Time to see if your buck makes the record book
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources has scheduled more than a dozen opportunities around the state in March for hunters to have their whitetail deer scored for possible inclusion in the South Carolina record book.
Charles Ruth, the deer and wild-turkey project manager for SCDNR, released the schedule of scoring sessions, which begin on March 3 and run through March 20, with other scoring opportunities available by appointment. Scoring will take place all three days of the Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic, scheduled for March 18-20 at the state fairgrounds in Columbia.
South Carolina’s all-time antler records list requires a minimum typical score of 125 points and a minimum non-typical score of 145 points for entry in the record book. Scoring is done according to the Boone & Crockett Club scoring system.
Ruth said that 6,565 bucks have qualified for the record book. Last year, 165 typical bucks and nine non-typical qualified. He said the objective of the record-keeping is to recognize trophy bucks and identify areas that produce quality deer, year after year, allowing biologists to look at habitat and herd conditions in order to make future management recommendations.
Hunters who attend antler-scoring sessions need to provide documentation of their kills, including date and county of kill, and they are required to sign a “fair chase” statement. Antlers in velvet or those that are broken and repaired, or antlers separated form the skull plate, cannot be officially measured for the state record book.
SCDNR requests that hunters who have saved the lower jawbone from their bucks bring them so that biologists can determine the deer’s age.
The schedule of scoring sessions is as follows:
March 3, Pickens, 2-8 p.m., Durham’s Grocery, 3210 Walhalla Hwy., Six Mile, 864-868-2070;
March 4, Bath, 1-5 p.m., Wilson’s Taxidermy, 158 Victory Lane, 803-593-3357;
March 4, Gilbert, 1-5 p.m., Price’s Country Store, 540 Peach Festival Rd., 803-892-2457;
March 7, Greenwood, 1-7 p.m., Hunter’s Headquarters, 1845 Calhoun Blvd., 864-223-1911;
March 8, Anderson, 2-8 p.m., Academy Sports, 3423 Clemson Blvd., 864-261-2400;
March 9, Bonneau, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Dennis Wildlife Center, 305 Black Oak Rd., 843-825-3387;
March 10, Greenville, 10-2 p.m., Academy Sports, 59 Woodruff Industrial Lane, 864-254-5900;
March 18, Columbia, noon-8 p.m., Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic, S.C. State Fairgrounds, 803-734-3886;
March 19, Columbia, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic, S.C. State Fairgrounds, 803-734-3886;
March 20, Columbia, 1:30-6 p.m. Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic, S.C. State Fairgrounds, 803-734-3886;
Scoring will also be by appointment only at six SCDNR offices across the state:
Clemson, 311 Natural Resources Dr., 864-654-1671, ext. 16, through March only;.
Columbia, 1000 Assembly St., 803-734-8738, year-round;
Florence, 295. S. Evander Dr., 843-661-4768, through March only;
Garnett, Webb Wildlife Center, 1282 Webb Ave., 803-624-3569, through March only;
Union, 124 Wildlife Drive, 864-427-5140, through March only.
For additional information on the Antler Records Program visit the DNR website at the following address: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/deer/index.html.
Click here to view big bucks killed during the 2015 deer hunting season.