In summer, they are reddish-brown to tan above; the winter the colors are grayish to grayish brown. Fawns are reddish, brown or reddish-yellow spotted with white; they lose their spots and acquire uniform coloration at 3–5 months of age. Antlers normally occur only in males and are formed and shed each year. Antler growth starts in April or May. During the growth period, the soft skin and short hair covering the antlers have a plush quality, giving this stage the name of "velvet." The white-tailed deer is aptly named because the white undersurface of its flaglike tail is about all that we see in the fleeting glimpse we get as it bounds across an opening in the woods.
One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset
Only one deer (of either sex) may be taken during the early youth portion. If you have more than one permit, you must use them in another portion.
Only one antlered deer may be taken during the entire firearms season (all portions combined).
You may take only two antlered deer during the archery and firearms deer hunting seasons combined.
Each county limits the number of antlerless deer hunting permits you can fill during the entire firearms season. See map.
To participate, you must be at least 6 and no older than 15 on the opening day of the early youth portion.
Hunters who are 15 years or younger on Sept. 15 of the current year are exempt from the antler-point restriction during the archery deer season and all portions of the firearms deer season.
If you harvest a deer from certain counties in the CWD Management Zone during the opening weekend, Nov. 16-17, you must take your deer to a designated CWD sampling station.
