Cool, crisp air with red, yellow, and orange leaves slowly drifting to the ground from above against a cobalt blue sky — these are the images we all eagerly anticipate for autumn. At this time, whitetail bucks chase does, for this is their breeding season, and deer hunters enter the woods searching for that buck of a lifetime.
A Hunting History
The whitetail deer is the most popular game animal in America. The United States boasts 11 million deer hunters, of which 130,000 hunt in South Carolina. Deer hunting is big business too — $15.7 billion per year is spent by deer hunters across the United States, with $200 million in the Palmetto State. The whitetail deer population is estimated to be somewhere between 35 to 36 million, of which 675,000 inhabit South Carolina.
This abundance has not always been the case. Starting in the late 17th century until the end of the 19th, the whitetail deer population was steadily reduced until only around 300,000 remained nationwide in 1890. Many areas had no deer at all. Market hunting for hides during the early Colonial era and later for meat with no season or bag restrictions predominantly contributed to this loss.
Under the leadership of Teddy Roosevelt and others, market hunting came to an end by 1918, and the regulation of hunting through bag limits and seasons allowed whitetails to recover. Restocking efforts, first initiated by individuals and later by state agencies, furthered the reemergence of sustainable whitetail populations. Today, whitetail deer are ubiquitous and have even become a nuisance in many places due to their overbrowsing of crops and backyard plants. South Carolina experienced a modern-day population peak in the late ’90s and early 2000s of approximately 1 million deer. Since that time, the population has trended downward but is still robust while the average body and rack size has gotten larger.
South Carolina has the longest deer season in the nation. Parts of the state, primarily in the Lowcountry, start Aug. 15 and do not end until Jan. 1. The Palmetto State is one of the few places where a buck can be shot in velvet. Velvet is the growth stage in a deer’s antlers; all deer species drop their antlers in early spring and grow new racks each year over the summer.
Included are elk and moose, which grow incredibly large antlers over a short period of time. With South Carolina’s early start, some bucks still have a coating of velvet but not for long. At about this same time, bucks begin scraping the velvet off to display their glistening racks and prepare for the battles over does with other would-be suitors.
The Thrill of the Chase
Depending on how a hunter chooses to pursue whitetails, this game animal can either be one of the hardest or easiest to harvest. Whitetails are nervous animals using their keen senses to locate danger and to flee at high speed, bounding and leaping through the woods as if they can fly.
Having been preyed upon for thousands of years by a multitude of predators, including man, deer have evolved to move — and move fast. Whitetails do not stay still for long except when bedding down in some impenetrable thicket. Even courtship and breeding are done on the move to minimize the risk of being eaten. These refined senses and superb athleticism make deer hunting a challenging pursuit.
The different methods of deer hunting revolve around self-imposed limitations. Choosing the method and type of deer to hunt dictates the degree of difficulty. For a young or novice hunter, whitetail deer are one of the best to pursue. Since deer rarely look up, deer stands 12 to 15 feet above the ground give the hunter a significant advantage.
Combine this with a planted food plot or feeder, and the hunters merely wait for the deer to come to them. Hunting from a deer stand provides a clear shot, and since the deer are feeding, they stay in one place longer than usual. This gives time for the perfect shot where the deer is broadside and standing still in order to make a clean and ethical kill. It is also safe due to the fact that the hunter is shooting down. High-powered rifles are lethal for a couple of miles, so minimizing this risk is essential.
Deer stands come in a multitude of varieties. Probably the most popular deer stand is the ladder stand. This is one of the easiest to put together and is one of the safest, although all elevated deer stands are dangerous to some extent. The ladder stand is simply an elevated platform with a safety and shooting rail that leans against a tree connected to a ladder.
The stand is secured to the tree with chains, straps, or bolts. Other variations of deer stands that use trees are the climbing and hang on stands. These stands are popular with bow hunters because they are easier to carry into the woods and easier to hide in the limbs of a tree. This is important for those close-range shots to which bow hunters are limited.
Some deer stands do not use trees at all. These independent stands are four legged or tripods and vary in size and height. Some tower stands are huge and can accommodate multiple hunters. Others are small tripods that can be carried over the shoulder. Ground blinds have become more popular due to innovations in materials that allow easy setup and are lightweight to carry. These blinds are camouflaged, waterproof, warmer than tree stands, and have multiple windows from which to shoot. They are also safer than tree stands since no climbing is involved.
