Looking for a hunting adventure? South Carolina Hunting Seasons offers every hunter an unforgettable opportunity to catch animals in its scenic woods and explore numerous hunting areas.
South Carolina is one of the largest places in terms of hunting grounds and vast abundance of game.
A perfect place for you to experience the thrill of the hunt. If you’re interested in a big game, you can hunt for deer, turkey, black bear or alligators.
Even those interested in only small game hunting are not to be disappointed because there’s a lot of squirrel, quail, rabbit, beaver, crow and others at their disposal.
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South Carolina Hunting Seasons and All Available Games
#1. South Carolina Deer Seasons (Public Lands)
Types | Seasons |
|---|---|
Primitive Weapons | *October 1 – 10 |
Youth Hunt | January 5th |
Gun Hunts | October 11 – 16 *October 31 – January 1 |
Archery Only | *October 17 - 30 |
*NOTE: Season dates may vary for different WMAs in a zone.
#2. South Carolina Turkey Seasons (Public Lands)
Types | Seasons | Bag Limit |
|---|---|---|
WMA Lands | April 1 – May 5 | Bag Limit: 3 gobblers per season, but only 2 per day. |
Private Lands | March 20 – May 5 |
#3. South Carolina Black Bear Seasons (Public Lands)
Types | Seasons | Bag Limit |
|---|---|---|
Party Dog Hunt | October 24 – 30 (Zone 1) October 17 – 30 (Zone 4) | 5 bears per party |
Still Hunt | October 17 - 23 | 1 bear, no bear of 100lbs, no sow with cubs |
#4. South Carolina Small Game Seasons (Public Lands)
Types | Seasons | Bag Limit |
|---|---|---|
Quail | September 1 – 14 (Dogs only) November 19 – March 1 | 12 per day |
Squirrel | 10 per day | |
Rabbit | 5 per day | |
Fox | No Limit | |
Crow | November 1 – March 1 | |
Beaver | October 1 – March 1 | |
Raccoon and Opossum | September 1 – 14 (dogs and night only September 15 – March 1 (night only) | 3 per day or per party. Opossum – No limit |
Grouse | November 22 – March 1 | 3 per day |
License Requirements
Are you curious to learn about which requirements you need to fulfil to obtain a hunting license for South Carolina?
Well, it’s simple; you can get a resident hunting license if you’re a resident of this state.
However, if you’re not a resident you can also get a permit which is called a non-resident permit. The price of a residential permit is much lower than the non-residential one.
There are three types of permits in terms of length. You can purchase a temporary permit, which is valid only for a limited time, annual permit or a 3-year permit.
Also, you need to know that regarding which type of game you’ll look to hunt, you must have additional permits along with these regular residential and non-residential ones.
Big game hunting requires a big game permit and some additional tags along with the big game hunting permit.
For small game hunting, all you need is a small game hunting permit.
You can find the forms for licensing and online applications on the official government website.
Night Hunting in South Carolina
Are night hunting and use of night vision allowed in the state of South Carolina?
If you’re asking yourself these questions then we’re happy to provide you with the following answer – yes it allowed.
During the night you can hunt hogs, armadillos and coyotes with the use of an artificial light which is attached on the hunter, on the hat or helmet or even is a part of the belt system.
You can use or not the electronic calls, night vision devices or artificial lights when hunting for these animals during the night.
Where to Hunt in South Carolina?
In South Carolina as in many states where hunting is possible, there are Wildlife Management Areas, which are actually public hunting grounds. These WMAs serve the purpose of maintaining and adjusting the population of an animal breed, in other words, regulate it.
Hunters can immensely help these regulations by hunting within them. Also, WMAs are usually perfect places for you to hunt since that’s why they exist in the first place.
The whole state is divided into just four different game zones. There are “specific” which are named WMAs and there are “other” unnamed WMAs.
Some of the private lands are leased from their landowners by the state or forest industry.
Several places you should check out: Manchester State Forest, Sand Hills State Forest, Francis Marion and Sumter National Forest, Wee Tee State Forest, and Santee National Wildlife Refuge.