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The good old days are now. Ruth says South Carolina is more known for long seasons and liberal bag limits than as a trophy buck destination. However, some of the better areas for larger bucks include Anderson, Aiken, Allendale, Hampton and Orangeburg counties. Up-and-coming hotspots include Horry and Spartanburg counties.

Even coastal Beaufort County is home to one of the three non-typical entries. In certain regions of the state, hunters have the longest modern firearms season in the country — days. If traveling from out of town, note that the bulk of breeding for most of the state occurs from Oct. The peak spans late October to early November. If a South Carolina public land hunt is in your future, give one of the state’s wildlife management areas or heritage preserves a try.

There are also state parks and national forests with opportunities. Realtree is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience to everyone, including those with disabilities. All rights reserved. Site by Gray Loon. A statistical measure of how well the data fit is called R 2 , with an R 2 of 1.

In any event, the apparent relationship can not be ignored and supports what hunters have always believed as it relates to the harvest of mature bucks during the breeding season. Hunters often wonder if one year or one time period was better with respect to the number of bucks entering the records program.

Figure 3 plots the number of record entries by year of harvest against the total number of bucks harvested by year. Several interesting points can be made concerning this data.

During this time, deer populations were growing in South Carolina and in many areas deer went from being rare to very common. This portion of the graph represents what common sense may tell you, the more bucks that are harvested, the more bucks that will be entered into the records program. Even without statistics, it is easy to see the similarities. Not only is this obvious looking at the two distributions, but the statistical R2 value of 0. What would cause this relationship to change?

From a biological standpoint, deer populations that are expanding typically exhibit some of the best quality animals. However, once populations recover there is a point in time where the number of deer with respect to habitat begins to curb what once was optimal body condition.

Although the number of animals may continue to increase, the quality of animals begins to decrease to some degree. Most recently the deer population in South Carolina has decreased, most likely as a result of habitat change related to forest management, extremely high deer harvest rates, and coyote predation on deer fawns. With decreasing population density one would expect an increase in quality and it appears that beginning in about the number of record entries in proportion to the buck harvest has increased substantially.

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues although it will be a number of years before this data is available because bucks that were taken during the last few years will continue to be measured for several more years. Back to the original question, what was the best year for record entries?

Until recently, the year with the best ratio of record entries was with one in every bucks taken that year making the list. However, as records continue to come in from recent years, has taken over the lead with one in every bucks taken making the list.

Moreover, there are now 5 years since that have a better ratio than The worst year since was with only one in every 1, bucks making the list. Over the long term, approximately one in every bucks harvested in South Carolina makes the antler records list. There is one other trend in the records that is worth mentioning. Notice in Figure 3 how the number of record entries by year is a jagged line indicating that the number of records spikes every 2 to 4 years. What would cause these somewhat predictable peaks?

Sims heard lots of shooting on adjacent properties and worried someone else might have shot Waldo. But the buck appeared again on Oct. And after that, the buck showed up only at night until Dec. Sims had endured a hard week at work, and rain was in the forecast. He considered staying in bed, but finally dragged himself out and headed to the deer stand where he kept himself awake by playing on Facebook and Instagram.

Sims laid his phone down and put his hat and face mask on as the sky began to lighten up around a. Pretty soon, he saw something that got his attention. Then the buck turned sideways, giving him a clear shot and he squeezed the trigger. The buck fell instantly and Sims shot a second time to make sure it did not suffer or get up and run off. Then he climbed down from the stand and ran the yards to where the deer lay.

It definitely is the largest rack ever for Fairfield County, according to the records.

Fairfield buck may be new state record | The Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County.

Thanks to South Carolina deer hunters. As a result, no state funds are associated with this program. The South Carolina white-tailed deer Antler Records Program was initiated in the spring of and since that time, 7, sets of antlers 7, typical and non-typical have been officially entered into the list. Initially, measuring sessions were only conducted a few times each spring but, since antler measuring sessions have been scheduled throughout the state with approximately 12 sessions occurring annually.

Each year SCDNR wildlife biologists, wildlife technicians and volunteers measure approximately sets of antlers. Generally, only about 25 percent of the antlers that are measured make the Antler Records List with the bulk of entries falling short of the minimum scores.

Between and a number of updates have been published on an annual or semi-annual basis. The updates include only the new entries for the current year and the top typical and top 50 nontypical entries from the All-time List Deer Records Information.

This publication represents the complete listing of all typical and nontypical entries on file through spring The purpose of the Antler Records Program is two-fold. First, because of the increased interest in deer hunting exhibited by sportsmen, it is a means of recognizing outstanding white-tailed deer taken in South Carolina. Secondly, it provides management information that allows SCDNR wildlife biologists to identify areas that produce quality deer.

When particular areas stand out it is important to attempt to recognize the underlying characteristics that produce outstanding animals. The scoring system is based primarily on antler size and symmetry and includes measurements of the main beams, greatest inside spread of the beams, circumference measurements at certain designated locations, and the number and length of the points. To be counted as a point, a projection must be at least one inch long and it must be longer than it is wide at its base.

Deductions are made for points that arise abnormally from the main beams or from other points and for symmetrical differences between corresponding measurements on the right and left antlers. For non-typical antlers, abnormal points are added to the score rather than being deducted as in the typical category.