Whereas hunting out of a deer stand with a high-powered rifle accurate to several hundred yards over a food plot is the easiest method of pursuing whitetail, hunting on the ground with a traditional bow is one of the hardest. Others between these two extremes are more challenging than the former but not as challenging as the latter, such as hunting with a black powder rifle accurate to maybe a hundred yards or with a shotgun that has an even more limited range. A hunter could also use a modern bow or crossbow accurate to 40 to 50 yards, depending on the hunter’s ability.
Besides the weapon of use, the method of hunting whitetails creates challenges of its own. “Still hunting,” which is a bit of a misnomer, actually requires the hunter to move very slowly through the woods in search of deer. In this type of hunting, hunters immerse themselves into the deer’s world.
A still hunter, while heading into the wind, may only take a step or two every few minutes, constantly searching for movement or the slightest noise. Once a deer has been located, then the hunter must stalk without being detected within range and position. Much easier said than done, especially if that hunter is using a bow. Hours and a lot of luck may be required before the shot presents itself.
Rattling
One of the most exciting methods of whitetail deer hunting is rattling. Rattling does not work everywhere and every time, but when it does — it’s magic. During the rut, which in South Carolina normally takes place the latter part of October into early November, the bucks become totally consumed with breeding does in estrus. Bucks fight each other for the right to pass on their genes, sometimes to the death. It is not uncommon to find skeletons where two bucks became locked together in mortal combat with intertwined antlers forced together with such strength they could not be separated.
A hunter that rattles replicates one of these fights. The best time is always early morning right before sunrise to a few hours after. The deer hunter will silently enter an area such as the edge of a creek bottom and sit down against a tree. Then for about one or two minutes he will simulate a buck fight by rattling two antlers together while at the same time thrashing the ground with his feet.
The hunter looks as though he is having a temper tantrum, but the object is to sound just like a fight. When two bucks fight, it is usually intense and short with as much noise coming from the thrashing of leaves and sticks as the antlers.
After the fight episode, antlers are placed on the ground, and hunters will have their guns up and ready. Not often, but occasionally, an enraged buck will charge into the area looking for the fight. Normally, however, bucks will sneak in cautiously looking, usually downwind. Many times they will come within 15 yards or closer.
Small bucks like to come in to watch what they think is a big fight between two strong mature bucks but that they don’t want to be a part of … much like young teenage boys watching a fight between bigger and stronger young men. If after two or three rattling sessions nothing comes in, the deer hunter will move a couple of hundred yards and start over again. Rattling can be extremely exciting. Becoming a participant in the whitetail’s world and interacting with a highly amped up buck is quite an experience.
Gone to the Dogs
A controversial but very traditional way to hunt deer in South Carolina is with dogs. Especially in the Lowcountry, deer hunting with dogs goes back centuries. When population densities were low and plantations encompassed huge acreages, hunting deer with dogs on horseback was the most popular antebellum pursuit. Not many use horses today, but hunting with dogs is still fervently practiced in the counties where it is permitted. Deer hunting with dogs is a social event as much as anything else with good eating and camaraderie before and after the hunt.
Hunters are placed in strategic positions where deer may run while being pursued by hounds in hopes of getting a shot. Mature bucks are smart and have many tricks to throw off the dogs or elude being shot. They have been known to double back or run down creeks. The controversy lies with the dogs running onto adjoining property and ruining the neighbors’ hunt from a stand or just their peace and quiet.
Dog hunting and rattling are the only forms of deer hunting during which you actually make a lot of noise and disturbance. All other forms require stealth and quietness.
Like all hunting, deer hunting has much more to offer than just the pursuit of a big game animal. Shared experiences and camaraderie with fellow hunters, good food and laughs by a roaring fire, and the splendor of spending time in the beauty of the autumn woods are just a few rewards deer hunters receive.
Whitetail deer hunting is as American as baseball or football, with a much longer and deeper tradition embedded in our psyche. The tradition runs especially strong in South Carolina, where pursuing the majestic buck through the swamps of the Lowcountry or the mountains of the Upstate has been taking place every fall since the first man entered the land we now call the Palmetto State.
