Man , I can't believe the years go by so fast nowadays. The main ways that I mark time in my life are the days each year that I bail myself out with the IRS by paying taxes and the opening of deer season. Both dates seem to come on the heels of one another at a faster and faster pace.

For the latter, today's the day, with South Carolina's longest-in-the-nation deer-hunting season running from Aug. 15 through Jan. 2.

As usual I have company coming in the first weekend of the season and it would have been fine either way if they had decided to come later this year. Don't get me wrong, I need to get off of my tail and make things happen. I just got caught a little by surprise this year because I plan to do all of my planting in the fall this year.

As evidenced by the number of animals on the roadside, we have plenty of deer to hunt in the tri-county area this year. Yet some numbers recently put out by the DNR may be a little surprising.

According to Charles Ruth, deer project supervisor, there will indeed be less deer to hunt for the second straight year. In 2004 about a quarter million deer were harvested in South Carolina with almost a 50-50 split between bucks and does. Hunters should be commended for their efforts to take equal numbers of does and bucks. The deer herd peaked in South Carolina with about 1 million deer and has settled in at a stable number around 800,000 in recent years after the record harvest of 319,000 deer in 2002.

There are several factors that DNR feels have dropped the number of deer taken in 2004 to such levels. First, we experienced a major drought from 1998 to 2002, which would stress the deer herd and keep numbers down. Secondly, a good rainfall in 2004 produced plenty of food for the deer to eat, and thirdly the fall temperatures were extremely high with both factors reducing the need for deer to move very much (which gives hunters less opportunity to see deer).

Top counties for deer harvest included Bamberg in first place for the state with Allendale a close second, averaging an astounding harvest of 18 deer per square mile! Very few areas in the United States yield comparable numbers.

122,158 South Carolinians and about 18,000 non-residents hunted South Carolina in 2004, with more non-residents hunting some counties like Hampton than residents. The success rate statewide was another incredible figure of 73.5 percent. Orangeburg , Aiken, Fairfield and Colleton counties topped the list of days hunted per hunter, which is kind of expected.

Orangeburg is the all-time leading trophy county in the state with 309 sets of antlers in the state record book with Aiken right behind us with 257 sets; and, Fairfield#; at 223 and Colleton at 197 rounding out the best places to take trophy deer in South Carolina. Aiken closed the gap on Orangeburg last year with 21 sets of antlers making the state record book. Orangeburg came in second with 11 racks and Kershaw was third with 10.

The top typical rack taken in 2004 scored 149 6/8 points and was taken in Oconee County. William Jones of Orangeburg took a 148-1/8 buck to take second place. An Anderson County buck scored 187-4/8 inches non-typical and will make the Boone and Crockett Club recordbook. Jeff Dennis of Colleton County came in second on the non-typical list with a 154-5/8 incher.

As you can see from this deluge of information, Orangeburg County and her neighboring counties are the deer numbers and trophy hotspots of the state.

Bamberg, Orangeburg, Calhoun, Colleton, and Aiken counties offer large agricultural areas bordered by hardwood bottoms filled with acorn trees and river swamp with good cover and water sources. We have it all! Most importantly though we have well-schooled hunters that know you have to take an equal number of does and let the little bucks walk to have the quality deer herds and the trophy potentials we consistently produce in our area. The state of the deer herd in our counties is strong. Good hunting.

You must be logged in to comment.