We'll look at the numbers of turkeys harvested first. For most of us any longbeard is a trophy and I for one, want to know where most of them are located.

As in the 2003 season, the No. 1 total gobbler-producing county in the state is Williamsburg County, with a total harvest of 726 turkeys in 2004. This is down just a bit from the 2003 total of 772 birds harvested. But it's still 83 turkeys ahead of the No. 2 county in the state. There was one turkey harvested in Williamsburg County that came from a wildlife management area (WMA) and all the rest were taken from private lands.

The No. 3 county in the state in 2004 was Colleton County, also a perennial producer of lots for turkeys. Colleton County recorded 643 turkeys harvested in 2004, with only four taken on WMAs. In 2003, Colleton County ranked sixth with 514 birds taken. Of special note: This county showed a significant increase in harvest in 2004, while the statewide harvest declined. I'd certainly be looking at this area as an excellent candidate in 2005.

Chester County stayed in the No. 3 slot in terms of overall harvest from 2003 to 2004. The 2004 harvest was 565 turkeys, with 49 turkeys taken on WMAs. This area is a proven consistent producer of gobblers and one that offers respectable hunting on WMAs if you can't get access to private lands.

Union County is in the No. 4 slot, again the same position it held in the 2003 season. The 2004 harvest was 537 turkeys with 130 of these coming from WMA lands in that county.

The fifth most productive county in 2004 was Fairfield County with a harvest of 515 gobblers, of which 32 were taken from WMAs. Fairfield was the No. 2 county in 2003 with 642 gobblers taken, so there was a drop in harvest here. But a harvest in excess of 500 birds is still a positive sign.

The No. 6 county was Orangeburg County with a total harvest of 469 turkeys taken, of which all but three were harvested on private lands. Orangeburg was 10th in 2003 with a harvest of 392 turkeys, so there was a significant increase in the total harvest here. However, you need to be looking for private lands for the most part if you want to hunt in this productive county.

Close behind Orangeburg in seventh place was Laurens County, one of my longtime favorite spots. Laurens County recorded a total of 464 turkeys harvested in 2004 with 39 of them taken on WMAs. Laurens County was fifth in 2003 with a harvest of 534 turkeys, so there was a drop in total harvest. But the drop is fairly typical of what most counties experienced and should not be considered a particularly negative sign.

In eighth place in the total harvest by county listing was Oconee County with 410 turkeys harvested in 2004. Of this number, 171 turkeys were taken on WMAs. Newberry County was in ninth place with a harvest of 399 turkeys in 2004, of which 87 were taken on WMAs.

Rounding out the top 10 was Bamberg County with 390 turkeys harvested; only one was taken from a WMA.