South Carolina · Rabbit · 2026–27 Edition
South Carolina Rabbit Season 2026–27: Dates & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Rabbit — guns & dogs | Private land & WMA, all Game Zones | Nov 26 – Mar 1 |
| Youth Hunting Day | Private land | Mar 6 – Mar 6 |
02 — Bag limits
| Daily | 5 |
|---|---|
| Possession | Not published by SCDNR beyond the daily bag — no separate possession limit stated for rabbit |
| Dogs-only pursuit (no guns, no taking) | Private land Mar 2 – Nov 25 and WMA dog-training areas Sept 1–14 allow chasing rabbit with dogs without a firearm — no animals may be taken during these windows |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (November 26, 2026) 06:07 — 18:16
Rule: One hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset — South Carolina's margin is a full hour, twice what most states allow. S.C. Code 50-11-120 (Small game seasons) defines 'day' for small game as one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset, and 'night' as the span between; the same one-hour margin appears in 50-11-710 for deer. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local South Carolina sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Rabbit hunters in South Carolina need a South Carolina hunting license — Rabbit boxes (max 5 per landowner/tenant) require a valid SC hunting license and are banned on WMAs.
South Carolina hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in South Carolina — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does rabbit season start in South Carolina?
The 2026–27 opener is November 26, 2026. See the table above for the full window.
When does rabbit season end in South Carolina?
The 2026–27 closing date is March 6, 2027.
Is there a closed season on rabbit in South Carolina?
Yes — see the dates above. Outside that window, taking rabbit is closed in South Carolina.
How many rabbits can you shoot in South Carolina per day?
2026–27 bag limits: Daily — 5. Possession — Not published by SCDNR beyond the daily bag — no separate possession limit stated for rabbit. Dogs-only pursuit (no guns, no taking) — Private land Mar 2 – Nov 25 and WMA dog-training areas Sept 1–14 allow chasing rabbit with dogs without a firearm — no animals may be taken during these windows. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting rabbit in South Carolina?
On opening day (November 26, 2026) legal light runs 06:07 to 18:16. The rule is: One hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset — South Carolina's margin is a full hour, twice what most states allow. S.C. Code 50-11-120 (Small game seasons) defines 'day' for small game as one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset, and 'night' as the span between; the same one-hour margin appears in 50-11-710 for deer. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local South Carolina sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt rabbits on my own land in South Carolina without a license?
No — South Carolina requires anyone 16 or older to carry a valid license regardless of land ownership; the full licensing chapter lists no landowner exemption, despite a claim that circulates on several third-party sites.
Verified · South Carolina Department of Natural Resources · Last verified 2026-08-14
Publisher's note. Official 2026-27 South Carolina Hunting & Fishing Guide, text-extracted directly from the small-game seasons chart (p.68), general rules (p.55-56), WMA regulations (p.91) and youth-hunts table (p.106). Rabbit runs the same dates in all four of SC's Game Zones (unlike deer/turkey/bear, which are zone-split) — one statewide gun-and-dogs season on both private land and WMAs. Two additional windows in the guide (private-land dogs-only/no-guns Mar 2-Nov 25, and WMA dog-training-only Sept 1-14) are pursuit/training periods with no legal taking of rabbit, not hunting seasons — they're described below but not modeled as methods, matching this repo's Kansas convention for non-lethal 'running' seasons. A statewide Youth Hunting Day (Mar 6, 2027, private land only) falls after the general gun season closes, genuinely extending the outer season window. No possession limit distinct from the daily bag is published for rabbit — left unstated rather than guessed. No rabbit-specific shooting-hours rule is published either; the guide states explicit hours only for deer, turkey and migratory birds, so shootingHours is omitted here and the page falls back to the state registry default, unconfirmed for rabbit.