The 2006 firearms deer season kill is running about two times that of last season's kill.

As of Nov. 22, the most recent report from the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, deer kill reports from checking stations around the state report a kill of 2,348 bucks.

That compares to a kill of 1,150 bucks for the same period in 2005. The reported kill is up in all 14 counties in the state. The buck season ends today.

Windsor County is leading the state with 298 bucks reported. That county saw a kill of 113 bucks a year ago during the same reporting period.

Franklin County is second, with 265 bucks reported, compared to 133 in 2005. Bennington County, with 224 (163 in 2005) was third, followed by Rutland County with 219 (160 in 2005) and Chittenden, with 186 bucks (80 in 2005).

The other counties, with the current kill and last year's total in parentheses: Addison 178 (60); Caledonia 125 (27); Essex 57 (10); Grand Isle 68 (46); Lamoille 118 (63); Orange 156 (74); Orleans 148 (80); Washington 128 (46); and Windham 172 (93).

This season, as was the case in 2005, only bucks with two or more points on at least one antler can be legally taken. The current spikehorn rule allows those young bucks to be spared so that the deer can grow larger antlers and to heavier weights.

The new spikehorn regulations, approved by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board in 2005, represent the most drastic change in Vermont deer hunting history. Those drastic changes came after the buck kill declined dramatically over the past five years.

Contact Dennis Jensen at dennis.jensen@rutlandherald.com