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Guidelines to the Laws Governing Establishment and
Operation of Licensed Shooting Preserves in South Carolina

Licensing Procedure

1. Complete and sign application (Adobe PDF file) and mail to Shooting Preserves, SCDNR, P. O. Box 167, Columbia, SC 29202. Include: road map with site designated; detailed map with boundaries and scale; and proof of ownership or leasehold interest.
2. After a site visit from SCDNR Law Enforcement, applicant receives notice of approval/disapproval.
3. If approved by SCDNR, applicant seeks approval from a majority of the County Legislative Delegation and forwards this approval to Shooting Preserves, SCDNR.
4. Applicant is informed that full approval is met and applicant forwards payment for annual license after July 1.

Season

The shooting season is a consecutive six‑month period, beginning October first (1) and continuing through the following March thirty‑first (31).

Acreage Requirement

In order to be licensed as a shooting preserve operator, the operator must own or lease a minimum of one hundred (100) contiguous acres, including water areas. The preserve is not restricted to a maximum number of contiguous acres. Proof of ownership or leasehold interest and accurate maps or plats identifying the proposed area must accompany all applications.

License Fee

The annual fee for obtaining a shooting preserve license is two hundred ($200.00) dollars for the first one hundred (100) acres of shooting preserve area, plus fifty ($50.00) dollars for each additional one hundred (100) acres or part thereof.

Shooting Preserve Species

Legal shooting preserve species are pen‑raised bobwhite quail, pheasants, and chukars. There is no harvest limit on species designated as shooting preserve species.

Boundaries

Shooting preserve operators shall maintain a clearly defined boundary on which signs designating the area as a shooting preserve must be posted at intervals of 150 feet or less. Construction of a fence, as prescribed by the department, along the boundaries of the preserve may be required.

Records

Each shooting preserve operator shall maintain a registration book listing names, addresses and hunting license numbers of all hunters, the dates on which they hunted, the amount and types of game and shooting preserve species harvested and tag numbers affixed to each carcass or container. The operator also shall maintain a record of the number of species raised or purchased and the number released and harvested.

Other records shall be maintained as required by SCDNR. The records may be inspected by an authorized agent of the Department or a person it may designate or employ at any time. Operators must furnish the Department information on the number of birds released and harvested by species as well as number of hunters and hunts within 60 days (by June 1) after the end of the shooting preserve season.

Tagging of Animals

All harvested designated shooting preserve species must be tagged before removal from a shooting preserve and the tags must remain affixed until the animal is prepared for consumption. If these species are packaged in bundles one tag is sufficient for the bundle, but the number of carcasses in the bundle must be recorded on each tag. Tags must contain the hunter’s name, address, total number, and species, the date the animals were harvested and name of shooting preserve where harvested.

Animal Husbandry

Proper care must be given to all penned animals to assure:

1. Clean water is provided as necessary.
2. Food is wholesome, palatable, and free from contamination.
3. Animals are provided adequate cover and bedding to assure the safety of the animals during adverse environmental conditions.
4. Excreta are removed from cages or enclosures as often as necessary to prevent contamination of the animals.
5. An effective program for the control of insects, parasites, and avian and mammalian pests is established and maintained.
6. Animals with a propensity to fight or which are otherwise incompatible are kept segregated.
7. The cage facility must be structurally sound and maintained in good repair to protect the animals from injury, to minimize the possibility of escape, and to prevent entrance by other animals.

Each shooting preserve operator shall maintain a record of the number of shooting preserve designated species released and the number of shooting preserve designated species harvested by month from October through March of each shooting preserve season. Each shooting preserve operator shall maintain a record of the number of hunters and the number of hunts each month from October through March of each shooting preserve season. At the discretion of the department other records may be required. Operators must furnish the department a copy of these records within sixty days after the end of the shooting preserve season. If the department does not receive this required information within the sixty‑day period, the shooting preserve license may not be issued for the next shooting preserve season.

Hunting Licenses

For the privilege of shooting on licensed shooting preserves, a person may purchase a statewide shooting preserve license for not more than eight dollars and fifty cents ($8.50). A shooting preserve license allows the shooting only of those species for which an individual shooting preserve is authorized.

Violations and Fines

The violation of any of the sections of this article is a misdemeanor. The manager, owner, or licensee, or any of them, of any shooting preserve provided for in this article is responsible for any violation of this article and, upon conviction, must be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred ($100.00) dollars nor more than two hundred ($200.00) dollars or imprisoned for not less than fifteen days nor more than thirty days and the license of the preserve must be revoked, within the discretion of the department. The preserve is not eligible for another license during the calendar year, nor thereafter, except on terms and conditions prescribed by the department.

Shoot and Retrieve Field Trials

Bird dog field trials sanctioned by a nationally recognized organization may apply for a special field trial permit (Adobe PDF file) which provides for the release and shooting of designated species outside of the normal season and during the field trial event only. Requests for such permits must be submitted to the Department at least fourteen (14) days prior to the proposed trial date. Requests shall include payment of five ($5.00) dollars per trial, the time, date and location of the trial and a document serving as proof of sanction by a nationally recognized field trial organization.

The Shooting Preserve Application is in the Adobe® Acrobat® (PDF) format. Adobe® Reader® is required to open the files and is available as a free download from the Adobe® Web site.