South Carolina Adds 257 Bucks to Records

The most recent round of white-tailed deer antler measuring conducted by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources revealed 257 new records, including two Boone and Crockett qualifiers.

Each spring the department’s Wildlife Section personnel make a concerted effort to measure deer racks throughout the state, with a major session during the Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic in Columbia. Of the 601 sets of antlers measured this spring, 257 met the minimum score for entry on the state records list including 246 sets of typical and 11 non-typical racks.

According to Charles Ruth, Deer/Wild Turkey program coordinator for DNR, the number of successful entries into the records list this year is the highest number of entries in more than 15 years. Although all of the records were not taken during the 2011 season, 209 were taken during the 2010 or 2011 season.

Racks must score a minimum of 125 points typical or 145 points non-typical to qualify for the South Carolina state records list. Records are based on the Boone and Crockett Club scoring system, which measures the mass and symmetry of deer antlers in typical and non-typical categories.

Top bucks

The top typical buck was a 169 2/8 inch buck taken by David Elrod in Pickens County in October of 2008. Elrod’s buck qualifies for the Boone and Crockett Club’s Three Year Awards Period List and ties for fifth among South Carolina’s all-time typical deer. The second highest scoring typical was a 153 6/8 inch Calhoun County buck taken by Gayle Shuler last November.

Find out just how big that buck is by measuring his tracks!

Netting 187 7/8 points, the top scoring non-typical buck was found dead by Jennifer Mixson and Allen Mole in Berkeley County in November of 2010. This buck also qualifies for the Boone and Crockett Club’s Three Year Awards Period List and is the new number 4 among South Carolina’s all-time non-typical deer.

State outlook

South Carolina’s deer herd is in good condition, and after many years of rapid population growth the herd stabilized in the mid-1990s followed by a decreasing trend since about 2002, according to Ruth.

Statewide population estimates put the deer herd at about 750,000 animals with an estimated harvest of approximately 225,000 each of the last few years. Although the total deer harvest in South Carolina has been down the last few years, indications from the antler records program are that deer quality remains good. This would make sense because fewer deer in the population would benefit from increased nutrition.

Aiken County was this years’ top producer of State Record entries with 23. Other top counties included Orangeburg (19), Anderson (14), Kershaw (11), and Calhoun (10), These results come as no surprise as these counties have historically produced good numbers of record entries.

Although some of the top counties have relatively high deer populations, some of these counties have more moderate numbers. It is important that hunters and land managers understand how the density of deer in an area affects the quality of the animals. Areas with fewer deer typically have better quality animals because natural food availability and nutritional quality is higher. Good nutrition is important in producing good antlers, but deer reproduction, recruitment and survival are also directly tied to nutrition.

As far as all-time leaders at the county level, Orangeburg County remains at the top with 428 sets of antlers on the list. Rounding out the top five counties Orangeburg is followed by Aiken 387, Fairfield 250, Colleton 239, and Anderson with 222 entries.

South Carolina hunters should recognize that harvesting potential Boone and Crockett bucks is not a common occurrence anywhere in the country. This is particularly evident if you consider that there are only about 7,000 white-tailed deer records listed by Boone and Crockett, which includes entries dating to the 1800s. Similarly, the harvest of deer in the United States in recent years has been about 6 million per year.

Essentially, the average hunter stands a better chance of being struck by lightning than harvesting one of these record deer. As for the South Carolina Antler Records List, about one in every 800 bucks harvested makes the State Book.

Currently 5,915 sets of antlers (5,690 typical and 225 non-typical) are included on the South Carolina antler records list.

Source: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

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