Photo by Mark Werner

I heard more hunters talking about seeing fewer deer during the 2004 hunting season.

On the other hand, I also heard more hunters talking about killing more big bucks than ever before. If you're wondering where you can find a big buck this season, maybe we can help. We've analyzed the latest South Carolina harvest and scoring data from the 2004 scoring sessions to help you improve your chances of finding that trophy this season.

The good news is that there seem to be more monster bucks coming from a variety of places around the state.

Big bucks often seem to appear when you least expect them. However, they will usually be in the places you've worked hard to find. Such was exactly the case for a hunter I've known for several years who specialized in big bucks.

He was hunting the opening week of the season in the upstate area. He was perched high in a climbing stand near the area where he had found frequent big-buck sign. However, the wind was wrong at his "No. 1" stand, so he was in the backup position. He didn't want to take any chances with this buck.

His plan to get to the stand early was also a good idea. While there were still nearly four hours of daylight left, he caught the 10-pointer slipping through a thicket that funneled from one hardwood stand to another. It was not exactly "where" or "when" he thought he'd get the buck, but his pre-season planning paid off. He was in the right place at the right time to take the trophy. The key to his success was planning the hunt so he would be where big bucks were known to frequent and, second, to get there without alerting the buck.

It's never too early to begin planning where to take a trophy whitetail buck. For some hunters, it's a year-round process of being in the woods, checking deer movements and scouting sign. In recent years, it seems that more big bucks are being harvested from South Carolina. Based on data from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), that certainly seems to be the case.

To enhance your odds of success, you may need to plan your hunting season to put you in the areas of the state where big bucks are known to exist. While outstanding hunting for deer exists basically throughout the state, in many areas the "outstanding" aspect of the hunting has to do with the sheer number of deer. If you hunt these areas long enough and just want an animal for the freezer, you'll have your chance. But the hunting areas for high-quality bucks are statistically more scattered. While a big buck can be harvested practically anywhere hunting is legal in South Carolina, there are hotspots for these big boys.

The best place to start is with the source of the statistical data, and that is the SCDNR. Charles Ruth is the Deer Project coordinator for the SCDNR and by working numerous scoring sessions where antler racks from trophy whitetails were examined and scored, Ruth has put together the data that can help hunters figure out where the big bucks are being taken on a consistent basis in South Carolina.

According to Ruth, South Carolina hunters had another good year in the 2004 hunting season for trophy bucks.