South Carolina

South Carolina is famous for offering the earliest deer hunting opening date in the United States, kicking off on August 15 on private lands in the Lowcountry (Game Zone 3 and 4). Bow and rifle hunters can harvest mature trophy bucks in full summer velvet feeding in agricultural soybean and peanut fields.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) manages four Game Zones. The Lowcountry's historic plantations and swamp river bottoms feature classic box-blind and still-hunting traditions, while the Upstate (Game Zone 1 and 2) offers rolling Piedmont timber and mountainous terrain within the Sumter National Forest.

Spring wild turkey hunting in South Carolina takes place across Spanish-moss draped live oak hammocks, pine savannas, and mountain ridges.

SCDNR regulates the spring season from late March (Game Zone 6) through early May, with a statewide tagging system to safeguard gobbler populations. Decoy spreads and sweet box calling along swamp edges provide heart-pounding fly-down encounters.

SCDNR conducts a public lottery drawing for wild alligator harvest across four coastal units (Midlands, Pee Dee, Southern Coastal, and ACE Basin).

The season runs from the second Saturday in September through mid-October. Permitted hunters use snatch hooks, harpoons, and bowfishing equipment to bring large gators alongside the boat before humanely harvesting them with a handgun or bangstick.

Feral hogs thrive in massive numbers in the river swamps, barrier islands, and bottomlands of South Carolina. Hogs can be hunted year-round on private lands with no bag limits and no closed seasons.