"Based on the racks we scored this season and the number of them that were bucks harvested during the 2004 hunting season, I'd say hunters had an excellent year in 2004," Ruth said. "The scoring sessions conducted in early 2005 by SCDNR revealed 180 new (state-record-book qualifiers), including one potential Boone and Crockett record.

"Each spring, the SCDNR Wildlife Management 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," Ruth noted.

Ruth added that 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. He notes the 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 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," Ruth explained.

Another point of good news is that the deer are being taken in a number of different areas around the state. While the customary top areas are still producing big bucks, there are big bucks being taken throughout the state, Ruth noted.

"Looking at the data from a historical perspective is certainly one good way to forecast the best odds of finding big bucks. By looking at the information for recent years, as well as the long-term perspective, hunters can see which areas are producing best for the long haul," Ruth said.

As he noted, it's only logical to figure that by hunting in the areas that traditionally produce more big bucks hunters can certainly enhance their potential for success.

Of course, the in-the-woods hunting of big bucks can be a much different endeavor than simply hunting legal-sized bucks. To kill a big buck, you have to be in an area that a big buck lives. Being lucky won't hurt either.

Ruth's data goes back to 1974 and good records have been kept since that time, thus there's plenty of historical data to track big-buck harvest patterns. However, it is the more recent trends that we will also be examining to see where big bucks were taken in 2004 as well.

"We conduct our scoring session in March and April as a general rule. This ensures there is plenty of time from the end of the hunting season on Jan. 1 of each year for the required 60-day antler drying time for legal scoring to occur. As is usually the case, our largest single scoring session is at the Palmetto Sportsman's Classic in Columbia," Ruth said.

The data Ruth generates from all these scoring sessions can be broken down into different categories that hunters can study.

One is the Score Year information, which is simply the list of all the racks scored that made the record book, regardless of when the buck was harvested. Usually if the bucks were not harvested in the immediately preceding hunt year, they will have been taken in a recent hunt year.