife biologists had predicted a decline in the buck kill this season, which ends Sunday, but that should be little consolation to the 75,000 or so deer hunters in Vermont.

The biggest decline was in Rutland County where, traditionally, most bucks are taken. Last year at this time, 626 bucks were tagged, compared to 276 for this year. The buck kill has declined in 12 out of 14 counties in Vermont. Only Washington and Grand Isle counties showed an increase this season. Franklin County is leading the way with 315 bucks taken. Bennington County is second with 313 bucks reported, followed by Orange County with 306.

John Buck, the deer project leader for Fish & Wildlife, said it was still a little early to sum up the season, but said that given the severity of the winter of 2002-03, the decline in the buck kill comes as no surprise.

Back-to-back winters featuring deep snow and frigid temperatures in March were blamed for high deer mortality in deer yards around the state, but particularly in southern Vermont.

Buck said he wanted to wait until the final figures for all four deer seasons in Vermont – archery, youth, firearms and muzzleloader – are in before he sums up how well the overall deer kill went.

“The archery and youth seasons are about even with last year,” he said.

Although the final kill is not yet in, youth hunters tagged 1,293 deer during their two-day hunt earlier this month. Last year, youths shot 1,227 deer of either sex.

The archery season saw 3,273 deer taken, compared with 3,365 for 2002. The nine-day muzzleloader season opens on Dec. 6.

Buck said that because of the severe winters, antlerless permits for the muzzleloader season were reduced from about 20,000 permits in 2000 to about 7,000 permits for this year’s hunt.

AP-ES-11-29-03 1030EST