2/21/08
Deer scoring sessions set; turkey tags are in the mail
By Terry Madewell

Terry Madewell Photo

Not only is this the time of the year to find antler sheds in the woods but it’s also time to take that trophy buck to get scored to see if it makes the state record book.

It’s almost time to get that big buck you took last season scored by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). A trophy buck is the goal of most deer hunters and several scoring sessions are now set where you can find out where your buck ranks.

Each year during March, the SCDNR scores deer antlers throughout the state, with a major scoring effort during the Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic scheduled for March 28-30 at the State Fairgrounds in Columbia. A total of 4,820 sets of white-tailed deer antlers, including 4,649 typical racks and 171 non-typical, are currently ranked on South Carolina’s all-time antler records list, according to Charles Ruth, Deer Project/Turkey Project supervisor for DNR. Minimum scores for state record listing are 125 points for typical antlers and 145 points for non-typical antlers. Scoring is based on the Boone and Crockett system.

The objectives of the state records list are to recognize outstanding animals and to identify areas that produce quality deer, according to Ruth. This information allows biologists to take a closer look at habitat, deer herd condition, and offer land management suggestions to landowners.

Although record deer have been recorded from all counties, Aiken, Anderson, and Orangeburg counties have produced the greatest numbers in the past three to four years. Generally, larger deer are more abundant in areas that have fewer deer, as compared to parts of the state with high deer numbers, according to Ruth. Last year’s scoring sessions produced 168 new entries into the South Carolina records list, including one buck that met criteria for entry into Boone and Crockett’s three-year awards period list.

Hunters must provide necessary documentation, such as the date and county of the kill, and sign a “fair chase” statement when they bring in a set of antlers for scoring. Antlers in velvet or those that are broken and repaired or antlers separated from the skull plate cannot be officially measured for the state records list. If the lower jawbone of the animal was extracted during taxidermy or otherwise saved, it should be brought to the scoring session so biologists can determine the deer’s age. An accurate weight measurement at the time of the kill is also helpful.

Listed here are some of the scoring sessions in our part of the state. Obviously the big one is the three days in Columbia at the Sportsman’s Classic. But if you can’t make that, others are listed as well.

2008 ANTLER SCORING SESSIONS

• Friday, March 7, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Barnwell, USDA Service Center, 100 Fuldner Road, (803) 259-7143
• Friday, March 14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Garnett, Webb Wildlife Center, 1282 Webb Ave., (803) 625-3569
• Friday, March 28, noon to 8 p.m., Columbia, Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic, State Fairgrounds, (803) 734-3886
• Saturday, March 29, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Columbia, Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic, State Fairgrounds, (803) 734-3886
• Sunday, March 30, 1:30-6 p.m., Columbia, Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic, State Fairgrounds, (803) 734-3886
• Wednesday, March 26, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Bonneau, Dennis Wildlife Center, 305 Black Oak Road, (843) 825-3387
• Columbia: At DNR office, 1000 Assembly St., Columbia, by appointment only, (803) 734-8738
• Florence: At DNR office, 2007 Pisgah Road, Florence, by appointment on Fridays during March, (843) 661-4768
• St. Mathews: Calhoun Co. Agricultural Building, 912 F.R. Huff Drive, St. Mathews, by appointment only during March, (803) 655-5809

Another bit of good news for hunters is the new system for distribution of turkey tags. But you need to read this closely so you can check to see if you’ll get yours in the mail or have to pick them up as we have had to do in the past.

Thanks to changes in the licensing system administered by the SCDNR, most spring turkey hunters will receive a set of turkey tags in the mail at the end of February, according to Ruth. Tags will still be available over the counter at many of the old turkey check stations after the first of March, and they are currently available online.

Although a small number of hunters received tags by mail last year, changes to the licensing system have allowed DNR to build a larger database of turkey hunters. The old licensing system involved handwritten licenses that resulted in no digital database of hunters. Now, more hunters are getting their license through renewals, telephone, Internet and point of sales license vendors. These new licenses are issued digitally resulting in a database that allows DNR to conduct business in a more efficient manner, according to Ruth.

Depending on how hunters purchased their license for the current season, they should have been asked if they turkey hunt. If they indicated that they did, then they were included in the turkey hunter database and will receive tags by mail. A hunter can determine if he or she will receive turkey tags by mail by looking at their hunting license. If “turkey tags” or “turkey tags will be sent by DNR” appears on the license then they are on the list to receive tags by mail.

In order to legally hunt turkeys, all hunters including hunters under the age of 16, must possess a set of turkey tags. Hunters 16 and older must also possess a hunting license and big game permit. Hunters may not possess more than one set of turkey tags and all harvested birds must be tagged prior to being moved from the point of kill.

Spring gobbler season runs April 1 through May 1 for all Wildlife Management Areas where turkey hunting is allowed and on private lands in Game Zones 1-5. The season opens March 15 and runs through May 1 on private lands only in Game Zone 6. Saturday, March 29 is a Youth Turkey Hunt Day in areas where the season opens on April 1. On this day, youths 17 and younger who are accompanied by a properly licensed adult (age 21 and older) may hunt turkeys. Only the youth can take or attempt to take turkeys. Tagging requirements remain in place for this special youth day.