You can put some deer to the test in South Carolina during the deer hunting season. at 200 yards Why does the .30/30 endure? Furthermore, because they are so widely available, they can be used in a variety of ways. Longbows, recurved bows, compound bows and crossbows are legal for hunting all species with an open hunting season. They are most active at night and are known to be good swimmers. 4. There is no definitive answer to this question. The recoil generated by the ought-six is at the upper end of what most shooters can manage without developing a debilitating flinch. Alligators may be hunted with permit from the South Carolina Division of Natural Resources. In coastal communities, the IFW examines the potential of managing deer herds. South Carolina has never been in the top 10 in terms of hunting trophy bucks in the books of the Boone and Crockett. The states deer harvest this year is 40 percent lower than the record set in 2002. It pushes bullets about 250 fps faster and has been winning ELR (extreme long-range matches) even when going head-to-head against big .30s and .33s like the .300 Norma, .300 PRC and .338 Lapua. . The landowners are being asked to assist the DNR in identifying any legal hunters on their property. If it was good enough for Teddy Roosevelt, this deer hunting caliber is good enough for the likes of you and me. Mag., so they fell behind with the shooting public. Processors are encouraged to report tagging violations to SCDNR Law Enforcement. to Prevent Firearm Accidents, Sandhills National You can put some deer to the test in South Carolina during the deer hunting season. Sharpshooters have been called in to control areas of high deer density. Whether youre hunting deer outside or looking for small game during the off-season, these rifles will provide you with a variety of advantages. Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. It is unlawful to keep any deer in cold storage or refrigerating plants unless the carcass is clearly marked with the hunters name, address and hunting license number (50-11-1700). Performance like that in a rifle that has tolerable recoil and isnt too heavy to lug around the hills was sure to catch the fancy of savvy hunters. The deer population in the state is estimated to be around 750,000, with an annual harvest of around 225,000. Winchester thought the project held promise for civilian shooters and hunters and in 1952 trotted out the .308 Winchester. The felt recoil from a .300 Win. In order for the animal to be cleanly harvested, you should only use a weapon that allows for a clean cut. In Game Zone 2, a hunter can kill up to five deer, and in Game Zone 3 and 4, up to 17 deer can be killed. The 6.5 Creedmoor, 257 Roberts, and 825 Grendel all-around calibers were chosen as the best all-around calibers for hogs and deer. This small bullet has a travel time of 2,570 feet per second and a velocity of 300 yards at its terminal range. Antlerless deer - limit 2 per day. At this time, the .300 Win. Yes, AR15s utilize .223 or NATO 5.56 centerfire cartridges, which are legal for deer hunting. Magnum, .30-30, .308 Winchester, .30-06, .300 Win Magnum and .300 RUM. Hunting licenses and hunting permits are required for some games. Magnum rounds are less expensive than 6.5 Creedmoor rounds, but they are also less expensive than earlier standards. Tags may only be possessed or used by the person whose name appears on the tag. Game traps are available for free to South Carolina residents in the state. From the get-go, deer hunters took a shine to the .243 Winchester. These guns were made by the following manufacturers: Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 308. Since the wheels of government bureaucracy churn slowly, it wasnt until 1954 that the military versionthe 7.62x51mm NATOwas unveiled. There are of course, exceptions. Hunters who purchase 4 Individual Tags will receive 2 free bonus tags valid only on private land in Game Zone 3 & 4 to help control deer damage to agriculture. It isnt that I have an issue with the subject. And who has better taste in such matters than me, the Shooting Editor of Outdoor Life? (If you are a metric shooter, just mentally substitute meters for yards; it will be close enough for the purposes of this article.) Thats what happened with the .308 Winchester. A South Carolina Department of Natural Resources deer hunting study Answering Questions About Guns, Ammo, and Man's Best Friend revealed, among many other interesting things, that when hunters took shots beyond about 150 yards their chance of wounding or missing increased dramatically. There are as many calibers as there are beaches along the Carolinas coast. Shoot a moderate caliber and load within 150 yards and you will have far more success than the guys shooting more powerful rifles at longer ranges. Published on November 21, 2017 by LJ Bonham. A good friend of mine who is a shooting nerd and avid Western hunter, uses a .308 on the coastal blacktails he hunts in his home state of Oregon. class with full power loads, so we want to keep our rifle/cartridge/load combination well below that level. I am referring to the reduced recoil loads offered by Remington and Federal/Fusion for some of the popular all-around hunting cartridges. As OConnor put it in his 1949 work, The Rifle Book: Sighted to hit the point of aim at 200 yards with a scope sight, the 130-grain bullet drops only 5 inches at 300 yards, not enough to miss even a small deer with a hold in the center of the chest.. It's a solid contender for the best deer caliber out to 500 yards. To anchor the deer quickly, he needs a bullet that will put them down, but the bullet must also be accurate enough to make those shots. When used to hunt bear, deer, elk, wild turkey, alligator and feral swine: Longbows and recurved bows must have a minimum pull of 40 pounds Compound bows must have a minimum pull