Why It Matters: Hunters now seem to be busier than ever and seek to take advantage of every free moment possible to participate in our time-honored traditions. For hunters in most states, that coveted time afield often occurs on the weekends with work and school occupying the weekdays. However, North and South Carolina remain among the few states that still have puritanical blue laws that restrict the ability of sportsmen and women to hunt on Sundays.
Highlights:
- Last month, President Trump issued the “Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage” Executive Order (EO).
- Section 2e of the EO states: “Within 365 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall encourage State fish and wildlife agencies to promote and expand Sunday hunting opportunities on State and Federal lands,” among other provisions.
- Both North Carolina and South Carolina remain among a handful of states on the eastern seaboard, and the only states in the Southeast, to restrict hunting on Sundays.
Last month’s EO was widely regarded by the hunting community as a win, and the Sunday hunting provision mentioned above is no exception. Despite having no basis in science, Sunday hunting restrictions remain on the books in the Carolinas. They have been in effect for hundreds of years and were passed alongside laws that prohibited tilling your fields on Sundays. Despite being extremely antiquated, Sunday hunting prohibitions are still inhibiting the ability for hunters to get afield on one of the only days of the week that most working-class hunters have off, which limits access by 50% in those cases.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has worked for more than a decade to repeal antiquated Sunday hunting restrictions across the Eastern U.S., leading the charge to secure significant reforms in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Carolinas. North Carolina and South Carolina have seen significant progress when it comes to repealing some Sunday hunting restrictions. However, there are still significant barriers in place preventing hunters from hunting on Sundays. In North Carolina, several key Sunday hunting restrictions remain in place, including:
- A statutory ban on hunting with a firearm between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., using a firearm to hunt deer with the use of dogs, and hunting within 500 yards of a place of worship;
- Sunday hunting with a firearm is still not permitted on an additional 42 Game Lands;
Sunday hunting is not permitted for migratory birds; and
- Bear hunting on Game Lands on Sundays in the Coastal Bear Management Unit is prohibited.
In South Carolina, Sunday hunting remains mostly closed on public lands. However, in 2023, a multi-year effort, which CSF was heavily involved in, opened Sunday hunting from October 15 – January 31 for certain species on approximately 695,000 acres of public lands which consists of seven Wildlife Management Areas and two National Forests. Even though this was a huge win for the hunting community, there is still significant room to open additional public land Sunday hunting opportunities, including for deer, turkey, and waterfowl.
Last month’s EO is a clear statement that addressing Sunday hunting prohibitions is a major priority for the sportsmen’s community. CSF will continue to advocate for equitable access to resources that are largely paid for by hunters through the “user pays – public benefits” structure that is the American System of Conservation Funding. As the primary funders of conservation, there is no reason as to why hunters can’t enjoy access to one of their valuable weekend days for hunting, as hunters in nearly every other state do already.