As the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Department's Big Game Program Coordinator, Charles Ruth has digested a lot of numbers over the past 30 years.
So with the opening of South Carolina's deer season only a few weeks away, Ruth isn't overly concerned about some numbers that turned up from the 2021 deer hunting season in the state.
"The harvest was down about 12 percent in 2021 compared to 2020. And that's easily explainable on the surface, because we had about a 12 percent decrease in hunters," Ruth said. "But (the reason for the decrease) is not as easily explained.
"My explanation is that (the deer harvest) was up in 2020 by about six percent, and I would attribute that to people having more time because of COVID, doing more outdoors activities and the harvest jumped six percent."
The 2021 harvest was a return to more usual numbers.
"I think we were getting back to normal in 2021 and people were saying 'Gosh, I hunted a lot last year' and I'm going to do other things I couldn't do last year," he said.
That being said, I would expect harvest numbers to bump back up simply because you have more carryover (a larger population because of fewer deer harvested)."
Ruth said that since new regulations were enacted in 2017, the harvest generally has been creeping back up. Prior to that, he said, South Carolina was in a downward trend for a decade or so.
"We are still harvesting between 175,000 and 200,000 deer a year, and that's a lot. It's nothing like it was 20 years ago, but we didn't need the deer (numbers) we had 20 years ago and I thing most hunters understand that," Ruth said.
"We have a more moderate deer population now. Here's what I tell people. You can't have a lot of deer and have good deer at the same point in time. We've sacrificed some quantity for better quality."
One numerical increase Ruth and his SCDNR associates could be proud of was a record 2022 series of deer antler scoring sessions, held each spring to recognize harvested deer that qualify for the state records.
Deers with typical (symmetrical, or matching side) antlers must score at least 125 using the Boone and Crockett scoring system to qualify for South Carolina's record book, while deer with non-typical antlers must score 145.
"As a staff, we measured 624 sets of antlers, which was a record. Normally, we would measure somewhere in the 500s. We had 278 that made the minimum and were entered into the records list. That was a record for one cycle," Ruth said.
A partial explanation on the record number of measured antlers also goes back to COVID.
Some of the remote scoring sessions normally done at sporting goods stores were not held, and the biggest of the annual scoring sessions, during the Palmetto Sportsman's Classic, were not held with the PSC was canceled in both 2020 and 2021.
"We were probably playing a little catch up," Ruth said of the increased number of antlers scored this spring.
South Carolina's lengthy deer season opens Aug. 15 on private lands in the Lowcountry, with the youth deer hunting day this year set for Aug. 13.
For complete information, Ruth said hunters should check the 2022-23 Rules and Regulations that will soon be released.
Resident hunters who already have the requisite big game hunting license will soon be receiving their base set of deer tags — three unrestricted buck tags and two antlerless, or doe tags. There's also an option for resident hunters to purchase 2 additional antler restricted tags for bucks that have at least a 12-inch inside spread on the antlers or 4 points on one side.
Resident hunters can purchase four optional antlerless deer tags, and if they do so they receive two more free tags. If a resident hunter avails himself of all of the deer tags, the hunter could harvest five antlered deer and eight antlerless deer.
"For 99 percent of the hunters," Ruth said, "that's way more than they use."
America's Boating Club
America's Boating Club Charleston will hold boating safety classes Aug. 6 and Aug. 27 at 1376 Orange Grove Road, Charleston. The class begins at 9 a.m. and ends around 4 p.m. Successful participants earn the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Boater Education Card. The cost is $45 for adults and $15 for additional household members sharing the text. Scholarships are available for youth ages 12-18. Call 843-312-2876 or email lynes@tds.net.
