But he said the opposite could also be true. Great weather for hunting means more hunters in the woods looking for deer. Less available food supplies typically mean more deer movement seeking food, thus more deer seen and perhaps harvested.

"Overall, I am pleased with the harvest results of the 2007 season," Ruth said. "When considering the estimated deer habitat that is available in South Carolina, the deer harvest rate in 2007 was 11.2 deer per square mile over the entire state. This number is up from a 10.5 deer per square mile harvest rate for 2006. But even the 10.5 number from 2006 was extraordinary in terms of comparison to other Southern states."

Ruth said the buck and doe harvest breakdown represents a good split for the 2007 season as well.

"Based on the results from our annual survey, there were an estimated total of 124,522 bucks and 114,671 does harvested in the 2007 season," Ruth said.

This represents a harvest increase of 8,605 bucks and an increase of 9,268 does in the 2007 season over the 2006 season. Ruth said that the doe and buck harvest continues to be close to a 50/50 ratio, which is what he feels is healthy for our state and existing deer herd.

Ruth said he is confident that, barring much poor weather for hunting, hunters in 2008 should harvest close to what was taken in 2007.

"I expect we'll be plus or minus 5 to 7 percent either way," Ruth said. "It will have a lot to do with weather and hunter participation. Gas prices could even be a reason for less hunter participation if gas prices are real high. But from strictly a deer herd perspective, we should be pretty consistent."

BEST PLACES TO HUNT
Searching for the absolute best places to harvest deer in 2008 can be based on several things. One is the local knowledge that hunters have of the area they hunt. It can also be greatly influenced by the effort they put into preparation in terms of planting food plots, stand site selection and scouting. And, as Charles Ruth noted, the skill level of the hunter is also a crucial factor in hunter success.

Reviewing this historical harvest of deer is another great way to find a way to put the cross hairs on more deer this season. To help with this, we reviewed and consolidated data compiled by Ruth and the SCDNR regarding deer harvest success. We can look at the statewide harvest figures for 2007 broken down into county-by-county rankings. Those numbers will directly help you determine where you can focus your hunting effort this season to enhance your odds of success.

Ruth said that looking at the top counties in terms of harvest could sometimes be a bit misleading.

"There is quality deer hunting in just about county in the state," Ruth said. "Even in the counties that are not at the top of the harvest list, there will be isolated spots of exceptionally good hunting in many instances. Often a hunter will have to seek these local areas out. But some areas of the state do tend to have the right habitat on a broad scale where the deer numbers are simply higher."

The 2007 harvest data is broken down by the SCDNR into several categories. According to Ruth, the best way to compare the hunting between counties is through the harvest-per-unit-area method. (Typically, this translates into the number of hunter-killed deer per square mile of habitat.)