South Carolina — where you can actually hunt
South Carolina sells tags over the counter — there's no draw. So the question is where: which counties have public land you can walk onto and hunt. And “public land” isn't one thing — a national park or a refuge is closed or permit-only, so we count only what's truly open, and show the rest honestly. Pick your species below.
What “huntable” means here
National forest, BLM, and state game lands / WMAs are open to hunting (state wildlife-agency lands are managed forit); state forests generally are. National & state parks and military land are closed; wildlife refuges are permit-only — those are excluded from the number.
By huntable public land
Most huntable counties first
Ranked by open public land — state game lands / WMAs and national forest are the open categories that push a county up. The mix shows what kind; deer harvest (SCDNR reported deer kill) shows where the animals are.
| County | Huntable | Land mix | Deer harvest | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | 28.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 28.4% | 5,557 | |
| McCormick | 25.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 25.4% | 1,659 | |
| Oconee | 25.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 25% | 2,314 | |
| Union | 19.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 19.5% | 3,929 | |
| Newberry | 16% | State Game Lands / WMA 16% | 3,896 | |
| Charleston | 14.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 14.4% | 2,905 | |
| Pickens | 14.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 14.3% | 3,147 | |
| Marion | 12.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 12.2% | 2,002 | |
| Chesterfield | 10.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 10.7% | 4,479 | |
| Edgefield | 10.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 10.2% | 3,258 | |
| Abbeville | 9.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 9.7% | 4,063 | |
| Hampton | 8.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 8.4% | 5,110 | |
| Sumter | 6.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 6.4% | 4,808 | |
| Georgetown | 6.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 6.2% | 3,845 | |
| Laurens | 5.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 5.5% | 5,891 | |
| Colleton | 4.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.6% | 6,136 | |
| Fairfield | 4.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.5% | 4,197 | |
| Beaufort | 4.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.1% | 1,640 | |
| Greenwood | 4.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.1% | 2,966 | |
| Chester | 4.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.1% | 4,089 | |
| Horry | 3.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.7% | 4,237 | |
| Lancaster | 3.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.6% | 4,407 | |
| Greenville | 2.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.9% | 4,711 | |
| Jasper | 2.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.7% | 2,156 | |
| Saluda | 2.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.7% | 3,032 | |
| Williamsburg | 2.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.1% | 7,440 | |
| Aiken | 2% | State Game Lands / WMA 2% | 5,734 | |
| Clarendon | 1.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.9% | 4,357 | |
| Kershaw | 1.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.8% | 5,103 | |
| Lee | 1.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.5% | 3,109 | |
| Darlington | 1.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.4% | 3,969 | |
| Anderson | 1.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.3% | 7,773 | |
| Marlboro | 1% | State Game Lands / WMA 1% | 2,730 | |
| York | 0.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.9% | 4,727 | |
| Richland | 0.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.8% | 2,884 | |
| Cherokee | 0.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.8% | 2,861 | |
| Lexington | 0.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.6% | 3,520 | |
| Orangeburg | 0.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.6% | 10,976 | |
| Florence | 0.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.5% | 5,458 | |
| Dorchester | 0.4% | — | 3,530 | |
| Spartanburg | 0.3% | — | 7,040 | |
| Calhoun | 0.1% | — | 2,518 | |
| Barnwell | 0.1% | — | 3,266 | |
| Dillon | 0.1% | — | 1,789 | |
| Bamberg | 0% | — | 3,977 | |
| Allendale | 0% | — | 3,449 |
huntablePct = state WMAs + national forest as a share of the county (SCDNR GIS + PAD-US, EPSG:5070); deer = SCDNR reported deer harvest by county. Turkey = SCDNR spring turkey harvest by county (2025), noncompliance-corrected, sums exactly to the published statewide total (10,419). National & state parks, military land, and permit-only refuges are computed but shown as the “mix,” not counted huntable; confirm the specific tract with the state agency.
South Carolina — best of, ranked