Allen County produced 1,313 deer in 2004, compared to its 2003 take of 1,223. Of this total, 640 were bucks, while 673 were antlerless. Whitley County's harvest of 1,269 was up from its previous year harvest of 1,111. This total harvest number consisted of 596 bucks and 673 antlerless deer. Huntington County produced 1,088 deer, up from 929 in 2003. Of this total, 472 were bucks, while 616 were antlerless.

Rounding out the other four Zone 3 counties are Jay (954), Adams (483), Wells (458) and Blackford (345). Wells County actually produced more deer (481) in 2003.

ZONE 4
Zone 4, which stretches from the eastern and western state lines in central Indiana, is the largest zone in the entire state with 25 counties. One would think that because of this it would be one of the biggest producers of deer. However, with huge agricultural fields and relatively sparse cover, this zone doesn't hold a large density of deer. Its 2004 harvest figure of 14,928 was up from 2003's harvest of 13,194. None of the Zone 4 counties produced 1,500 deer in 2004. Only Fountain (1,442), Tippecanoe (1,322), Miami (1,113), Montgomery (1,085) and Warren (1,046) surpassed the 1,000-deer mark.

Fountain County's harvest of 1,442 deer was up from its 2003 harvest of 1,237. Of this total, 632 were bucks, while 810 were antlerless. Tippecanoe's harvest figure of 1,322 is up from 1,179 the previous year. It registered 589 bucks and 733 antlerless deer. Miami County's figure of 1,113 deer consisted of 525 bucks and 588 antlerless deer, and is up slightly from its 2003 harvest of 1,106. These three Zone 4 counties held on to their same spots from 2003.

Montgomery County produced 1,085 deer in 2004, up from 902 in 2003. Of that total, 511 were bucks, while 574 were antlerless. Warren County tallied 1,046 deer last season, increasing from 942 the previous year. Of this number, 466 were bucks, and 580 were antlerless. Wayne County's harvest of 842 was up from its 2003 harvest figure of 751. Of this figure, 399 were bucks, while 443 were antlerless. Tipton County (65) recorded three fewer deer than 2003, and Marion (250) recorded 14 fewer deer.

ZONE 5
Southeastern Indiana's Zone 5 continues to produce a lot of deer. These nine counties with their fertile river bottom soils and good habitat kept their No. 2 ranking among all zones with a harvest of 17,316 deer. This is up from 2003's harvest of 15,818. All but three of this zone's counties produced at least 1,500 deer. Leading the way in Zone 5, and Indiana as a whole is Switzerland County. It produced 3,353 deer in 2004, up from 2,556 in 2003. Of this tremendous number, 1,317 were bucks, while the other 2,036 were antlerless.

2004 TOP DEER COUNTIES BY ZONE
Zone	Total Zone Harvest	Top Three Counties	Total County Harvest
1		Steuben	3,084
Northeast	16,024	LaGrange	2,649
		Kosciusko	2,537
2		LaPorte	2,146
Northwest	12,942	Fulton	1,230
		Cass	1,230
3		Wabash	1,397
East-Central	7,307	Allen	1,313
		Whitley	1,269
4		Fountain	1,442
Central	14,928	Tippecanoe	1,322
		Miami	1,113
5		Switzerland	3,353
Southeast	17,316	Franklin	2,997
		Dearborn	2,798
6		Parle	2,941
South-Central	37,870	Washington	2,634
		Harrison	2,542
7		Pike	2,007
Southwest	16,675	Spencer	1,671
		Sullivan	1,659

Coming in at No. 2 in this zone again is Franklin County, which had a harvest of 2,997 total deer, up from 2003's number of 2,412. Franklin ranks third for the state in 2004. It produced 1,110 bucks and 1,887 antlerless deer. Continuing its No. 3 ranking in the zone is Dearborn County with a total harvest of 2,798 deer, of which 1,109 were bucks, and 1,689 were antlerless. Dearborn produced 2,331 deer in 2003, and ranks No. 5 for the state this past year.

Coming in at No. 4, but producing eight fewer deer than in 2003 (2,216), is Jefferson County. It produced 2,208 deer in 2004, with 860 being antlered bucks and 1,348 being antlerless. Ripley County produced 1,786 deer in 2004, compared to 1,602 deer in 2003. Of this total, 756 were bucks, while 1,030 were antlerless.