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The first quota deer hunt for the Oak Ridge Reservation was last weekend. The total harvest was 149, 84 bucks and 65 does. The largest rack was 14 points; the heaviest buck was an eight-pointer dressing out at 146 pounds; the largest doe was 102 pounds. None was retained for radiological contamination.

A remarkable incident occurred on this ORR hunt. On Sunday a hunter discovered two fighting bucks, an eight-point and a ten-point, with antlers firmly locked together. This was in an archery-only area near Y-12. The hunter shot one of the bucks, but could not extricate the other live deer, even after the three tumbled down a hillside during the effort.

Some Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers came to help and they could not budge the jammed antlers. By this time the living buck was beyond exhaustion and near death. The decision was made that, since the hunter had another buck tag for the ORR hunt in December, he would be allowed to fill that tag with the second deer.

The belligerent bucks will be mounted with antlers entangled as in death.

Reminder: On the eve of muzzleload deer season, Nov. 7-20 statewide, remember that the doe harvest dates in Unit B are determined by county. One doe is allowed in this season. Of course, up to three bucks can be taken, maximum one per day, under the general statewide annual buck limit.

These counties can take a doe Nov. 7-11: Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Jefferson, Johnson, Loudon, Monroe, Sevier, Unicoi, Union, and Washington.

These counties can take a doe Nov. 7-20: Fentress, Hawkins, Knox, Morgan, Pickett, Polk, Scott, and Sullivan.

n What state has the best whitetail hunting right now? Where are the most trophies coming from in this 21st Century? The answer may surprise you.

The Boone and Crockett Club keeps the statistics on big game in North America. Animals that score the necessary points to make the B&C list are not only an indication of the prosperity of these species, but also the quality of conservation and wildlife management in the United States and Canada.

In the last nine years the state with the most entries for white-tailed deer to the B&C list -- typical and non-typical -- is Illinois with 523; Wisconsin is second with 442 and Iowa is third with 339. Those are the states to go to for a trophy buck. Congratulations to those states' wildlife agencies.

The perennial favorites have persevered for these species: Mule deer -- Colorado (234 entries), bighorn sheep -- Montana (220), black bear -- Wisconsin (238), pronghorn -- Wyoming (339). Alaska makes it into the top three spots for nine different species.

n Thanks to hunters like you, Tennessee's Hunters for the Hungry program is helping to feed less fortunate citizens all over the state. Since the rebirth of the program in 1998, sportsmen have donated more than 360,000 pounds of venison, nearly 1.5 million meals to the hungry.

Sponsored by Tennessee Wildlife Federation, HFTH provides properly prepared venison to food banks and soup kitchens statewide. Sportsmen can donate any amount of meat, from one pound to a whole deer. They can also make a voluntary contribution of a dollar or more to HFTH when purchasing a hunting or fishing license.

All HFTH processors have discounted fees for donated deer; and in some counties the processing is prepaid, thanks to the generous monetary donations to HFTH from businesses, churches, civic groups, and individuals. For names and addresses of state certified game processors, including those with free processing, go to www.tnwf.org.

Tom Wiest welcomes news, questions and comments from readers. Contact him at wiest.tom@gmail.com.