Leading the way again is Switzerland County, which produced 2,821 deer for the season. This county produced 3,135 total deer the previous year. Remaining in the No. 2 slot in the zone is Franklin County, which generated 2,766 deer for the year, compared with 2,988 the previous season.

Dearborn County again claimed the No. 3 spot with 2,670 deer, down just a bit from the earlier total of 2,791. At No. 4 for the zone again is Jefferson County, which produced 2,195 total animals in 2006, compared with the 2,387 it turned out in 2005. Jennings County jumped one slot to No. 5 for the year with 1,670 deer, which is up from the former total of 1,577.

Ripley County dropped one spot to No. 6 for the year with 1,553 deer, down a bit from the 1,663 it produced the year before. Next up is Ohio County with its 968 deer, down from its earlier mark of 1,091 animals. Fayette County followed with a total of 656 total deer in 2006, compared with 628 in 2005. Finishing up is Union County with 485 total deer taken, which is down somewhat from the previous mark of 526.

Although the zone turned out less deer last year than the two previous years, there are still plenty of deer for its residents to hunt.

ZONE 6
The huge south-central Indiana swath of real estate consists of 20 counties that are home to plenty of whitetails. Zone 6 produced 36,826 deer in 2006, compared with its take of 36,153 in 2005. Fourteen of the zone's counties produced at least 1,500 deer during the 2006 season.

Parke County once again leads the way with a harvest figure of 2,905. This is down slightly from its total of 3,160 the past year. Washington County again follows at No. 2 with 2,882 deer, up from the previous mark of 2,608. Harrison County remains at No. 3 for the zone with 2,650 total whitetails, compared with 2,454 in 2005. Perry County jumped up three slots to No. 4 for the year with 2,297 deer, which is up quite a bit from the 2,098 deer taken there the year before. Orange County jumped up to the No. 5 spot with 2,276 deer compared with 2,105 in 2006. Greene County dropped two spots to No. 6 for the year with 2,139 total deer. It produced 2,239 deer the previous year. Also dropping two spots for the year is Jackson County, where 2,047 deer were harvested. Jackson turned out 2,171 the previous year.

ZONE 7
Southwestern Indiana's Zone 7 is another one of the areas in the state with higher deer densities. This 12- county area is home to some fantastic deer habitat, which in turn helps it produce plenty of whitetails. This zone is expected to produce many deer for years to come. Zone 7 hunters harvested 16,697 deer for the 2006 season, which is down only slightly from the previous total of 16,817. Four of the zone's counties produced at least 1,500 deer, while most of the other ones turned out between 1,000 and 1,497 deer.

Pike County continues its reign supreme in the zone with 2,042 total deer for the year. This compares with 1,954 taken in 2005. Warrick County jumped two spots to No. 2 for the year with a total of 1,611 deer. It produced 1,540 in 2006. Spencer County remained at No. 3 for the zone with a total of 1,604 deer, which is down only slightly from 1,612 the past season.

Posey County jumped two spots to No. 4 for the year with 1,526 deer, which is up from its 2005 take of 1,468. Sullivan County dropped to the No. 5 spot with 1,497 deer taken, which is down quite a bit from the earlier total of 1,694. Daviess County jumped one spot to No. 6 for 2006 with 1,485 deer taken, compared with its previous total of 1,465.

There you have it, your listing of the top deer-producing counties statewide. While hunters in and around the EHD outbreak zone should conscientiously make an effort to stop shooting does in some of those areas, hunters in other areas of the state are reminded to keep harvesting does, especially in those areas with high deer densities. Regardless of where they reside, whitetails are prolific breeders, and can repopulate areas where they exist in short order, if they're not kept in check by effective management.