Sunday hunting now legal on some SC WMAs
August is a pivotal month for planning deer hunting strategy in South Carolina, especially for those hunting Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs).
Beginning in 2023, Sunday hunting will be allowed on specific Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in South Carolina from Oct. 15 to Jan. 31 annually.
“This is a significant change from the past and increases opportunities for hunters of multiple species to utilize WMAs,” said Charles Ruth, Deer Project Supervisor for SCDNR.
Ruth said the large acreage of land in the WMA program has tremendous habitat diversity and provides opportunities for South Carolina hunters to enjoy a successful deer season.
Ruth said exact deer harvest data isn’t tracked on the statewide harvest specifically. But it generally is in line with adjacent hunting lands. The overall deer harvest in 2021, the latest available prior to this being published, was down from the previous year.
“Statewide we experienced a 12-percent decrease in deer harvest compared to 2020,” Ruth said. “This correlates with an 11-percent decrease on WMA lands.”
While the harvest decreased, Ruth said the overall deer herd has remained stable during recent years.
“Between 2003 and 2015 the deer population trended down, with the overall reduction in harvest likely attributable to habitat change, two decades of aggressive antlerless deer harvest, and the complete colonization of the state by coyotes and their impact on fawn survival,” Ruth said. “Although the harvest in 2021 decreased about the same on WMAs and private lands, since 2016 the deer harvest has generally been increasing, possibly because of declining coyote densities that naturally occur following colonization.”
Ruth said explaining the decline in harvest in 2021 is relatively easy and stems from a decrease in hunter numbers.
“Participation by resident hunters was down 14 percent and for nonresidents it was down 13 percent compared to 2020,” he said. “Explaining why deer hunter numbers were down in 2021 is more problematic. Hunter numbers increased during 2020 about 6 percent, likely due to COVID-19 and the notion that people had more time and flexibility to hunt.
“On the other hand, during the fall of 2021, people may have opted more for non-hunting activities,” he said. “Deer harvest data for 2022 is not yet complete, but it will be interesting to see the trend for last season. But deer hunter numbers obviously play an important role in the annual deer harvest.”
Because WMAs are managed individually with specific management practices unique for that specific property, the rules and regulations governing use of these lands vary. Each hunter is responsible for ensuring they understand the rules and regulations for the specific WMA hunted.
Game Zone 1
Ruth said Game Zone 1 encompasses the mountainous terrain of the upstate and the largest WMA is the Sumter National Forest lands with numerous unnamed tracts.
Ruth said the Chestnut Ridge WMA in Greenville County is a beautiful property for deer hunting. This area encompasses 2190 acres and offers a diverse habitat from early successional forest, left from clear-cutting, to mature upland and hardwoods.
“This area has reasonable numbers of deer, considering the Game Zone 1 location as a whole tends to have lower deer density,” he said. “But with lower deer density, the potential for big bucks improves.”
The National Forest lands throughout this game zone have the potential to produce good deer numbers based on the quality of habitat. Ruth said hunters can explore the many smaller unnamed areas and look for areas where the habitat has been manipulated in a manner that improves deer herd quality.
“Areas in the third or fourth year of re-growth after being cut can offer excellent hunting,” he said. “But specific locations vary. Hunters can scout and find areas that may offer better odds of success, but they’ll need to get boots on the ground.”
Game Zone 1 WMA Deer Hunting Nugget: The Glassy Mountain area is a 144-acre tract open only to archery hunting, where bowhunters don’t have to compete with gun hunters. Ruth said this small area offers good deer hunting opportunities.
Game Zone 2
Ruth said Game Zone 2 has several good WMAs. Both Draper and Liberty Hill WMAs offer good deer hunting opportunities.
Draper WMA in York County consists of 806 acres. Access to the property is limited with a parking area provided.
Ruth said about half of the land is covered with hardwoods. The remaining land has some planted pines in various regrowth stages, as well as older pine stands.
“A fair amount of open land is interspersed with the wooded areas, providing good habitat diversity,” he said. “The open land is typically old pasture land that’s maintained by mowing, burning or disking.”
The 8000-acre Liberty Hill WMA consists of a combination of SCDNR-owned and leased properties located on the Kershaw/Lancaster County line from Singleton Creek on Lake Wateree to the Cedar Creek Boat Access Area on the Catawba River. Most of the property is in Game Zone 2.
Ruth said Liberty Hill is one of the areas that will be open for Sunday hunting when that goes into effect on Oct. 15, 2023.
