Rifle season officially opens on Monday

Austin Shuler, right, and his dad, Tony, at Shuler’s Country Store. The nine-point buck Tony got last year adorns the wall.

Deer hunting season opens Monday, and it’s expected to be a good one.

Whitetails are numerous, active, mobile — and hungry, according to wildlife officials, and hunter interest and presence are seen as strong.

Wildlife Enforcement Officer Mark Ray recently moved back to the mountains from assignment elsewhere in the state, but he already has a feel for the season’s prospects in his original stomping grounds. He has responsibilities for Macon, Clay and Cherokee counties, though he’s authorized to enforce game laws wherever they’re being violated.

“I was located in New Bern in Craven county, the deer population down there is just thriving,” Rays said. “It’s a little slower up here, as far as the hunting.”

Still, he said, “I love it up here, it’s a great county, it’s home to me.”

Locally, “As far as the deer are concerned, the mast [fallen tree nuts] has not produced like it usually does because of the rain,” Ray said. “Deer are going to move a little more than normal; you’ll see them more in the fields than in the woods, in search of food.”

Joffrey Brooks, a wildlife biologist with the state Wildlife Resources Commission, agreed that scarcity of mast is a factor in where deer are likely to be found. He said the deer harvest has been rising in Macon County the last few years, especially on private lands.

“We do an annual mast survey in late August,” Brooks said. “There was very little white oak acorns, which is a very desirable acorn for them. They like it better than red oak. There’s no chestnut acorns, a variety of white oak, very few of those again.”

Nantahala Game Lands in Clay and Cherokee counties.

“Beech seems to be pretty good,” though, he said. “If a hunter finds him a good stand of beechnut, he might be doing pretty good.”

Another factor leading deer more to private lands, Brooks said, is the maturity of forests in the area. “Because there’s not much timber harvesting going on there these days — and deer prefer early forest, young forest, what we call ‘early successional habitat,’” he said.

Hungry deer are also a boon for hunters putting out bait piles, such as corn, but that is only allowed on private land, not on game lands or national forests, Ray said.

Whether stalking deer in the woods or ambushing them in the fields, the watchword for Ray is “safety.” That’s also because he thinks there’ll be heavy hunter action this season, based on the amount of pre-season interest shown.

“We’re doing a lot of hunter safey classes; there’s more kids involved” than he’s usually seen, Ray said.

Austin Shuler, 17, of Shuler’s Country Store out Route 28, is one of those kids. He’s champing at the bit, has had his eye on a good 8-point buck on some property in Cowee that he hunts.

“About six does stay with him,” Shuler said. He was eight years old when he got his first deer, he said; a couple years ago he got a 9-pointer.

A crowded field expected with a number of youngsters, Ray wants people to be careful and follow the rules.

First of all, “Wearing the hunter orange is required,” he said — though why a hunter would want to risk being mistaken for game is a mystery.

But on the other end of the sights, too, “I’d like to see people take note, to look beyond your target, don’t shoot at just anything, know what the target is you’re shooting at,” Ray said. That’s important no matter what, but especially the closer you may be to human-populated or frequented areas. The 150-yard minimum distance to be away from a structure or residence when shooting is considered a margin for safety, but full alertness is still required at all times.

As far as allowed targets, “During the rifle season, only bucks can be shot, you can’t take any antlerless deer,” he cautioned. And, if you get one, make sure to call (800) I-Got-One (800-446-8663).

“You have to tag it at the site of the kill — you can’t drag it anywhere,” Ray said. “And register it within 24 hours.”

Register bear, deer and wild boar kills online at www.ncwildlife.org, by calling the 800 number or by taking the animal, before skinning, dressing or dismembering, to a nearby wildlife cooperator agent. In the western counties of Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, and Swain, feral hogs are considered wild boars and their taking is regulated.

The online registration option has a nice feature, according to Ray. “If you get something nice, the online registration page includes a printable certificate; you can actually tell some things about it” such as the conditions of taking, size, points, etc.

As far as bragging rights go, young Austin Shuler said between muzzleloader and rifle season, he’s never failed to get his deer over all the years he’s gone out, first with his dad, Tony, and then by himself.

Tony, the Country Store’s proprietor, said on the Wednesday before the rifle season opens, that he’s “beginning to” see increased traffic from hunters gearing up. Between the field conditions and some of Austin’s luck or prowess rubbing off on them, maybe all those customers will come home with their deer, too.

Last day of deer rifle season is Dec. 12; wild boar season continues to Feb. 28. Current bear season ends Nov. 21; the second one runs Dec. 14 to Jan. 1.

Register bear, deer and wild boar kills online at www.ncwildlife.org, or by calling (800) I-Got-One (800-446-8663).