MichiganWhitetails74

Hey guys.

I may transfer to the Charlotte / Fort Mill area at the boarder of North & South Carolina.

What is the deer hunting like in this area? Lots of hunters? Can I get some nice private land to toss arrows around on ??? and drive my neigbors crazy?

I would love to hear....if I can't hunt and have the grace I have in Michigan I won't go.

Vabowman

Michigan, I don't know about the Charlotte area, but I do know that there are plenty of deer in SC. NC is very well populated as well, but Im not sure about how easy it is to access private land. I can tell you this about the south, we are greedy with land, especially on the eastern seaboard. People just don't allow for strangers to hunt much. we have to join hunting clubs and pay 400,500-600$ a yr to hunt them, and then, we also hunt with dogs in Va, NC and SC, from Oct to Jan, in the eastern portions of these states, which may not suit your style, I don't know. Well Nc and Sc start their dog season in Oct. Va is mid Nov. Unless you have gobs of land, you just can't get away from the whole dog/deer tradition here in the south. And once the dogs are loose, they go nocturnal.

MichiganWhitetails74

Interesting....If I can get out and harvest...I'll be happy either way...I can adapt....

wild_willie

That's just what we need down here...more yankees[:@]JK. The Fort Mill/Charlotte area has a fairly good deer population. Just south of there is the Sumter National Forest (in SC) which is 200,000+ acres of WMA. South Carolina, as you probably know has very liberal seasons (runs from August 15 to Jan 1 depending on where in the state you hunt) and limits (5 bucks/year). The quality of deer is not what you'll see in Michigan or anywhere up north for that matter but we do have numbers (too many does in my opinion). If you want to go private, Va. is right...expect to pay upwards of $700-$1000 per year for a decent lease.Good luck with the relocate.

Hoytail Hunter

WOW what a bummer for me since all my immediate family including myself are planning to move to NC in a few years.

So you really can't escape the dogs, even in the Sumpter National Forest where there's 200,000 acres?

Myersbuck

I am just out of college but I really want to stay in the big populated deer states...I just cant leave the whitetails

nchawkeye

You can't run deer with dogs down in the Charlotte area, it's too populated and illegal...

One of the best areas in the state, with the biggest bucks is near Charlotte...The Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge...

Best of all...It's perfect for a bow hunter...It is open to the public and they have 4-5 drawn hunts a year, but before they open it for these hunts, you can bow hunt it like you own it...

More than likely, you will want to live 30-40 miles away from Charlotte as it is really growing and expanding...Will you be working in the city??? Or just need to be nearby???

davidmil

You go down there and talk like that, "Harvest", most of those good ole boys will laugh at you and call you a sissy. LOL VAbowman pretty much nailed the land access issue. It takes some time to even get in a lot of clubs. They don't just accept newcomers on sight. You got to know someone or know someone that does. Once those friendships are forged they're steady. I've been gone from Georgia for 27 years and still have a couple farmers that will allow me to hunt their property free. When I was last down there they begged me to move back there and take care of some of their hog problems. LOL Many of my friends there still refer to me as that Damn Yankee, and then they laugh.[8D] I don't know about the Carolinas, but Georgia does have some public land and some pretty decent Wildlife Management areas. Check on the snake situation locally.

GMMAT

If you come down this way during an open season.....let me know. I'll take you hunting. I'm about 1.5hrs from Charlotte.....and I know there are places in between that are usually looking for people to join the various leases.

We have an abundance of deer and turkeys in many NC/SC counties.....and SC has one of the most lengthy and liberal deer seasons I could imagine.

Good luck with your choice.

dctkennels

I moved to North Carolina 5 years ago and have just now gotten to where I have a couple of little spots to hunt. The land in our area is being consumed rapidly by logging and development. I moved here from Indiana which has alot of similarities to Michigan and let me tell you, your in for a heck of a shot. Went from looking at 180 class deer to now a really nice one in this area is 130-140 and body size is no comparison at all down here you hunt fawn sized bucks lol.