“This property consists of beautiful rolling hills with lots of hardwoods, situated along Lake Wateree,” Ruth said. “Excellent diversity of overall deer habitat exists at Liberty Hill. A kiosk is located at the site for hunters to check in and out. And harvest cards are available for successful hunters to complete. An antler restriction mandates four-points on one side, or a minimum of a 12-inch inside spread on the antlers.”
Game Zone 2 Deer Hunting Nugget: The Keowee WMA offers 4000 acres of archery-only hunting for bowhunters. In addition, the nearby Fants Grove WMA has another 8000 acres of bowhunting-only land available.
Ruth said check the regulations for complete details, but that’s 12,000 acres in the same vicinity offering archery-only hunting opportunities.
Game Zone 3
Ruth said the prime area for 2023 is the overall Webb Center Complex, another area involved in the new Sunday hunting regulation. The Webb Center, Hamilton Ridge and Palachucola WMAs are combined into the Webb Center Complex.
“All three individual WMAs are in close proximity and are located near the Savannah River,” he said. “The Webb and Hamilton Ridge WMAs are in Hampton County. And the Palachucola lies in Hampton and Jasper counties.”
Ruth said some of the hunting is only by draw hunts, which hunters can apply for via the draw hunt criteria on the SCDNR website at www.dnr.sc.gov/hunting/huntapp.html.
Ruth said the Webb Center is a stand-alone deer draw hunt, while Hamilton Ridge and Palachucola are part of a multiple site application process for gun hunting.
“The Webb Center is a stand-alone hunt because it’s the premier deer draw hunt in the state,” Ruth said. “I refer to it as the ‘Poor Man’s Commercial Hunt’ because it’s a completely catered hunt for those drawn. The Webb Center offers a high success rate and some big deer are harvested.”
Ruth said if hunters don’t get the draw application in before the deadline, they need to make a note to apply in 2024.
He said the deer hunting opportunities at Hamilton Ridge and Palachucola include open hunting for archery season without a draw process.
“These are excellent archery hunting opportunities for deer,” Ruth said. “Archery hunters can hunt deer first, before they’re pressured with the draw gun hunts. With appropriate effort, the potential for success is good.”
Game Zone 3 Deer Hunting Nugget: The Bonneau Ferry WMA is a 10,712-acre area offering excellent deer hunting opportunities, Ruth said. It is a draw hunt with specific guidelines. Check it out, and if you don’t get drawn this year, make plans now to apply in 2024.
Game Zone 4
The Manchester State Forest, located near Wedgefield, SC, in Sumter County, offers 23,135 acres of deer hunting opportunities.
Ruth said one positive for this WMA is the sheer size.
“It’s a large tract of land that’s generally open with Game Zone 4 regulations, and considerable habitat diversity exists on the property,” Ruth said. “That provides more options for deer hunters to scout and find deer in different types of settings. “Timber management of Manchester Forest ensures some areas are occasionally clear-cut, with these areas in various stages of successional regrowth,” he said.
Ruth said the site does have scheduled dog drive hunts, so hunters must check the rules and regulations, because that impacts the still hunting opportunities.
“The harvest at Manchester is comparable to private lands in that area, so it provides good deer hunting.”
Game Zone 4 Nugget: The Hickory Top WMA has a primary focus for waterfowl hunting, but deer hunting is allowed.
“A period in September through October is for archery only,” Ruth said. “In November through the end of the season, primitive weapons are legal, but no modern firearms. Check the regulations for specific dates.”
Ruth said that on a statewide basis, the WMAs in South Carolina offer remarkable hunting opportunities, but they have specific rules and regulations that hunters must follow. The SCDNR has an extensive set of maps for WMAs available via their website at www.dnr.sc.gov.
These WMAs now open for
Sunday hunting
Charles Ruth, Deer Project Supervisor for the SCDNR, said after a series of public meetings generating public input, as well as input from the legislature, regulations prohibiting Sunday hunting on specific WMAs have been changed. The regulations now stipulate that National Forest Service lands in the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests will be open for Sunday hunting along with other WMAs including the Webb Wildlife Center Complex (Webb Center, Hamilton Ridge and Palachucola), Woodbury, Liberty Hill, Edisto River, and Belfast WMAs. The hunting is for species that are in-season during that time period.
“This doesn’t change any hunting season dates,” Ruth said. “It simply allows hunting on these specific areas on Sundays for game species that are in season. After deer season ends, for example, it still allows a few weeks for small game hunters to hunt these areas on Sundays.
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