Deer hunters in New York had a banner year.

Hunters “harvested” just under 210,000 deer during the 2023-2024 seasons, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The number of older bucks hunted and killed was up dramatically, according to DEC. In fact, there were more than twice as many older bucks in 2023-2024 than in the early 1990s, and five times as many as 1969, when DEC said they started monitoring the age structure of the deer.

An older buck is a male deer that is two and a half years old or older.

The DEC credits its campaign titled “Let Young Bucks Go and Watch Them Grow,” which encourages hunters to pass on young bucks.