Although you could drop a stand in any one of about 20 counties in this region and have a decent chance of seeing whitetails, there are six in the Bluegrass Region that offer the absolute best odds this fall. Most of these will not come as a surprise to those who have kept up with the development of Kentucky's deer population over the last two decades.

At the top of the list remains Owen County, which just missed posting an amazing 4,000 deer in the harvest books last season. Since the 2000 season, Owen County has given up more than 3,000 deer a year, and in 2004-05, yielded 3,997. Owen also heads the list of highest deer density counties, showing more than 14 animals per square mile of habitat.

Also coming in with very high marks last season were five other counties in the Bluegrass Region. They are Anderson, Grant, Henry, Pendleton and Shelby. All produced more than 2,000 deer last year and should do the same this season. Anderson and Shelby counties are also found in the top density counties, standing at more than 12 deer per square mile. Henry, Grant and Pendleton also have right at 10 deer per square mile. All these counties team with opportunity.

Excellent deer habitat and landowners who grant access combine into a win-win situation for hunters in these counties. All but Pendleton County saw an increased harvest in 2004 over 2003.

GREEN RIVER REGION
Hunters claimed just shy of 31,000 deer from the rich Green River Region last season, providing a 10 percent overall increase from 2003-04. The hop in region numbers here contributed greatly to the statewide jump from 115,540 deer in 2003 to the record 124,752 killed in 2004.

There were 15 counties in the Green River Region that yielded more than 1,000 deer last season. Of those, 14 stayed the same or increased in harvest over the 2003 season. Over half of the remaining 10 counties in the region also had higher harvests, so there is still a good bit of growth happening throughout the counties. Hunters should start seeing the benefits by getting looks at more deer almost everywhere in this region.

Some specific spots to note for better opportunities this season include Ohio and Muhlenberg counties. Last season, these two counties were predicted to jump some in harvest, thanks to the Peabody Wildlife Management Area going to a 10-day either-sex gun hunt approach rather than a five-day quota and five-day open hunt. Both counties responded as expected, with Ohio County hunters harvesting more than 2,500 and Muhlenberg passing the 1,600 mark. Either should be an excellent choice again this season in regard to finding deer. Hopkins County should not be overlooked either, since it yielded more than 2,500 whitetails last season.

Breckinridge and Hardin counties were also big producers for the Green River Region in '04, both giving up 2,000 or more deer. But interestingly, each only has about 4.5 deer per square mile. Part of the reason why there is a big harvest and relatively low deer density is because these two counties have about 450 square miles of deer habitat, compared to about half that amount in counties ranking higher on the list.

Lastly, a good choice this season is Webster County. It might be tough to even locate this small mid-western county on a highway map. But Webster ranked fourth in this region for harvest last year and is definitely a giant for deer numbers in a region with tough competition from so many other good counties.