IRMO, S.C. — Irmo SC hunting on public land changes later this month, when state wildlife management areas in Game Zone 3 reopen deer hunting to either sex on the final three Saturdays of November: Nov. 14, Nov. 21 and Nov. 28.
Game Zone 3 covers both counties that Irmo touches, Lexington and Richland, plus 13 more that reach to Aiken, Orangeburg, Charleston and Jasper. Irmo sits mostly in Lexington County, with its eastern edge in Richland County.
On every other still gun hunt day on management area land, the rule is bucks only, and a buck must carry antlers visible at least two inches above the hairline to be legal. A male deer with shorter antlers may be taken only on an either-sex day or with a permit from the state.
The November dates are the second block of either-sex days for the zone this fall, after the first three Saturdays of October. Two more remain after Thanksgiving weekend: the Saturday after Christmas, which falls on Dec. 26 this year, and New Year’s Day.
Organized drives are restricted on those Saturdays. A man drive, where two or more people push deer out of cover toward waiting hunters, is normally allowed on WMA land only between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and it is not allowed at all on either-sex days in this zone. Anyone driving deer may not carry or use a weapon.
Limits are set statewide for all management areas together: two deer a day and five for the season across all methods, with no more than two of them bucks. Hunters using archery gear may take a deer of either sex during the archery-only and primitive weapons seasons without having to tag it.
Every deer taken on Game Zone 3 WMA land must carry a valid deer tag before it is moved from where it fell, and the tag must stay attached until the carcass is quartered or dropped off with a processor. Feral hogs and coyotes may be taken on any hunt, but hunting hogs with dogs is allowed only during special hog hunts.
Follow the latest Irmo SC hunting news for season dates, public land hunts and harvest updates around Lake Murray and the Midlands.
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