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Deer hunters on private lands only in seven upstate counties, comprising Game Zone 4, are being allowed to hunt on Sundays this season during the established deer season framework. Also, the December two- week
break on private lands during the Game Zone 1 gun deer season is still in
place, despite a mistake in the "Rules & Regulations" booklet that indicated
it had been eliminated.
Game Zone 4 - the area where Sunday deer hunting on private lands is
being allowed - includes Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield, Lancaster,
Spartanburg, Union and York counties. Hunters are reminded that the
prohibition on Sunday hunting is still in effect for all public lands,
including all lands in the Wildlife Management Area (WMA) program, according
to Charles Ruth, Deer Project supervisor for the S.C. Department of NaturalResources (DNR). The boundaries of WMA lands are marked with signs.
The deer hunting periods for private lands in Game Zone 4 include
archery-only season Sept. 15-30, primitive weapons Oct. 1- 10 (archery and
muzzleloaders) and general firearms season Oct 11 - Jan. 1. Hunters should
not confuse Game Zone 4 with the Central Piedmont Hunt Unit, which is larger and includes two counties not in Game Zone 4. This change in the Game Zone 4 deer season - which does not appear in the current "Rules & Regulations" booklet - was brought about by a new law enacted late in the 2000 S.C. General Assembly session, according to Ruth.
In the mountain region, a General Assembly bill was expected to pass
during the 2000 session that would eliminate the two-week break in Game Zone 1 (Oconee, Pickens and Greenville counties north of the Norfolk Southern
Railroad), just as it was eliminated in Game Zones 2 and 4 in 1997.
Based on this proposed change, the DNR published it in its annual "South Carolina Rules & Regulations for Hunting, Fishing & Wildlife Management Areas" booklet. This is an error, Ruth said, because the law did not change,
therefore the two-week break is still in effect.
Since the two-week break that is set in state law did not change,
the actual Game Zone 1 deer seasons for guns on private land are Oct. 11-16,
Oct. 31 - Dec. 7, and Dec. 23 - Jan. 1.
In other words, the two-week break
in the gun season that normally occurs - Dec. 8-22 - is still in place. (The
error in the "Rules & Regulations" states that gun hunts on private land in
Game Zone 1 are as follows: Oct. 11-16 and Oct. 31 - Jan. 1.) The dates
listed in the booklet for Game Zone 1 gun deer hunts on public land (WMAs)
are correct.
Game Zone 1 archers may still hunt deer during the Dec. 8-22 break
in the gun season. In fact, this period is a specified archery-only season
since the two-week break is still in effect.
If hunters have additional questions about Sunday deer hunting on
private lands for Game Zone 4, the two-week break in the gun seasons on
private land in Game Zone 1, or deer hunting seasons in general, they may
call a local DNR office or the main DNR offices in Columbia at (803)
734-3886 or (803) 734-3898.
Uploaded: 9/22/2000
Uploaded: 9/22/2000