Bucket List Hunt for a Velvet Buck
Whitetail hunters often have a bucket list. However, the list might not be the same for all. One list might have a Boone and Crockett buck on it. Another might have a buck with a 24-inch spread. While others want to harvest a velvet buck. If you have deer velvet on your mind, you will need to make a game plan as you only have a handful of options to get it done.
Deer antler velvet is living tissue, and most bucks shed their velvet within the first week of September. Because of the early opening dates of the season, this is a bowhunter-only opportunity to kill a buck in velvet. However, South Carolina is the only exception with select areas for gun hunters.
Whether you choose to a DIY hunt or hire an outfitter, let us take a look at where your best spots are to wrap your tag around velvet antlers, and where you can find the hunting regulations for the area you plan to hunt.
KENTUCKY
Season: September 7, 2024 – January 20, 2025
Weapon: Archery
License Fees: Annual hunting, $150. Deer permit, $185 (4 deer)
Application Info: Licenses and permits can be purchased over the counter.
I have hunted Kentucky several times and recommend the Peabody and Land Between the Lakes Wildlife Management Areas. Do your research as there are many smaller WMAs scattered across the area.
If you choose to hunt early in Kentucky, you will not be alone. Because of the popularity of this state with big velvet-clad bucks, competition is tough. Do your scouting and get far off the beaten path where other hunters are not.
When I asked Gabe Jenkins, Deer and Elk Program Coordinator with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, where to hunt, his answer was, “Anywhere in the state is a great place to hunt for a velvet buck. Deer densities are the highest in central and northern Kentucky. However, quality bucks are taken all over the state every year. All of our public land is open to hunting, and one could come and try and hunt a velvet buck every year on our WMAs. Obtaining permission on private land can be hit or miss. It really depends on the landowner and region you are trying to hunt.”
There are a number of good outfitters in Kentucky. For the past three seasons I have hunted with Central Kentucky Outdoors.
He went on to say, “the state doesn’t estimate success rate due to so many of our hunters are license exempt it makes it difficult to get an exact success rate, but we usually estimate around 35 percent success rate for our deer hunters.”
Baiting is also legal in Kentucky on private grounds. For more information, visit Deer Hunting – Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife
MONTANA
Season: September 2, 2023 – October 15, 2023 (2024 season dates were not set at the time of this writing.)
Weapon: Archery
License Fees: Annual hunting, $625
Application Info: The drawing deadline ends in March, but hunters can still purchase preference points for next year’s drawing until September 30th.
There are a couple of Western states that have the potential to offer archers a check on their bucket list. The first being the southeast corner of Montana. These deer out here will be a little easier to scout than deer found in Kentucky, due to the wide-open spaces and wooded river bottoms.
Game Management Bureau Chief with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, John Vore says “Northwest Montana, our administrative Region 1, is the best place in Montana to hunt white-tailed deer, although there are very good populations of whitetails in the rest of the state wherever there is riparian habitat or irrigated fields. There is also a lot of public land in Montana, so there is plenty of opportunity.”
“I cannot give you a success rate because we don’t break down our harvest surveys by how many archers were hunting whitetails early in the season. But I can say that if an archer is dedicated and does their homework, he/she stands a pretty good chance of taking a decent whitetail. Of course, a hunter has to have landowner permission to hunt on private land. Difficulty in gaining access varies with the individual landowner.”
John Continued saying, “You should be aware that because of concerns about CWD, hunters cannot transport velvet-covered antlers from Montana to most states. And there are also regulations about moving animals within Montana if they were taken in CWD-positive areas of the state. You will see that the regulations talk about removing all meat, flesh, and tissue. Antler velvet is a tissue.”
“Unfortunately, CWD is part of the deer management world now, and we take it very seriously here in Montana. We need to do all that we can to keep disease prevalence low and prevent it from spreading.”
For more information, visit HUNT :: Hunting Seasons | Montana FWP (mt.gov)
WYOMING
Season: September 1, 2024 – Varies among zones
Weapon: Archery
License Fees: $389
Application Info: The drawing deadline ends June 1st, but hunters can still purchase preference points for next year’s drawing until September 30th. Leftover licenses are often available over the counter.
If you have your heart set on hunting a velvet buck out West, you might want to consider the Northeast corner of Wyoming. Doug Brimeyer, Deputy Chief of Wildlife for the Wyoming Game and Fish told me that nonresidents should concentrate their efforts in Region A. This is where the Black Hills National Forest is located. Doug also said that Region Y is another good option. This is where the East slopes of the Bighorns can be found.
I was also told that there is some good private land available to hunt big whitetails on. You might have to pay a trespass fee though. Normally, this will not be much, and you will not encounter as many hunters on private ground.
Doug did tell me though that some ranchers that are experiencing damage from whitetails will allow hunters on their land without a trespass fee. This will require some work to find these ranchers. I was able to hunt private ground a few years back by calling the game warden and asking if he knew of any ranchers experiencing problems with whitetails. Within a day I was in touch with a rancher and hunting prime whitetail ground, and within a couple of days, had my tag filled.
