In Southington, 60 Deer Hunted and Killed in 2013

By Patch Editor Michael Dinan.

More than 10,000 deer were hunted and killed in Connecticut in 2013, mostly by archery rather than shotgun, according to the latest tally from state officials.

Southington was among the average for total kills with 60, 21 of which were adult does, 24 adult bucks, nine button bucks and 14 bucks that were "eight point or higher." All local hunting occurred on private land.

In total, 10,108 deer were hunted and killed — the figure represents rifle kills through Dec. 12 and bow-and-arrow kills through Dec. 31, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection reports. About 57 percent of the kills came through archery, the state says.

Search through the interactive map above to get town-by-town information, including what types of deer were hunted and whether the kill happened on public or private land. (Two notes on the data: a "button buck" is a young male deer, typically six months old, that has hubs where antlers will grow, and "points" are the individual tines on a buck's antlers.)

The state laws that regulate deer hunting are complex and situation-specific. Open season generally is open for a period of several weeks between September and December, and depends largely on what types of weapons are used and whether land is public or private. Deer hunting regulations for Connecticut, updated in September 2011, can be found here.

On Tuesday, the DEEP reported that no hunting-related injuries occurred (among sportsmen) in 2013—the third consecutive year where no one was hurt by a discharged firearm or bow.

What did happen in 2013 was one hunter wearing a safety harness fell from a tree, the state reported.

“This level of safety is remarkable in light of more than 300,000 deer hunting permits issued and hunters spending, a cumulative total nearly six million days afield over that period,” the DEEP said.

Rick Jacobson, director of the DEEP Wildlife Division, described Connecticut hunters are safety leaders, “due in large part to mandatory firearms and archery education programs, which have produced a safety-conscious generation of hunters.”

“Although deer hunters enjoyed a near perfect safety record during the past six seasons, our goal has always been to have no injuries of any kind, period,” he said.

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