I know this is not about Africa, but I know there is a lot of traffic in this forum. I may have the opportunity to move to the Harleyville, SC area and am wondering about the hunting opportunities there, mainly deer and waterfowl. Any input is appreciated.

You will not be far from Bamberg,SC-[51 min NE] their deer season runs from Aug 15th to Jan 1st- find a hunt club -most of the land is posted !!!!!

I have belonged to a hunt club there but have not been back since license fee went up

rifle- any thing 30-30 up there can be some distance shots in the neighborhood across bean fields

you did not mention fishing - Charleston SC deep sea or off pier great fishing!!!
I believe if you are into baiting that it is legal in SC
at least on the hunt club they put out corn!!

by the way you need to get a hand held air conditioner- 110 degrees in the shade

I hung camo cloth on the box stands to help block the sun
it helped a little bit!!

There are plenty of deer hunting opportunities in coastal South Carolina. In fact, we have the longest and most generous deer season in the country: August 15th - January 1st! Thats 4 1/2 months of hunting with no limit on legal bucks.

Up to 4 doe tags can be purchased for $5.00 each to be used anytime after September 15th on properties not enrolled in the Antlerless Deer Tag Program. The Antlerless program gives tags to lease-holders and property owners each year based on acreage and local deer populations. In most cases they provide so many that there are still unused doe tags left over at the end of the season.

Deer are so plentiful that I have shot over 30 in a season and know people who shoot more. Venison is our preferred meat and Holly and I probably consume 8-10 deer per year. Keep in mind that SC coastal deer are pretty small with bucks averaging 145 pounds and does 100 pounds. We serve venison when we entertain, give it to non-hunting friends and donate it to local food banks.

Most hunting in coastal South Carolina is on paper company timberlands. Groups of hunters get together to form a "hunt club" and lease a tract of land. Some of these clubs have been around for many years on the same parcels of land, others turn over from year to year. An average sized lease is from 1,500 - 3,500 acres, but there are many both smaller and larger.

Dues vary according to the infrastructure on the property, the quality of the hunting and the number of members dividing the expenses. I belong to a 20 member club on 3,500 acres with no clubhouse or facilities and pay $675.00 per year in dues. I also belong to a 14,000 acre club with 100 members that has a clubhouse, skinning and butchering facilities, a walk-in cooler and permanent trailer hookups and pay $2,500.00 per year. There are also a number of excellent outfitters who offer day rate hunting from comfortable lodges on well managed properties.

There is a significant amount of privately owned land but it is usually hunted only by the owners and their friends. Some good private land is available for lease but the cost/acre/year tends be be much higher than paper company timberland.

Wild hogs are hunted year round with no limit or size restrictions. Turkeys are generally abundant with a 6 week season and a 5 gobbler limit; there is no fall turkey season.

You asked specifically about waterfowl. There is some great waterfowl hunting on private plantations that have developed the infrastructure to attract and support ducks with ponds, refuge areas and planted crops. Access is impossible unless you are the owner or his guest. There are government refuge waterfowl hunting areas in the ACE Basin (Ashepoo, Combahee & Edisto river basins) but access to blinds during the season is limited and selected by lottery. Competition for productive duck hunting spots can be fierce on the rivers. I would guess that for most local hunters like me, duck hunting means catching the pre-dawn flights of Wood Ducks coming out of the swamps. Outside of private plantations managed for ducks, there are far more resident Wood Ducks than migrating "big ducks" during typical seasons.

There are some duck hunting clubs that offer excellent waterfowl hunting, but they tend to be very exclusive and quite expensive. Memberships seldom turn over and sell for big bucks when available.

I know the Harleyville area well, I bought my Redbone Coonhound from a breeder there. Our Black Lab was trained by the retreiver trainer just outside Harleyville. It's a very small town in a nice area surrounded with good hunting country. It's not far from Charleston when you want to dress up and go to town to take advantage of some big-city amenities.

There are several industrial plants nearby, a cement factory and an MDF mill. There are also a number of fairly small farming operations where you may be able to get hunting permission. What kind of employment opportunity is available in Harleyville?