IRMO, S.C. — Irmo SC hunting on public woods has a two-day deer break marked for later this month at Manchester State Forest WMA in Sumter County.
Still-gun deer hunts there run from Oct. 1 through Jan. 1, except the property closes on Oct. 31, Nov. 20-21 and Dec. 18-19. The Nov. 20-21 halt is the next break on that calendar. Man drives are not allowed on those still-gun days. Archery season on the forest ran Sept. 15-30. Clubs that hunt deer with dogs get in only by lottery, and the South Carolina Forestry Commission handles that drawing at 803-494-8196.
Statewide WMA deer rules cap a hunter at two deer a day and five for the season, with no more than two bucks unless a property says otherwise. Antlerless deer are limited to two a day. Individual antlerless tags may be used on Game Zone 4 WMA land beginning Sept. 15, and no more than five of those tags may be used across all WMAs in Game Zones 2 through 4 combined.
Every deer has to carry a tag before it is moved from the spot where it fell, and that tag stays on until the carcass is quartered or turned over to a processor. Hunters also have to report the harvest through SC Game Check by midnight on the day it was taken and before leaving an animal with a processor. The system issues a confirmation number that must be written down and handed to the processor at drop-off. Reports can be filed in the Go Outdoors SC phone app, on the Game Check website, by texting Harvest to 833-472-4263, or by calling that same number.
On the forest, firearms have to be unloaded, cased and kept out of easy reach when they are not being used legally. Deer may not be hunted or shot from, on or across any road that is open to vehicles. The Palmetto Trail can have hikers on it during hunts, and wet weather can leave some gates locked. Small game season on the WMA opens Nov. 26 and runs through March 1.
Irmo sits primarily within Lexington County, with a smaller eastern portion in Richland County, so local hunters who use the Sumter County forest work under those WMA rules rather than only the private-land calendar at home.
Follow season dates, public-land hunts and harvest updates in the latest Irmo SC hunting news.
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