From Brandywine Creek State Park and the backyards of Greenville in New Castle County through Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Kent County and Redden State Forest and Assawoman Wildlife Area in Sussex County, Delaware sportsmen have traversed marshy bottoms, endured swarming mosquitoes, braved poison ivy vines as thick as broom handles, and laughed in the face of pelting ice storms to pursue Delaware’s biggest hunting prize — the elusive white-tailed deer.
The abundance of available, high-quality food throughout Delaware makes it easy to see why many Delaware deer hunters are successful each season. With Delaware whitetails feeding on nutrient-rich wild acorns, chestnuts, and hickory nuts and on cultivated corn, soybeans, and wheat, it is not uncommon for hunters to encounter and harvest big, mature bucks with trophy-quality racks.
Likewise, with Delaware’s increased efforts in overall deer herd management, harvesting of mature does is encouraged. According to Delaware’s 2008/09 White-tailed Deer Harvest Summary, 45% percent of the deer harvested (6238) were adult does, and 10.2% (1409) were fawn does. While many older hunters still stick to the old belief that it is the equivalent of sacrilege to harvest does, the State of Delaware has done an adequate job in educating most hunters about the benefits of harvesting does.
The above excerpts are small samples of the information you can find in the book Hunting The First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting. For more information, click here.