HARRISBURG The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported that hunters harvested an estimated 308,920 deer in the state’s 2009-10 seasons, which is an eight percent decline from the previous seasons’ harvest of 335,850.

Hunters took 108,330 antlered deer in the 2009-10 seasons, down 11 percent from the previous license year’s harvest of 122,410, but similar to the 2007-08 harvest of 109,200.

Also, hunters harvested 200,590 antlerless deer in 2009-10, which is a six percent decline from the 213,440 antlerless deer taken in 2008-09. The 2007-08 antlerless deer harvest was 213,870.

Harvest estimates for 2009-10 seasons are based on 105,192 usable harvest report cards (41,251 antlered; 63,941 antlerless) returned by hunters to the Commission, which included 64,945 reported by mail and 40,247 reported by the new online harvest reporting system.

Reporting rates are determined by cross-referencing these report cards with the data collected from the 24,839 deer (7,942 antlered; 16,897 antlerless) examined by Game Commission personnel in the field and at processors.

For an explanation of the agency’s deer harvest estimating procedure, visit the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), click on “White-Tailed Deer” icon in the center of the home page, then scroll down and select “Deer Research” and click on “Reporting rate variability and precision of white-tailed deer harvest estimates in Pennsylvania.”