Deer harvest data point to this year’s hotspots

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Deer harvest data for ‘05 season can point to this year’s hotspots
By Terry Madewell

Deer hunting success can be difficult to measure it seems. A good example is the 2005 hunting season. Most of the hunters I talked to seemed to have a good season in terms of seeing deer, having deer and I know of a lot of trophy bucks were taken. By most measures, it was a very good season here in Clarendon County. However, the annual data of the deer harvest is out and the data shows that Clarendon County had an 8.8 percent decrease in harvest from the previous year. The overall statewide harvest was down a bit as well.

But the good news, from a comparative standpoint, is that Clarendon County ranked 14th statewide in terms of the number of deer harvested in this deer-rich state. That’s probably a better indicator of how good the hunting is around here.

The annual harvest data compiled by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) bears this out. While there was a slight decrease in overall harvest in 2005 compared to 2004, the overall health of the deer herd is still excellent. Especially when compared to other states in the southeast.

Charles Ruth, Deer Project Coordinator for the SCDNR, compiled the harvest figures for the 2005 season and has gleaned a lot for information from the data. “Overall, the deer herd in South Carolina is in good shape on a statewide basis, although we’re seeing some leveling off of the harvest, based on the data over the past few years,” Ruth begins. “Based on the data, during the 2005 season it is estimated that a total of 123,503 bucks and 120,542 does were harvested for a statewide total of 244,045 deer. This figure represents a 2.9 percent decrease in harvest from 2004 (251,205). It also represents a 23.7 percents decrease from the record harvest established in 2002 (319,902),” Ruth says.

Ruth notes that while this percent decrease from the record is a significant number, there are factors at play that help explain what’s occurring.

“After many years of rapid increase, the deer population in South Carolina was relatively stable between 1995 and 2002. The reduction in harvest since 2002 can likely be attributed to several factors,” Ruth says.

“First, the state experienced a very significant drought 1998-2002, and although rainfall has been more normal the last three years, any reduction in reproduction, recruitment, and survival of deer during the drought would result in reduced deer numbers in years immediately following the drought. Second, although timber management activities stimulated the rapid growth in South Carolina’s deer population in the 1980s, considerable acreage is currently in even-aged pine stands that are greater than 10 years old. This is a situation that does not support deer densities at the same high level as younger stands of pines.

“Also, the good rainfall that was experienced in many parts of the state during the spring/summer of 2005 produced an abundance of natural foods for deer (including acorns) which worked to keep deer movement slow during the fall hunting season. And temperatures during the fall hunting season in 2005 were unseasonably warm, which contributed to decreased daytime movements of during the hunting season.

“Another major factor was that hunter effort in 2005 was down nearly 10 percent based on the data we collected. This was likely a result of the significant increase in fuel prices following hurricanes in the Gulf Coast Region. Deer harvest is directly related to hunter effort,” Ruth notes.

Without doubt, simply the 10 percent decrease in hunter effort could result in the decrease in harvest. This basically falls into line with the reports heard from hunters across the state. Most seem to feel that hunting success in terms of seeing/harvesting deer was very similar to the previous year. In my personal case, that was certainly true. I did see a lot of deer sign and felt a lot of deer were more nocturnal in their movements. To be successful simply required putting in the hours in the deer stands.

The Clarendon County harvest numbers are broken down as follows. There were 2,386 bucks harvested and 2,147 doe in the 2005 season for a total of 4,534 deer harvested. Another way of looking at the harvest is the deer harvested per unit area.

Ruth discusses the harvest analysis with the Harvest Per Unit Area method. “Compari-sons can be made between the various counties in South Carolina if a harvest per unit area is established. Harvest per unit area standardizes the harvest among counties regardless of the size of individual counties. One measure of harvest rate is the number of deer taken per square mile (640 acres = one square mile). When considering the estimated deer habitat that is available in South Carolina, the deer harvests rate in 2005 was 11.5 deer per square mile over the entire state. Although deer harvest has been down each of the last three years, this harvest rate should be considered extraordinary in comparison with other states. Three counties recorded harvest rates in excess of 20 deer per square mile,” Ruth adds.

For Clarendon County, we saw 9.7 deer per square mile or 65.8 acres per deer harvested. This put us in the number 27 slot on a statewide basis.

For comparison purposes, look at the above chart and see how the top ten counties, as well as Clarendon faired in over all harvest. This may help you pick some other hotspots to hunt this fall.

.....når bare man har nok penge og krudt.....så går det ikke aldrig helt galt :-)

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