South Carolina deer hunters support buck limits, tagging

Deer hunters in South Carolina back a bill before the state House of Representatives that mandates a statewide limit of four antlered whitetail deer per season, plus the tagging of all harvested deer.

The measure already has passed the state Senate.

Hunter sentiment was assessed in 2015 by the state’s Department of Natural Resources during seven public meetings, four in the Piedmont area and three in counties along the coast. Total attendance was 685, and approximately 76 percent supported the conservation proposals. Additionally, a “virtual” meeting was posted on the DNR website for other interested hunters to take part in the survey. Among 4,500 participants, over 80 percent back limiting the kill of antlered bucks and establishing a tagging system.

Dr. Charles Ruth, the wildlife agency’s deer and wild turkey program coordinator, explained why the changes are being sought:

“The state’s deer population has decreased in recent years as indicated by a 35 percent decline in harvest. Reasons include habitat changes related to forest management, extremely liberal harvest limits over the last two decades and the complete colonization of the state by coyotes since 2000.”

The coyotes prey on young deer.

The “no buck limit” is a stark contrast to other states and to laws regulating the harvest of other game species and fish in South Carolina. Ruth said that from a management standpoint, the tagging requirement would help in determining how to set the bagging of doe deer.

Meanwhile, SCDNR continues to mitigate the impact of coyotes on future deer populations. Observer News Services

Catches of the week

▪  A 12-foot hammerhead shark estimated to weigh 500 pounds, taken off Hatteras Village by Pennsylvanian Garrett Ordway while fishing from a private boat.

▪  Ten king mackerel in the 25-pound range by Jim Bowen of Chadbourn and his son Dylan, who were joined by Will Scott and son Andrew for offshore fishing out of Little River. They boated and released quite a few other kings.

▪  A 56.7-pound wahoo, Jay Owens’ first, while fishing off Ocean Isle with skipper Ricky Beck.

▪  A mix of wahoo up to the 50-pound range and king mackerel off Ocean Isle by Trask Cunningham and Elizabeth Kahn. They had several simultaneous hook-ups and call the wahoo bite the best they ever experienced.

▪  A 2 1/2-pound crappie at Lake Norman by Bo Crutchfield of Denver while fishing in the Mountain Creek arm.

▪  Mixed limits of smallmouth and spotted bass during three successive days at Fontana Lake by Harold Johnson of Stecoah.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 2:40 PM with the headline "South Carolina deer hunters support buck limits, tagging."