THE PRELIMINARY numbers are in, and the total deer kill numbers for Virginia dropped significantly last hunting season--15 percent below the 259,147 reported killed in 2009 and 3 percent lower than the annual average for the last decade.

Hunters reported 219,797 deer last year, of which 95,543 were antlered bucks, 19,191 were button bucks, and 105,063 were does.

The statewide drop nearly mirrored the 14 percent decrease in the deer kill for the counties near Fredericksburg (see table).

Caroline, Spotsylvania and Orange counties drove the decrease in our area, while Fauquier and Stafford counties trended downward for a second consecutive year.

Caroline County's totals fell 23 percent, largely because of a tremendous decline at the Fort A.P. Hill military installation, which saw only 674 deer killed in 2010 compared with 1,500 the year before.

A couple of factors contributed to the overall decline. One is the state's deer plan of the past several years called for laying the hammer on does across much of Virginia.

Killing does is the only way to reduce or stabilize a deer herd. In a Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries release announcing the 2010 totals, deer project manager Matt Knox noted, "Nearly all of the increase in the deer kill over the past couple of years has been due to an increased kill of antlerless deer."

The second factor was a combination of a near-total failure of the 2009 mast crop, followed by a cold winter that saw a sustained presence of deep snow and some ice.

Snow remained on the ground in many locales near Fredericksburg from mid-December through mid-March. Unable to get food, deer began relying on their fat reserves, burning more calories than they took in.

"To minimize weight loss and save energy, a deer's metabolism actually slows down in winter. However, if they come into winter in poor condition and the winter is long and hard with deep snow, then starvation from malnutrition is a very real possibility," Knox explained.