South Carolina · Squirrel · 2026–27 Edition
South Carolina Squirrel Season 2026–27: Dates & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Squirrel season (weapons and dogs) | Statewide, all game zones | Oct 1 – Mar 1 |
02 — Bag limits
| Daily, statewide | 10 — no possession limit found in statute or SCDNR regulations |
|---|---|
| Fox squirrel on WMAs | Closed on 41 named Wildlife Management Areas statewide (confirmed count from SCDNR's 2026-27 WMA regulations table, incl. Liberty Hill, Crackerneck, Santee, Bobwhite Hills and Marsh WMAs among others), even though gray squirrel remains open there — consult SCDNR's current WMA regulations chart for the complete list before hunting a specific WMA |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (October 1, 2026) 06:18 — 20:07
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
Squirrel hunters in South Carolina need a South Carolina hunting license.
South Carolina hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in South Carolina — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does squirrel season start in South Carolina?
The 2026–27 opener is October 1, 2026. See the table above for the full window.
When does squirrel season end in South Carolina?
The 2026–27 closing date is March 1, 2027.
Is there a difference between fox and gray squirrel rules in South Carolina?
See the bag limit table above — most states run one combined limit across both species, but this is worth confirming against South Carolina Department of Natural Resources before you hunt.
How many squirrels can you shoot in South Carolina per day?
2026–27 bag limits: Daily, statewide — 10 — no possession limit found in statute or SCDNR regulations. Fox squirrel on WMAs — Closed on 41 named Wildlife Management Areas statewide (confirmed count from SCDNR's 2026-27 WMA regulations table, incl. Liberty Hill, Crackerneck, Santee, Bobwhite Hills and Marsh WMAs among others), even though gray squirrel remains open there — consult SCDNR's current WMA regulations chart for the complete list before hunting a specific WMA. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting squirrel in South Carolina?
On opening day (October 1, 2026) legal light runs 06:18 to 20:07. 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 squirrels 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 2026-08-15
Publisher's note. SCDNR's own hunting hub (dnr.sc.gov/hunting.html and dnr.sc.gov/hunting/smallgame.html) does not display season/limit numbers directly — it links out to eRegulations for the rendered table. Season dates and the daily bag limit were read from the codified South Carolina Code of Laws itself (scstatehouse.gov/code/t50c011.php, the state's own official legislative site) — Section 50-11-120 sets squirrel season as October 1 through March 1 'with weapons and dogs' in all game zones (1 through 4 and 6), with the remainder of the year (March 2–September 30) open to dogs only and no squirrels may be taken; Section 50-11-150 sets the bag limit at 'ten per day' statewide, with no possession limit stated anywhere in the chapter. The chapter does not distinguish gray from fox squirrel in the season/bag-limit sections. RE-CHECKED 2026-08-15: the fox-squirrel WMA closure count, previously only 'reported elsewhere as roughly 40,' is now confirmed directly against the primary source — the full 2026-2027 SCDNR regulations PDF (dnr.sc.gov/regs/pdf/Regs2627.pdf, 44.8 MB) was downloaded directly and text-extracted with pdftotext (a prior pass's text-proxy attempt had returned an empty body on this large a file). Its WMA-by-WMA seasons/limits table carries a 'No fox squirrel hunting' annotation on exactly 41 individual WMA entries — named examples visible in the extracted table include Liberty Hill WMA (both a Lancaster County and a Kershaw County entry), Crackerneck WMA (Aiken County), Santee WMA (Francis Marion National Forest), Bobwhite Hills WMA, and Marsh WMA (Marion County). The table's multi-column PDF layout defeated a clean per-row name/county extraction for all 41 entries, so the full list is not reproduced here — hunters should still consult SCDNR's current WMA regulations chart (page 68 of the same PDF) for the complete, current list before hunting a specific WMA. No possession limit for squirrel could be confirmed anywhere in the statute or on SCDNR's pages — omitted rather than guessed.