Deer hunting bill altered, again making its way through legislature

Legislation that aims at restructuring South Carolina’s hunting laws on white-tailed deer is undergoing some changes during the South Carolina Legislature’s 2016 session.

Bill S 454 was approved by the Senate in March, 2015, but did not pass the House of Representatives and was left on the table for the 2016 session.

The version approved by the Senate had designs on establishing for the first time a state-wide limit on the harvest of bucks and requiring tags for all deer harvested.

The Antlerless Deer Quota Program for landowners would be changed to the Deer Quota Program and provide tags for bucks and does taken within the program.

The Senate bill also proposed for South Carolina resident hunters to be able to purchase tags for four antlered bucks and four does each hunting season for a $15 fee.

An interim House committee requested that the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources stage another series of public hearings, and seven were held in September and October, 2015.

Previously, the wildlife agency had held 17 public hearings on deer harvesting issues dating back to 2003.

S.C. DNR provided a report of the latest round of hearings to the committee.

“After that we met with members of the (House) committee to try to come to a middle ground,” said Charles Ruth, Deer and Turkey Program Coordinator for S.C. DNR. “They made it clear they weren’t going to pass the Senate version of the bill, and since then we’ve been trying to reach middle ground.”

The bill has been revised and was passed by a House sub-committee last week. Now the bill moves to the full Agriculture, Natural Resources & Environmental Affairs Committee and if it clears the committee it would once again be presented to the Senate.

Portions of the new version of the bill include:

▪ South Carolina resident hunters that have a hunting license that includes a Big Game Permit would receive at no additional fee three antlered deer tags and eight antlerless deer tags (valid only on specific doe days).

▪ Resident hunters would be able to purchase two additional tags for antlered bucks, with antler restrictions of a minimum of four points on one side and a 12-inch inside spread.

▪ Hunters would also be able to continue to purchase up to four more anterless deer tags.

▪ Landowners participating in the Deer Quota Program would be able to choose a quota for antlered or anterless deer and their level of participation. “This is something that came out of the process that (landowners) wanted – increased flexibility in the program,” Ruth said.

Previously, the program only applied to antlerless deer.

▪ Non-resident hunters would pay a steeper price to harvest deer in South Carolina.

“They get nothing for free,” said Ruth. “Hunters wanted increased fees for non-residents and it was also apparent with the legislators.”

Non-residents would be able to purchase up to four antlered buck tags, two of which must be the antler-restriction tags. The first tag would cost $50 and each tag thereafter would cost $20.

A sticking point in the original bill for some House members was the fee to harvest deer in addition to regular license fees. The revised bill would enable hunters to be able to harvest three antlered deer and eight antlerless deer with no additional fee aside from required license fees.

“One of the points the House side had concerns with was the Senate version forced hunters to hunt for an additional fee,” Ruth said.

South Carolina is perhaps the only state in the country that doesn’t currently have a state-wide limit on antlered deer, plus most states have a tagging program. Ruth has been working for years trying to get the Palmetto State up to date with other state wildlife agencies.

“The bill is moving but it has still got a long way to go,” Ruth said. “S.C. DNR supports the ‘new bill.’ It still puts into place the things hunters have told us they want to see.

“I really have no idea what’s going to happen.”

Ruth emphasized if the bill is approved in some form during the 2016 legislative session, it would not go into effect until the 2017 hunting season.

SALTT Trail

The Student Angler League Tournament Trail staged a tournament at the Campbell Marine Complex in Georgetown on Feb. 20.

The middle and high school anglers targeting red drum and largemouth bass were greeted with superb weather conditions.

Colin Newton of Waccamaw High School and Noah Payne of Rosemary Middle School took first place in the red drum division with a two-fish aggregate of 7.62 pounds. Geoffrey Payne, Noah Payne’s dad, served as the adult boat captain.

Todd Howard and Ben Cooper of Conway High School won first place in the bass division with a two-fish aggregate of 4.48 pounds. Johnny Cooper, Ben Cooper’s dad, served as the adult boat captain.

The final tournament of the 2015-2016 tournament trail will be held March 5 at the Campbell Complex.

For more information on the SALTT trail, visit www.salttfishing.com.

SALTT Seminar

The Student Angler league Tournament Trail (SALTT) hosts a wide-ranging saltwater fishing seminar Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at St. James Middle School, located at 9775 St. James Road in Murrells Inlet.

The speakers include:

▪ Capt. Fred Rourk of Sweet Tea Charters and Capt. Greg Holmes of Fish Skinny Charters will discuss Redfish Tactics for Year-Round Success.

▪ Nathan Landers of Murrells Inlet will go over Flounder Strategy for Challenging Conditions.

▪ Capt. Jason Burton of Fly Girl Charters will discuss Reef Fishing Techniques from Water Ceiling to Ocean Floor.

▪ Capt. J Baisch of Fishfull Thinking Guide Service will cover near-shore topics including Sheepshead, Chasing Spring Cobia and Flounder on Wrecks.

▪ Capt. Jay Sconyers of Aces Up Fishing will discuss Dynamics to Catch Fish with rigs, bait and electronics prep.

▪ Capt. Ned Campbell of Murrells Inlet Outpost will cover Targeting Bottom Species including grouper, snapper and amberjack.

Proceeds of the seminar will help cover operating expenses of the series.

Admission is $20 to the seminar. For more information, contact Capt. Rayburn Poston at 843-902-4274.

This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Deer hunting bill altered, again making its way through legislature."