Deer sightings and kills are well above average for this area, and while the deer antler harvest isn't setting any records, there are still numerous heavy-antlered bucks being seen and harvested.
Many hunters believe deer kills are up because of the weather.
I kinda like the warm-weather theory myself, but we've had uncommonly warm hunting weather here for the past few years, and area deer processors say their numbers this year are far better than the past few seasons. To support and highlight the number of deer killed in this region this year, there is the report of a deer processor near Brownwood who has closed his shop until he can take care of the 1,000 or so animals he already has on hand. All the area processors I've talked to recently have reported well above average deer-processing business. Here in Abilene a whitetail doe was hit by a car this week on Loop 322 near the Kirby Lake dam. I pass by that high-traffic spot 15 to 20 times per week and have never seen a deer on that road before, but maybe I wasn't looking close enough.