Moore, Richmond, Hoke, Scotland County, North Carolina · 64,862 acres
Sandhills Game Land Hunting 2026: Species & Access
Sandhills Game Land covers 64,862 acres near Hoffman in Moore, Richmond, Hoke, Scotland County. Scattered tracts of longleaf pine and wiregrass ecosystem across four counties — one of the largest publicly accessible stretches of this habitat type left anywhere, and North Carolina's best-known public quail ground.
01 — What you can hunt here
| Species | Notes |
|---|---|
| Bobwhite quail | The reason Sandhills carries its reputation statewide — widely called the bobwhite quail capital of North Carolina's public lands. |
| White-tailed deer | Antlered and antlerless deer hunting during the All Lawful Weapons visible-antler season runs by permit only; other deer hunting generally follows standard local rules without a site-specific permit. |
| Wild turkey | By permit only, no exceptions. |
| Dove | NCWRC biologists plant and manage two dedicated dove fields (roughly 3 and 4 acres) on U.S. Forest Service land within the game land. |
| Small game | Gray squirrel and other small game under general North Carolina game land rules. |
02 — Access rules specific to this WMA
- North Carolina's statewide $25 Game Lands License applies here on top of the regular hunting license, same as every other NC game land.
- Turkey hunting requires a permit with no exceptions; visible-antler deer hunting during the All Lawful Weapons season is also permit-only.
- The public shooting range is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays only.
- Horseback riding is allowed seven days a week on roads open to vehicle traffic plus gated roads/trails specifically posted for equestrian use.
04 — Facilities
Camping: Not specified as available on the game land.
Spans four counties in scattered tracts rather than one contiguous block — because of that, hunters should confirm which specific tract's rules apply before a trip, since regulations can vary by tract within the same game land.
05 — Where to go next
Sandhills earns its reputation one bird at a time — the longleaf pine and wiregrass habitat here is managed specifically for bobwhite quail, and it shows in the property's identity more than any other North Carolina game land. Deer and turkey both carry their own permit requirements (turkey always, deer only during the visible-antler All Lawful Weapons season), and the property's scattered, four-county footprint means the rules aren't uniform across every tract — check which piece of Sandhills you're actually hunting before assuming statewide game land defaults apply everywhere.
North Carolina hunting license costs and permits →
Verified · North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission · Last verified 2026-08-09
Publisher's note. Read from NCWRC, retrieved 2026-08-09. Review due 2027-08-01. WMA-specific rules and closures can change between seasons — confirm before you hunt.