Upstate and mountain hunting
South Carolina
I'm originally from McCormick and lived in Greenwood for a while. I have family in Greenwood and Beaufort. I've been in the Navy for more than 15 years and I'm considering returning to SC when I retire. My question is where.
I'd really like to be close to the mountains. Greenville, Pickens, or Oconee county. Whats the deer and turkey hunting like up there compared to the rest of the state?
From what I remember about the Carolinas is a very dense deer population with limited trophy potential. Is that still accurate?
At some point I'd like to own some hunting property but would like public land opportunities as well.
Suggestions?
The upstate has fewer deer, but you are more likely to see larger deer in general and larger bucks.
Coyotes now take a toll on fawns all over the state, so the deer density is not what it once was.
There are good populations of turkeys most everywhere, but better around agriculture.....corn and soybeans.
Feral hogs are in every county now, and they are fun to hunt at night. Baiting is legal for hogs on private land.
Fant's Grove is a good bowhunting only public area near Clemson, but it gets crowded sometimes.
Thanks for you service in the Navy, and good luck.
Thanks for the information. I never even saw or heard a coyote in SC growing up. It's amazing how fast they take hold in an area. I lived in Southern CA for 15 years and have mainly bowhunted out west so I've seen my share outside of the Carolinas. Thanks again.
Yep. When I was a kid, we did not have coyotes, beaver, feral hogs, turkeys, deer, or armadillos in upstate S.C. Now we have them all, for better or worse.
You are welcome. From an old Navy squid, myself, thanks again for serving your country.
I'll never know what I saw for sure but I was in the yard with my sister when we were very young, about 6 or 7 if I had to guess. I'm pretty sure we saw a large black pig come out of the woods. We dropped everything and ran inside. This was in McCormick County around 1985.
Armadillos....hugh. I had no idea!
McCormick County!! Boy have I had some fun bowhunting there, in the bend of Little River very near Mt. Carmel. Had 1800 acres and 4 people hunting it. Love that neck of the woods!
I did a little fishing and quail hunting on a big piece of property that had a deer lease on it in Mt. Carmel as a kid. Small world!
