South carolina lifts public lands sunday hunting prohibition!

[Silentweapon338]

I didnt realize it was illegal to hunt private land on Sundays prior to 2004........

[Sasha and Abby]

It wasn't .... lower 2/3 of the state anyway.

[scquackaddict]

Hopefully they won’t limit it with specific day and species restrictions (ducks in FMNF) as they’ve done in recent years. Sunday WMA hunting is great, but if all it applies to is crows it’s not worth much. I’m interested to see how it’s written once the new rule book comes out.

[JimmyD714]

I hope this doesn't apply during turkey season, or else they're done for.

Well how do other states in the Southeast manage to still have turkeys, better populations than us even, with a full 6 week WMA season and allowing Sunday hunting?

Now they need to get their heads out of their behinds and allow hog hunting year round on wma.

The DNR didn't allow this, it was the result of a state legislature bill. I'd guess they're all punching the air this morning. The DNR hates us and would never allow us to do something so positive for WMA hunting like extending opportunity to kill or trap wild hogs and coyotes.

Hopefully they won’t limit it with specific day and species restrictions (ducks in FMNF) as they’ve done in recent years. Sunday WMA hunting is great, but if all it applies to is crows it’s not worth much. I’m interested to see how it’s written once the new rule book comes out.

Sadly, you can absolutely bet they will. Just like the Wed/Sat duck hunting in all NF was likely a retaliation for us getting so close to passing Sunday hunting last year, they'll come up with something. They have to remind us that, in their heads, they're The Crown, and if we act in the best wishes of the hunters of SC rather than what The Crown desires, we must be punished.

[FULLCHOKE]

Well how do other states in the Southeast manage to still have turkeys, better populations than us even, with a full 6 week WMA season and allowing Sunday hunting?

Haven't you stated on here how difficult SC turkey hunting is? And how SC turkey populations are lacking in comparison to other southeastern states?

Turkeys don't need back to back days from the weekend warrior crowd. The chances of success in favor of the hunter increase significantly if given back to back days.

[Clippedtoe]

Haven't you stated on here how difficult SC turkey hunting is? And how SC turkey populations are lacking in comparison to other southeastern states?

Turkeys don't need back to back days from the weekend warrior crowd. The chances of success in favor of the hunter increase significantly if given back to back days.

Regulate turkey hunting across the board then. If you can hunt a species on private on Sunday it should be available to the public as well.

[JimmyD714]

Haven't you stated on here how difficult SC turkey hunting is? And how SC turkey populations are lacking in comparison to other southeastern states?

Turkeys don't need back to back days from the weekend warrior crowd. The chances of success in favor of the hunter increase significantly if given back to back days.

Yes and that's the reason for allowing a full weekend of WMA hunting.

The solution to our dwindling turkey population isn't limiting hunting opportunity (for WMA only), it's DNR doing their job. We are not the only Southern state experiencing a decline in turkeys. But we are the only state that gives WMA hunters a 4 week season while private land gets 6, as well as not giving us a full weekend to hunt, while private land does.

I'm always on the side of increasing access for hunters, whether that be private land or public land.

[JimmyD714]

Regulate turkey hunting across the board then. If you can hunt a species on private on Sunday it should be available to the public as well.

Exactly. How is it "management" to significantly limit ONLY the hunters that kill about 7% of the annual Spring turkey kill? Either we're managing a population or we aren't.

And if the reason for the huge limitation on WMA is that there aren't enough birds to withstand the pressure.. who's fault is that? DNR. They need to do their jobs better, not limit only WMA hunting.

This bill passing is a huge step in the right direction by giving us a portion of Sundays to hunt. I hope it eventually is 7 days a week for the entire Fall/Winter season as well as Spring.

[FULLCHOKE]

Regulate turkey hunting across the board then. If you can hunt a species on private on Sunday it should be available to the public as well.

Private landowners manage their turkeys a whole heck of a lot better than DNR does on public. Most landowners know how many they can take off a property without hurting the population and therefore self regulate themselves.

That’s not the case on public. There is no self regulation. Therefore, no Sunday hunting is one of DNR’s easiest way of managing a population. It might not be the sole reason for the no Sunday hunting, but it is an unintended benefit.

[JimmyD714]

Well then my question is still the same - if not allowing Sunday hunting is the key to proper management of public land species then how do other states manage to have any turkeys at all with a 6 week WMA season plus full weekends?

