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Hunting Achieves
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HURRY TO PLANT FIELDS FOR FALL DOVE HUNTS
Sportsmen still have time to plant fields to attract
doves during the upcoming season, according to a wildlife biologist with
the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
The mourning dove is the most popular game species in the Southeast,
and South Carolina is blessed with an abundance of these speedy birds. The
best way to attract large numbers of doves during the hunting season is to
provide an abundance of good dove foods. Proper planning and advance
preparation are key factors in assuring the success of dove fields.
"Several factors, including size, location and crop selection, should
be considered when planning a dove field," said Billy Dukes, Small Game
Project supervisor with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Generally, a dove field should consist of about one acre per hunter.
Fields should not be located near busy highways, residential areas,
schools, or hospitals. Also, doves are easier to attract if fields are
located within an agricultural landscape, rather than within a large block
of woodlands.
"Each year, dove hunters call my office in late August wanting to know
what they can plant in their doves fields," Dukes said. "Unfortunately,
they are out of options at that point. Advance planning and proper field
preparation are the keys to dove hunting success."
Individuals interested in dove field planting recommendations should
contact the DNR Small Game Project in Columbia at (803) 734-3609 or their
local regional wildlife biologist. Planting guides and dove hunting guides
are available to assist hunters with effective and legal dove field
preparation. A planting guide for dove hunters is also available on the
DNR Web site at
www.dnr.state.sc.us/wild/img/AttractingDovesLegally.pdf
A single field can be planted to attract good numbers of doves
throughout the season by alternating strips of several different crops,
according to Dukes. Browntop millet, which matures in 60-70 days, will
provide abundant food during the early dove season. Proso millet will
mature in 80-90 days and should be available as the browntop starts to
disappear. Grain sorghum and sesame will provide seed even later into the
season. Also, planting crops on staggered planting dates will allow the
crops to mature at different time periods throughout the season, providing
a continuous food source over a longer time period.
Planted strips should be 30-50 feet wide, and should be kept as
weed-free as possible. Doves have weak feet, and will not use a field
where they have to scratch and search for food. Planting crops in rows
will allow cultivation of crops, providing bare ground and making finding
downed birds easier. Dove fields should be planted on dates that allow the
seed to mature about two weeks prior to hunting. This gives the birds time
to locate the food source and become accustomed to feeding in the field.
Another option to planting a dove field is to lease shooting rights or
buy standing crops from farmers. Harvested grain fields can provide
outstanding dove hunting opportunity, if fields are managed properly or
some grain is left standing in the fields. Disking strips through a
harvested grain field is beneficial in providing the "clean ground"
feeding environment preferred by doves.
To maintain a productive dove field, hunters should not hunt a
particular field more than once or twice a week, and birds should be
allowed to feed unmolested for a least a portion of the late afternoon
hours. Likewise, fields should be hunted during either morning hours or
afternoon hours, but not both. "Overshooting will drive doves away from
even a good quality dove field," Dukes said. Hunters are reminded that
legal shooting hours during the first three days of the season are from
noon until sunset.
Unless changed by federal regulation, the 2005-06 mourning dove season
in South Carolina will be Sept. 3-5 (afternoons only), Sept. 6-Oct. 8,
Nov. 19-26, and Dec. 21-Jan. 15.
ANTLER-SCORING
SESSIONS REVEAL MANY NEW RECORDS
Each spring S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Section
personnel make a concerted effort to score deer racks throughout the
state, with a major scoring session during the Palmetto Sportsmen's
Classic in Columbia. Of the 430 sets of antlers scored at the nine
scheduled sessions this spring, 180 met the minimum score for entry on the
state records list, the most in more than five years. The 180 racks
included 172 sets of typical and eight non-typical racks. Of the antlers
scored, 147 were taken in 2003 or 2004. Racks must score a minimum of 125
points typical or 145 points non-typical to qualify for the South Carolina
state records list. Records are based on the Boone and Crockett Club
scoring system, which measures the mass and symmetry of deer antlers in
two categories-typical and non-typical.
Although the total deer harvest in South Carolina has been down the
last two years, indications from the antler records program are that deer
quality remains good. This would make sense because fewer deer in the
population would benefit from increased nutrition.
The top typical buck taken in 2004 scored 149 6/8 points and was
harvested by Clifford Rickett in Oconee County last November. The second
highest score, also taken in November, was a 148 1/8 inch Orangeburg
County buck taken William Jones. Delton Roe's 187 4/8 point Anderson
County buck, taken in October 2004, was tops among non-typical deer. Not
only will this buck will qualify for the Boone and Crockett Club's Three
Year Awards Period List, it is currently tied for fourth on the State
All-time Non-typical List. The number two non-typical was taken by Jeff
Dennis in Colleton County in October 2004, 154 5/8 points.
South Carolina's deer herd is in good condition, and it appears that
after many years of rapid population growth the herd stabilized in the
mid-1990s, according to Charles Ruth, DNR Deer Project supervisor.
Statewide population estimates put the deer herd at about 800,000 animals,
and the estimated harvest has been between 250,000 and 300,000 deer each
of the last eight years.
Aiken County was this years' top producer of State Record entries with
21. Other top counties included Orangeburg with 11, Kershaw with 10,
Lexington with 8, and Anderson with 7 entries. These results come as no
surprise, which is particularly the case with Aiken, Anderson and
Orangeburg as these counties have historically produced good numbers of
record entries.
Although some of the top counties have relatively high deer
populations, some of these counties have more moderate numbers. It is
important that hunters and land managers understand how the density of
deer in an area affects the quality of the animals. Areas with fewer deer
typically have better quality animals because natural food availability
and nutritional quality is higher. Good nutrition is important in
producing good antlers, but deer reproduction, recruitment and survival
are also directly tied to nutrition.
"If hunters want to continue to have good numbers of large-antlered
bucks," Ruth said, "the harvest of female deer must continue to be
emphasized in order to keep deer numbers from becoming too high. Over the
last 10 years, most hunters have realized the importance of harvesting doe
deer. These hunters should be commended and encouraged to continue this
trend."
As far as all-time leaders at the county level, Orangeburg County
remains at the top with 309 sets of antlers on the lists. Rounding out the
top five counties Orangeburg is followed by Aiken 257, Fairfield 223,
Colleton 197 and Abbeville and Williamsburg tied with 169 entries.
South Carolina hunters should recognize that harvesting potential Boone
and Crockett bucks is not a common occurrence anywhere in the country.
This is particularly evident if you consider that there are only about
5,500 white-tailed deer records listed by Boone and Crockett, which
includes entries dating to the 1800s. Similarly, the harvest of deer in
the United States in recent years has been about five million per year.
Essentially, the average hunter stands a better chance of being struck by
lightning than harvesting one of these record deer no matter where they
hunt. As for the South Carolina Antler Records List, about one in every
1,000 bucks harvested makes the State Book.
Currently 4,488 sets of antlers (4,328 typical and 160 non-typical) are
included on the South Carolina antler records list. Results of DNR's
Antler Records Program for 2005 will soon be available on the DNR Web site
at
www.dnr.state.sc.us/wild/deer/ing/DeerAntlerRecords05.pdf. For more
information, call the DNR Columbia office at (803) 734-3886.
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