Like its neighbor, Montana, expect to see deer out feeding in the alfalfa fields. In the vast open areas of these two states, a good pair of optics will allow you to view velvet bucks at a distance. I have seen as many as fifty bucks in one day.
For more information, visit Wyoming Game and Fish Department – Wyoming Hunt Planner
NORTH DAKOTA
Season: Opens August 30, 2024. Closing date has not been published by the state yet, but it is likely to be sometime in January 2025
Weapon: Archery
License Fees: $250
Application Info: Deadline June 5, 2024
If you are looking for a do-it-yourself hunt, North Dakota is the place. Public land is everywhere, and access to private ground is not hard to gain.
Besides public land the state has other options called Private Land Open to Sportsmen (PLOTS). This is a program that landowners have signed up for that will allow hunters a place to hunt. It is walk-in only. For more info, contact the North Dakota Game and Fish.
William Jensen, Biologist with the North Dakota Game and Fish explained to me that there is a good population of whitetails across the state, but the areas south and west of the Missouri River holds more deer.
Do your homework for this state, and you will have an exceptional hunt for your $250 permit. As of now, residents have not been utilizing their opportunities.
For more information, visit 2024 Deer – Regular Season Dates | North Dakota Game and Fish
NEBRASKA
Season: September 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024
Weapon: Archery
License Fees: $249 for application and $242 for OTC. There is a $7 nonrefundable application fee.
Application Info: Permits can either be applied for in a draw or bought over the counter before the season closes.
The state has quite a bit of public land. There are about 800,000 acres of publicly owned land, both state and federal. About 270,000 acres are available through the state’s excellent Open Fields and Waters program, which pays private landowners to allow public hunting access to their land. And the Federal CRP-MAP program adds a lot of private land acreage that is open to walk-in hunting access.
Kit Hams, Big Game Program Manager with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says, “Archery hunting in Early September is the only opportunity to take whitetail in velvet. Archery success rate statewide was 24 percent in 2017. The season opens September 1 and the first week is the best option for velvet bucks.”
When I asked about public ground, “Public lands along rivers and streams can be located in or Public Access Atlas. Harlan County Reservoir, Lake McConaughy, Calamus, Sherman, Davis Creek, Swanson, Enders, Merritt, Medicine Creek, Red Willow Reservoirs, as well as several public areas adjacent to the Missouri River would be good options.”
For more information, visit Deer | Nebraska Game & Parks Commission (outdoornebraska.gov)
SOUTH CAROLINA
Season: August 15, 2024 – December 31, 2024
Weapon: Archery and firearm in Zone 3
License Fees: $125 hunting license and $100 big game permit. Additionally, a $76 permit to hunt on WMAs.
Application Info: Licenses and permits can be purchased over the counter.
South Carolina has the earliest opening season of any state. And, if you only hunt with a gun, this state is the only chance you have at tagging a velvet buck. The hunting in South Carolina is not the best for a Boone and Crocket buck, but with almost an entire month to get a shot at a velvet buck, don’t overlook it.
There is not a lot of public land available to hunt, so many hunters have to pay the extra expense of hiring an outfitter. With the public land that is available, regulations vary from one to the other so that can get tricky. Plus, in some parts of the state, dogs are allowed to be used to hunt deer. Also, there is no Sunday hunting on WMAs. All of this needs to be taken into consideration if you plan on hunting in South Carolina.
When Charles Ruth, deer project coordinator for the South Carolina DNR was asked about where the best parts of the state are to harvest a trophy buck, he says the state is more known for long seasons and liberal bag limits rather than a trophy buck destination. Anderson, Aiken, and Orangeburg are some of the better counties for harvesting a trophy buck, but only 13 bucks have been killed in the state that would qualify for Boone & Crockett recognition.
For more information, visit www.dnr.sc.gov/hunting.html
IDAHO
Season: August 30, 2024 – Ending dates vary by location
Weapon: Archery
License Fees: $154.75 hunting license and $301.75 for deer permit
Application Info: Tags are sold on a first-come-first-serve basis, and often times there are tags available late into the year.
This is not the cheapest nor the most expensive state to hunt, but it is one of the best kept secrets.
Much of the state has a good population of whitetails, arguably the best whitetail hunting in the West. And, to top it off, most of it is on public ground. This is a perfect opportunity for hunters that like to go at it alone.
The northern panhandle and Clearwater regions hold the greatest number of whitetails, but about any area north of the Salmon River has good numbers of whitetails. Idaho hunters enjoy a success rate topping 40 percent annually. This alone sounds good but take to consideration that the majority of those deer are killed on public ground and those numbers sound even better.
For more information, visit Big Game Seasons and Rules Brochure | Idaho Fish and Game
CONCLUSION
With plenty of pre-season scouting, studying the area you plan to hunt, and gathering all the licenses you need, you could have an exceptional velvet buck hunt. If this is on your bucket list, I would get to work now to plan your velvet buck hunt for next year.
