South Carolina Offers Hunters the Choice of Using Black-Powder, Archery or Modern Weapons

EDITOR'S NOTE: You can start hunting deer in parts of South Carolina right now. As a matter of fact, South Carolina deer season in the southern half of the state begins on August 15th, unless that date falls on a Sunday. If the 15th falls on Sunday, the season starts on August 14th. The good news doesn't stop there. You can take as many deer as you like per day because there's no daily limit. To learn more about one of the longest deer-hunting seasons in the nation and the most liberal bag limit, we'll talk with Hayward Simmons this week. He is the owner and operator of Lakeview Plantation and Cedar Knoll lodge.

Question: What kind of weapons can hunters use to take deer at Lakeview Plantation/Cedar Knoll Lodge?

Answer: Hunters may use black-powder rifles, scoped rifles, bows and arrows or rocks and knives. You may use any legal weapon you choose from August 15 to January 1.

Question: How many acres of land can you hunt there?

Answer: We hunt 2,700 acres and usually take about 250 deer per season.

Question: How can you sustain such a heavy harvest every season?

Answer: We have a lot of deer on the property, and we maintain our deer at a high level of nutrition. We have a very high survival rate with our fawns, which enables us to input numerous deer into the herd each season. We have to harvest a large number of deer each season to maintain our desired size of herd.

Question: I know you've kept good statistics for many years. What does your average branch-antlered buck carry as headgear and weigh?

Answer: Our 1 1/2-year bucks normally have 5 points and average about 125 pounds. Two-and-a-half-year-olds will have slightly fewer than 8 points and weigh about 150 pounds. Three-and-a-half- to 4-year olds have slightly more than 8 points and weigh nearly 175 pounds. Yet, every now and then someone takes a 200 pound deer.

Question: On what do your deer feed?

Answer: They feed mainly on the food plots and the supplemental feeding we provide. We plant clover in the spring for summer forage and small grain crops in the fall for winter forage.

For more information on early-season deer hunting, contact Hayward Simmons at 875 Cedar Knoll Road, Fairfax, South Carolina, 29827, or by phone at 803-584-0689 or email at lakeviewplantation@barnwellsc.com.

Tomorrow: Bonus Hunting at Lakeview Plantation and Cedar Knoll Lodge