If big game hunters wonder how states might be ranked on the highest percentage — their best bet — to harvest at least one deer in a season, they might be surprised Louisiana is just outside the Top 10 and ahead of some Midwestern states.

Truth be told, there are only a handful of states where a majority of deer hunters finish a season with at least one kill. The Top 42 states are listed in ascending order from 42nd to 1st in a recent slideshow presentation posted Sept. 16 by History Computer (US).

To dispense with the suspense, the Sportsman’s Paradise ranks 11th between No. 10 North Dakota and No. 12 Michigan. The list is based on results from 2022.

Here are Louisiana’s numbers:

Hunters who shot at least one deer: 51 percent

Total deer harvested: 217,700 (55.5 percent antlered buck, 44.5 percent antlerless deer)

Deer harvested by type of weapon: 79 percent rifle or shotgun, 9 percent bow, 12 percent muzzleloader

The rest of the Top 10 includes:

No. 9 Oklahoma: 56 percent … 134,158 (54.5 percent antlered buck, 45.5 percent antlerless deer) …

60 percent rifle or shotgun … 31 percent bow … 9 percent muzzleloader

No. 8 Virginia: 57 percent … 186,788 (49 percent antlered buck, 51 percent antlerless deer) … 60 percent rifle, 16 percent bow, 24 percent muzzleloader

No. 7 Georgia: 57 percent … 271,211 (35.5 percent antlered buck, 64.5 percent antlerless deer) … 79 percent rifle or shotgun, 18 percent bow, 3 percent muzzleloader

No. 6 Kansas: 59 percent … 80,815 (51.9 antlered buck, 48.1 percent antlerless deer) … 56 percent rifle or shotgun, 40 percent bow, 4 percent muzzleloader

No. 5 Rhode Island: 61 percent … 2,705 (48.1 antlered buck, 51.9 percent antlerless deer) … 17 percent rifle or shotgun, 42 percent bow, 42 percent muzzleloader

No. 4 Mississippi: 61 percent … 262,830 (45.3 percent antlered buck, 54.7 percent antlerless deer) … 81 percent rifle or shotgun, 19 percent bow

No. 3 Texas: 64 percent … 680,671 (55.4 percent antlered buck, 44.6 percent antlerless deer) … 89 percent rifle or shotgun, 9 percent bow, 1 percent muzzleloader, 1 percent other

No. 2 Tennessee: 65 percent … 163,244 (52.9 percent antlered buck, 47.1 percent antlerless deer) … 89 percent rifle or shotgun, 13 percent bow, 15 percent muzzleloader

And a drum roll, please, for the top-ranked state.

No. 1 South Carolina: 71 percent … 179,414 (50.2 antlered buck, 49.8 percent antlerless deer) … 91 percent rifle or shotgun, 8 percent bow, 2 percent muzzleloader, 1 percent other.

Interesting, huh?

After four-plus decades talking about out-of-state deer hunting with the Teche Area’s many enthusiastic deer hunters who travel to hunt outside Louisiana, I’m surprised by the rankings Michigan (12th, 50 percent); Missouri (16th, 44 percent); Iowa (17th, 42 percent); Ohio, (20th, 41 percent), and Illinois (32nd, 29 percent). I sure would have thought one or more would crack the Top 10.

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Teche Area duck hunters who care about conservation, restoration and management of waterfowl habitat on this continent, even as far south as the Sportsman’s Paradise, circle this date on your calendar: Oct. 24.

That’s the night of the local DU chapter’s Bucks for Ducks event scheduled to be held at the Isle of Iberia RV Resort. Tickets are being sold online at ducksunlimited.myeventscenter.com.

New Iberia’s DU Chapter raised more than $65,000 at last year’s event under the direction of Jason P. Foster, chapter chairman who is in his 12th year at the helm of the local organization. Foster and this year’s banquet committee are hopeful local waterfowlers shot out to raise even more bucks for ducks this October.

For more information on the banquet call Foster at 356-04977.

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.