Rounding out the top 10 was Aiken County with a harvest of 7,779 deer. Aiken County made the biggest jump from the 2003 season data, all the way from No. 22 to claim the final spot in the top 10. Aiken County had a 29.6 percent increase in harvest in 2004. There were 4,102 bucks and 3,677 does taken in 2004.

For the deer harvested per unit area in South Carolina, we'll consider both the acres per deer harvested and the deer harvested per square mile.

The top county in this category was Bamberg, with 29 deer harvested per square mile and 22.1 acres per deer harvest rate. Bamberg was ranked No. 4 in the 2003 data. The No. 2 county was Allendale with 26.7 deer harvested per square mile and a deer harvested for every 24 acres of land. Allendale County remained in the No. 2 spot as it was in the 2003 calculations.

Abbeville County was third, up from 11th in 2003, with 21.1 deer harvested per square mile and a deer harvested for every 30.4 acres of land. In fourth was Union County, with 19.8 deer harvested per square mile and 32.3 acres per deer harvest rate. Union was up from sixth last year in the rankings.

Hampton County was at No. 5, up from the No. 9 spot the previous year. Hampton County had a harvest of 18.5 deer per square mile and one deer harvested per 34.5 acres.

SOUTH CAROLINA'S TOP 10 COUNTIES FOR DEER (2004 Harvest Data)
By Deer Harvested Per Unit Of Habitat
County	Acres/Deer	Deer/Square Mile
Bamberg	22.1	29.0
Allendale	24.0	26.7
Abbeville	30.4	21.1
Union	32.3	19.8
Hampton	34.5	18.5
Fairfield	35.3	18.1
Chester	36.1	17.7
Cherokee	37.4	17.1
Beaufort	40.5	15.8
Laurens	41.1	15.6

In sixth was Fairfield County, down from third in 2003. Fairfield had 18.1 deer harvested per square mile and one deer for every 35.3 acres of land. In seventh place was Chester County, with 17.7 deer harvested per square mile and one deer harvested every 36.1 acres. Chester County dropped from the No. 1 slot in the 2003 rankings.

Cherokee County was in eighth place, up from 12th in 2003. There were 17.1 deer harvested per square mile in 2004 and the harvest rate was 37.4 acres per deer harvested.

Ninth spot belonged to Beaufort County, with a total of 15.8 deer harvested per square mile and one deer harvested for every 40.5 acres of land. Beaufort made the biggest improvement in this category, moving up fro the No. 26 spot in 2003.

Rounding out the top 10 in this category was Laurens County, which dropped from seventh place in 2003. There were 15.6 deer harvested per square mile in 2004 and there were 41.1 acres of land for each deer harvested.

For your general information, the next 10 counties in the list for this category were, in order: Lancaster, Orangeburg, Anderson, Barnwell, McCormick, Marion, Greenwood, Jasper, and Colleton and Calhoun counties were tied.

If you want to find the "best" hunting, one way of going about it is to look for counties listed in both categories. Counties that have high total harvest numbers and high kill rates per acre indicate the hunters there are in good deer county. Making both lists were Bamberg, Allendale, Union, Fairfield, Hampton and Chester counties.

Consider the data presented here and look at the map where you are in relation to these top spots. You can then make plans on where you have the best chance to succeed in 2005.

Ruth also notes relative hunting success was very good in 2004.

"Based on the number of deer hunters that hunted at least one day, overall hunting success in South Carolina for the 2004 season was 73.5 percent, which is outstanding. The number of days devoted to deer hunting in South Carolina is very significant and points not only to the availability and popularity of deer as a game species, but to the obvious economic benefits related to this important natural resources," Ruth said.

He noted that about $200 million in direct retail sales is related to deer hunting in South Carolina annually.

So get busy planning your 2005 hunting season so you can have an even better year than in 2004.

Next Month:
FINDING TROPHY BUCKS