Hunter success in the X Zones topped 38 percent in 2007. Photo by Donna Ikenberry.

Most years, there’s plenty of warm, dry weather during the archery and rifle deer seasons. But for hunting, those conditions are less than ideal.

Every three or four years in early fall, we get a series of days of cool, wet weather. It makes hunters eager and deer more vulnerable. Bottom line: When the weather cooperates, the annual buck kill goes up.

That was the case in 2004 -- a banner year. And last year, it happened again. A lot of hunters around the state said 2007 was one of the best deer seasons in recent memory.

I agree!

What all this adds up to is, I told you so! In last year’s forecast, I predicted the 2007 season would be better than average, provided that the weather was favorable for at least part of the time.

During a season when hot weather rules the roost, there’s naturally less daytime deer movement and less hunter effort as well. Consequently, the overall harvest is usually down somewhat. The result is a carryover of adult bucks that normally would have been killed by hunters.

When the following year’s hunting seasons open, most of those deer are still around. Then, if the weather cooperates, it stands to reason that some of those carryover bucks will be added to that year’s final tally.

During the deer seasons in 2004, for example, wet, cold weather resulted in an estimated buck take of around 37,000.

In 2005, a warmer year, the figure dropped to 28,276 bucks. In 2006, another warm year, the kill dropped even lower, to 27,028.

By comparison, in 2007, several favorable weather events came along during the general deer seasons. The estimated buck take went up, to around 33,000. Not as many as in 2004, but several thousand more than in ‘05 and ‘06.

The state Department of Fish and Game records the annual deer harvest in two ways -- by the reported kill, and by the estimated kill.

The reported kill comes from deer tags returned by successful hunters; the estimated kill factors in those tags that were filled, but not returned for one reason or another.

In this state, the actual deer kill is closer to the estimated numbers than to the reported numbers. For that reason, estimates are used in this article.

When you compare the most recent numbers with previous years, some very interesting trends emerge.

Looking back at the 2007 results, Craig Stowers, deer program coordinator for the DFG, confirmed that the weather had a lot to do with the increased harvest of bucks.

“It happens every few years,” he said. “The weather cooperates, and the kill goes up considerably.

“It doesn’t mean there’s a big jump in the deer population or anything, although some hunters might think there is after their success last year.”

Stowers said the good news is that though the stage isn’t set for any dramatic increase, there isn’t any real decline in sight either.

In other words, the situation is stable, which is a good thing.

“Regardless of conditions, I’ve found that deer hunting is always good for a large contingent of hunters who intimately know the places they hunt,” said the deer expert.

“Then there are those lucky folks who get drawn for a premium tag where the chances for success are much better than average.”

Stowers pointed out a couple of things deer hunters should be aware of before they head out this year.