South Carolina hunting and fishing laws

All residents and nonresidents born after June 30, 1979 must successfully complete a hunter education course that is approved by SCDNR before a hunting license can be obtained. Under the annual Apprentice Hunting License the apprentice must be accompanied by a licensed South Carolina hunter at least 21 years old with no hunting-violation convictions, maintaining visual and oral communication.

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No child under 16 years of age is required to obtain a hunting or fishing license. Youth are required to have tags for deer, bear and turkey except on designated youth days.

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Applies to: Big game

SC Code section 50-11-365 requires all nonexempt persons to wear a hat, coat, or vest of solid international orange while on Wildlife Management Area lands during deer hunting season. No statewide private land orange requirement was found, and no blaze pink provision was found.

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Under the WMA regulations all hunters, including small game hunters, must wear either a hat, coat, or vest of solid visible international orange, and this applies during any gun and muzzleloader season for deer, bear and hogs on WMA lands. Archery hunters during archery-only deer seasons and migratory bird hunters are exempt.

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On private lands statewide, Sunday hunting for all game is legal. No Sunday hunting is permitted on any WMA lands unless otherwise specified.

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A limited set of public areas is open to Sunday hunting during a defined fall and winter window, including Edisto River, Webb, Palachucola, Hamilton Ridge, Liberty Hill, Belfast and Woodbury WMAs and the Sumter and Francis Marion National Forests. The current-year list is the Limited Sunday Hunting Opportunities chart in the SCDNR guide, so re-verify it each season.

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Applies to: Deer

For deer, legal hours are the time between one hour before official sunrise until one hour after official sunset. Night is defined as that period of time between one hour after official sunset of a day and one hour before official sunrise of the following day.

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Applies to: Deer

Baiting or hunting deer over bait is permitted on private lands statewide. On all WMA lands, baiting or hunting over a baited area is prohibited. Bait means placing, depositing, exposing, distributing, or scattering shelled, shucked, or unshucked corn, wheat, or other grain or food stuffs as an attraction, lure, or enticement. Salt and minerals are not bait on WMAs.

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Applies to: Bear

In Game Zones 1 and 2 it is unlawful to feed bears or hunt bears with the aid of bait. In Game Zone 4, bears may be hunted over unprocessed bait (raw grains, fruits, nuts or vegetables) on private land only.

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Applies to: Furbearers

Feral hogs, coyotes, and armadillos may be hunted at night on registered properties with artificial lights and night vision devices, using any legal firearm, bow, or crossbow. They may not be hunted at night on any unregistered property. Property registration is required once annually as prescribed by DNR for each property, and the night hunting season runs the full calendar year.

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Applies to: Deer

All deer must be tagged immediately after harvest before moving from the point of kill, and the tag must remain attached until the deer or carcass is quartered or received by a processor. All harvested deer must be reported using the SC Game Check system by midnight of the day of harvest. Possessing any deer with the head detached while in transit from the point of kill is prohibited.

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It is unlawful to enter upon the lands of another for the purpose of hunting, fishing, trapping or retrieval of dogs without the consent of the landowner or manager. The paint marking statute was not verified.

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