SC buck question: How many is OK?

It feels strange to be thinking and writing about deer hunting in February, with spring just beyond the horizon. Normally, I’m going through my turkey-hunting vest, seeing if all of my diaphragm calls still work and figuring out what I need to buy at the next outdoors show to ensure the tagging of Mr. Gobbler six or eight weeks down the road. Yeah, I’m that much of a turkey-hunting sicko.

But deer remain at the forefront in hunting discussions around South Carolina. Just before Christmas, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources released the results of two surveys — one done over the telephone by a Virginia company that specializes in such matters, and one done by SCDNR through the internet. The surveys were aimed at gauging how the hunting public felt about deer management in South Carolina and what changes it might want.

With SCDNR presenting a wish list to the state legislature this year, hoping to push through some changes in the way deer are managed in the Palmetto State, the survey was timely, and I’m fairly certain SCDNR planned it that way — especially after officials got to look at the results.

The mail survey indicated that 70 percent of deer hunters support a season limit on bucks: 42 percent want a five-buck limit, 50 percent want a limit of five bucks or fewer, and only six percent want no limit or a limit of more than five bucks. In addition, 74 percent of hunters said they’d support a tagging system necessary to enforce a buck limit, and 78 percent said they’d be willing to shell out $5 to pay for the tagging program. Additionally, 62 percent of hunters want some kind of antler restrictions to further protect young bucks.

Going a little deeper, the survey indicated that support for no limit was highest in the four coastal districts with the most liberal seasons and limits. Support for a tagging system was consistent across the state, as was support for some kind of antler restrictions.

The internet survey, taken a few months after the telephone survey, spoke to a lot of the same issues: 74 percent of hunters want a buck limit; 60 percent want the limit at five or fewer; and only 14 percent want no limit or a limit of more than five, plus 75 percent liked the idea of a tagging system, and 64 percent support antler restrictions.

Clearly, hunters across South Carolina would like something different in terms of how their antlered deer are managed. How would a buck limit affect the harvest? In the western half of North Carolina, hunters had their season buck limit cut from four to two in 2000 — while the overall six-deer limit remained in place statewide. Immediately, the antlered-buck harvest in that area dropped 12 percent, while the doe harvest increased around 30 percent.

Within two or three years, the big-buck contest at the Dixie Deer Classic (North Carolina’s answer to the Palmetto Sportsman’s Classic) began to be dominated by deer from the two-buck area. A few Boone & Crockett bucks showed up from unusual places. Counties west of the two-buck line that had produced trophy bucks on a regular basis started producing even more.

My opinion is certainly unscientific, but I don’t see South Carolina’s deer herd or hunters reacting any differently. The idea of a buck limit is certainly worth trying out, at least for a few years. There’s no real downside for the majority of hunters.