of 35 pounds. South Carolina allows for the purchase of all weapons except for fully automatic guns. Reactions: wturkey01. Short, sweet notes to be read about the heart or lungs. Compared to the Swede, the Norma and the Win. Youll need a 30-caliber case with a 7mm bullet at the center. I was impressed by how decisive those kills were and decided to give it a try myself and for a couple seasons notched a handful of deer tags with a .223. According to South Carolinas hunter harassment laws, anyone who intentionally restricts another person from hunting or other related activities is breaking the law. webmaster@dnr.sc.gov, Property Closures and His outstanding prose, and experience in the field, tipped the scales in favor of the .270 to the point where it has run neck-in-neck with the .30/06 in terms of popularity for three quarters of a century. The 3030 was one of the most popular deer rifles of the 1960s and 1970s. Hunting on Sundays is legal on private land, but hunting on Sunday is prohibited on all WMA lands across the state. Hunting The .30/30 has plenty of power to take on whitetail within 200 yards, making it suitable for 95 percent of shots on deer. The .243 gained popularity so quickly that Winchester offered it as a factory round in 1955, an astonishingly quick rise from wildcat status to commercial production. Mothers of America Unite for a Safer World Moms Demand Action For Stop Handgun Violence and the Debate on Gun-Control, Woman Gets 15 Years for Role in Making 122 IEDs. The first antlered buck deer tag costs $50, plus an additional $20 per additional buck. Hunting on private land requires a permit from the owner of the land. Deer quotas are issued to qualifying land owners or lessees statewide who complete and submit an application along with a $50 fee prior to July 1. Being the minimum it must be not as good as bigger, manlier cartridges, and therefore has been equated with youth rifles and first-time hunters. The original loads for the .300 Winchester were with 150- and 180-grain bullets. It doesnt give you anything other than excess pressure. Even out past 500 yards, this round is carrying more than 2000 foot-pounds of energy. The 6.5 Creedmoor is regarded as one of the best deer hunting cartridges ever made. A handwritten application may be obtained on Applications, by calling SCDNR at 803-734-3886 or at http://dnr.sc.gov/regs/pdf/speciallicenseapp.pdf. A great many outright lies are being spread on internet forums, but the fact is that most deer hunters are hard pressed to even hit the paper at 200 yards, let alone shoot an acceptable group. From small and working up, deer rifle calibers on the smallest end begin. Page had been fooling around with a number of 6mm wildcats in the late 1940s, but when Winchester introduced the .308 Winchester in 1952, he discovered the platform hed been looking for. In Game Zones 1 and 2 it is unlawful to pursue deer with dogs (50-11-310). Long before shooters were talking about ballistic coefficients, OConnor hammered home the value of retained velocity down range. Crossbows may only be used on deer, bears, and turkey. Anyone with a scrap of ballistic sense knows that it should say the best deer hunting cartridge. But, alas, in a world where Google dictates our fate, we must follow the digital mob. Additionally, deer populations can fluctuate rapidly in response to changes in food availability, predation, and other factors. In addition, ammunition with expanding hunting bullets designed for killing Class 2 animals (and bullets for reloaders) must be available where we live. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. There is no state restriction on rifle caliber. They are a subspecies of the white-tailed deer and are found in the southeastern United States. .357 magnum rifle, .45 Colt rifle and hand-thrown spear are legal ( 357 Magnum) Handguns or muzzleloading handguns that deliver at least 400 foot-pounds of energy at 50 yards. It also produces about half the recoil of a .30/06, so it is a pussycat to shoot. This is a reasonable selection of cartridges and at least some of them should be available at your local gun shop. Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (KDWPT) is leading the charge to restore the deer population through habitat restoration and increased deer hunting opportunities. Although the 7.6239mm cartridge is a little more powerful than the 7.6239mm, it is worthwhile to think about if you want a versatile cartridge that can handle a variety of games. I didnt need to be told that the best cartridge would be the one that moved the fastest and dropped less than the others. Tags are available over the counter at SCDNR offices in Clemson, Charleston, Conway, West Columbia (Farmers Market), Florence, & York or at the following website: GoOutdoorsSouthCarolina.com. For a broke kid, this was a godsend, since I was able to read about and obsess over all the rifles and cartridges I couldnt afford while trying to pick the best deer hunting caliber. The.30-06 Springfield is a good caliber for hunting deer in states that allow hunting with a rifle, but it could be a better caliber for hunting deer with a bow. Additionally all hunters may purchase up to 4 Individual Antlerless Tags ($5 each for residents and $10 each for nonresidents). The following Game Zone and WMA limitations include the 2 free resident base set tags combined with any additional Individual Antlerless Tags that are purchased: In Game Zone 1 only three (3) Individual Antlerless Tags are valid on private or WMA land starting October 1. The .280 Remington is impossible not to love. In Game Zone 1 tags are valid beginning Oct. 1. Individuals may purchase up to four individual antlerless tags for $5 each. The 129-grain Hornady load pushes 2,950 feet per second at the muzzle with 2,492 foot pounds of energy. 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