A set of antlers is classified as typical or non-typical based on its general conformation, the number of abnormal points, and a determination as to whether it will rank higher in the typical or non-typical category. Current minimum scores for the South Carolina Antler Records List are typical points and non-typical points.

All antlers must undergo a minimum day drying period before they can be officially measured, and a fair-chase statement must be signed for all hunter killed deer.

If a set of antlers meets the minimum score the record is added to the list and a certificate is issued recognizing the outstanding white-tailed deer taken in South Carolina. However, due to the size and nature of the list mistakes are inevitable. If you become aware of mistakes associated with the records list please contact Antler Records, P.

Box Columbia, SC in writing. Proposed corrections will be considered after reviewing the original score sheet that is on file. However, it is important to understand that comparing record entries among counties is meaningless because counties vary greatly in size. In the process of compiling this publication a number of distribution maps were produced in an effort to graphically demonstrate potential trends in record production among counties or regions.

Unfortunately, none of these maps show any meaningful trend in record antler production. For that reason, one basic distribution map is presented Figure 1. This map depicts the upper 50 percent and lower 50 percent of county record entries per square mile. Although trends are difficult to identify in this map, the following possible trends are cautiously offered.

First, no county that borders the coast is in the upper 50 percent of the records per square mile distribution. This may be related to poor soil fertility that is generally associated with these coastal counties. Also, Pee Dee counties are virtually absent from the top 50 percent of the records.

Again, this could be related to poor natural soil fertility but it could also be associated with the history of the deer herd, habitat, and hunting in the area. With the exception of Jasper County, which borders the coast, and McCormick County, all counties that border the Savannah River are in the top 50 percent of the records per square mile distribution.

Additionally, once removed from the coast, counties below the fall line and located between the Savannah and Congaree Rivers are generally in the top 50 percent of the distribution. In each of these cases better natural soil fertility may play a role. Finally, there is a band of lower piedmont counties lying just above the fall line that tend to be in the upper half of the records per square mile distribution.

Soil fertility may be involved here, as well. Overall, 12 of 18 piedmont counties and 11 of 28 coastal counties are in the upper 50 percent of the distribution.. The timing of harvest for record deer is not random throughout the hunting season. Most deer hunters know that mature bucks are most susceptible to harvest during the breeding season or rut. Historic reproductive data collected by SCDNR indicates that the peak of the rut in most of South Carolina is from mid October through mid November with approximately 83 percent of females breeding from October 6 to November Figure 2 plots the percentage of record entries by month of harvest in relationship to the percentage of female deer conceiving by month.

A statistical measure of how well the data fit is called R 2 , with an R 2 of 1. In any event, the apparent relationship can not be ignored and supports what hunters have always believed as it relates to the harvest of mature bucks during the breeding season. Hunters often wonder if one year or one time period was better with respect to the number of bucks entering the records program.

Figure 3 plots the number of record entries by year of harvest against the total number of bucks harvested by year. Several interesting points can be made concerning this data. During this time, deer populations were growing in South Carolina and in many areas deer went from being rare to very common. This portion of the graph represents what common sense may tell you, the more bucks that are harvested, the more bucks that will be entered into the records program.

Even without statistics, it is easy to see the similarities. Not only is this obvious looking at the two distributions, but the statistical R2 value of 0. What would cause this relationship to change? From a biological standpoint, deer populations that are expanding typically exhibit some of the best quality animals. However, once populations recover there is a point in time where the number of deer with respect to habitat begins to curb what once was optimal body condition.

Although the number of animals may continue to increase, the quality of animals begins to decrease to some degree. Most recently the deer population in South Carolina has decreased, most likely as a result of habitat change related to forest management, extremely high deer harvest rates, and coyote predation on deer fawns. With decreasing population density one would expect an increase in quality and it appears that beginning in about the number of record entries in proportion to the buck harvest has increased substantially.

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues although it will be a number of years before this data is available because bucks that were taken during the last few years will continue to be measured for several more years. Back to the original question, what was the best year for record entries? Until recently, the year with the best ratio of record entries was with one in every bucks taken that year making the list.

However, as records continue to come in from recent years, has taken over the lead with one in every bucks taken making the list. Moreover, there are now 5 years since that have a better ratio than The worst year since was with only one in every 1, bucks making the list. Over the long term, approximately one in every bucks harvested in South Carolina makes the antler records list. There is one other trend in the records that is worth mentioning.

Notice in Figure 3 how the number of record entries by year is a jagged line indicating that the number of records spikes every 2 to 4 years.

What would cause these somewhat predictable peaks? It is likely a simple matter of the movement of mature bucks in and out of the population. In other words, following a peak year it takes several years for another cohort of mature bucks to accumulate in the population.

Once these mature bucks accumulate they are harvested resulting in another peak followed by several years when fewer mature bucks are available. If this is this case, it indicates that hunters are at least somewhat successful at harvesting mature bucks once they are available in the population at a certain density. South Carolina White-tailed Deer Antler Records Program The South Carolina white-tailed deer Antler Records Program was initiated in the spring of and since that time, 7, sets of antlers 7, typical and non-typical have been officially entered into the list.