White-tailed deer hunters harvested an estimated 435,180 deer in the 2020-21 hunting season, topping last season by 12%, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Two wildlife management units that include parts of Butler County had some of the largest harvest increases in the state.

Unit 1A, which includes the eastern half of the county, had one of the largest increases in buck and doe harvests, and Unit 2B, which includes a small part of the southwestern tip of the county, had one of the largest increases in doe harvest.

In 1A, the buck harvest increased from 6,400 last year to 9,000 this year, and the doe harvest increased from 13,200 to 18,000. In 2B, the doe harvest increased from 10,400 to 15,000, according to the commission.

The 2019-20 harvest of 389,431 was the highest in 15 years. Since 1993, Pennsylvania hunters have harvested more than 400,000 deer in a year 10 times. Twice during that period, the harvests exceeded 500,000, first in 2000 and then again in 2002, when the state's record overall deer harvest of 517,529 was set.

The statewide buck harvest of 174,780 set a record in the antler restrictions era. The buck harvest also increased 7% over last year's harvest of 163,240. In the 2018-19 season, 147,750 bucks were harvested.

“About a quarter of the state's deer hunters took a buck in the 2020-21 deer seasons,” noted David Stainbrook, the Game Commission's Deer and Elk Section supervisor. “It's a trend that hunters have maintained over the past three license years. The fact that we can maintain such high success rates on bucks year after year demonstrates the sustainability of the deer population in Pennsylvania.”

The doe harvest for the 2020-21 season was 260,400, exceeding the 2019-20 harvest of 226,191 by 15%. The 2018-19 harvest was 226,940.

The percentage of older bucks in the 2020-21 harvest remained high. About 64% of the bucks taken by hunters were at least 2½ years old. The remainder were 1½ years old.

About 68% of the doe harvest was adult females; button bucks comprised 17% and doe fawns made up 15%. The previous year's breakdown is similar.

Bowhunters accounted for more than a third of the 2020-21 harvest, taking 160,480 deer (80,130 bucks and 80,350 antlerless deer) with either bows or crossbows. The 2019-20 archery harvest was 145,908 (74,190 bucks and 71,718 antlerless deer).

The estimated muzzleloader harvest of 28,260 was down slightly from the previous year's harvest of 29,604. The 2020-21 muzzleloader harvest included 1,140 antlered bucks compared to 1,260 bucks in 2019-20.