By the way, I'm not sure how much hunting you've done in other states, but the WMA pressure in SC pales in comparison to every other state I've hunted. Probably because we aren't known for good WMA hunting so the YouTube/Instagram crowd isn't drawing attention to us. And thank God, because that's the last thing we need.

But my point is that other states with significantly more WMA pressure than us still manage to have more turkeys, deer, and waterfowl on their WMAs than we do despite full weekends of hunting. DNR doing their job properly is the solution.

[Clippedtoe]

Private landowners manage their turkeys a whole heck of a lot better than DNR does on public. Most landowners know how many they can take off a property without hurting the population and therefore self regulate themselves.

That’s not the case on public. There is no self regulation. Therefore, no Sunday hunting is one of DNR’s easiest way of managing a population. It might not be the sole reason for the no Sunday hunting, but it is an unintended benefit.

You can blow that smoke somewhere else. Some private landowners yes. The majority don’t care and will kill 3 birds off 25 acres. Ask me how I know. You are giving some a lot of credit.

[FULLCHOKE]

Yes and that's the reason for allowing a full weekend of WMA hunting.

The solution to our dwindling turkey population isn't limiting hunting opportunity (for WMA only), it's DNR doing their job. We are not the only Southern state experiencing a decline in turkeys. But we are the only state that gives WMA hunters a 4 week season while private land gets 6, as well as not giving us a full weekend to hunt, while private land does.

I'm always on the side of increasing access for hunters, whether that be private land or public land.

That's the thing. DNR hasn't nor will they do their job. It just is what it is. We can yell and scream and go on Carolina Wildlife Syndicate and BHA and post until we are blue in the face but nothing will change. So by accepting the cards that we're dealt by DNR, no Sunday hunting is a turkey population control measure in favor of turkeys whether you want to admit it or not.

[tman]

You can want to hunt on Sundays. That's fine. But don't fool yourself into thinking that doubling the weekend hunting opportunity is "good for the turkeys" just because "other states allow it". Yeah sure they do. Other states allow it. Florida and NC also have a 2 bird limit. GA and SC won't be far behind. The whole southeast is in a population decline..... we shouldn't be rooting for expanding opportunity now.

[JimmyD714]

That's the thing. DNR hasn't nor will they do their job. It just is what it is. We can yell and scream and go on Carolina Wildlife Syndicate and BHA and post until we are blue in the face but nothing will change. So by accepting the cards that we're dealt by DNR, no Sunday hunting is a turkey population control measure in favor of turkeys whether you want to admit it or not.

I would argue that increased capability via tactics (long range TSS shots, male decoys, any decoys, blinds) in combination with lack of proper (any) management by DNR on WMA is the problem more than pressure. Especially in a state that sees less WMA hunting pressure than other states.

Not that I'm in favor of any more DNR regulation, but if we're just going to have to accept that our DNR dislikes us and will never do anything positive on our WMAs for turkeys, I'd support reduction in the usage of decoys, blinds, and long range TSS shots in exchange for a full 6 week turkey season including Sundays before I'd support continuing what we have now.

[BigBrother]

Good job Glenn. Thank you for all you did to get us to where we are.

Sunday hunting with exceptions. Typical but it's a start.

[2thDoc]

25 acres doesnt count.
public land hunters think they are "owed" something? I never understood that.

private landowners manage better than the DNR. Its not their fault (every time). They do the best they can.

"antiquated" blue laws that came straight out of the Bible. Wait. are we not using the Bible to our advantage in this case?

I am proud of Glenn, though.

[swampknob]

Well glad I never got checked. No idea you couldn’t hunt FMNF on Sundays.

[w33kender]

Well how do other states in the Southeast manage to still have turkeys, better populations than us even, with a full 6 week WMA season and allowing Sunday hunting?

SC had a five-bird limit for a very long time. Part of the state had a March opener; the rest of the state clamored for earlier openers too and got one for a brief time. Methinks other states had lower limits and later start dates before turkeys were in decline. I'm far from an expert but these might be factors.

[w33kender]

25 acres doesnt count.
public land hunters think they are "owed" something? I never understood that.

Agreed. And I am one. $50 a year for access to tens of thousands of acres and "we" want it to be like the King Ranch.

[FEETDOWN]

This sucks, now the WMA's are gonna be crowded on Sundays.....