Hunting Opportunities NC - Relocation

[VomSteinbruch]

Good morning, RS.

I have a question about hunting opportunities in North Carolina. I'm not asking anyone to share their spots. I'm just trying to get an honest picture of the state's hunting overall.

If you had to rate North Carolina as a hunting state on a scale of 1 to 10, what would you give it, particularly for someone who enjoys upland birds, waterfowl, and small game?

Here's why I'm asking.

The company I work for was recently acquired by a larger firm that is restructuring the organization. A few of us have been offered relocation packages. Originally there were opportunities in Texas, the Kansas City area, and Oregon, but those no longer appear to be available. My manager told me he can't guarantee those positions will reopen or won't be filled locally. At the moment, the only relocation option is the Charlotte area.

If I turn it down, I will probably lose my opportunity to leave Connecticut. I desperately want to get out of here. Politics aside, I find Connecticut to be a fairly game-poor state with limited access. There are a number of WMAs, but many are small, heavily pressured, or simply don't hold many birds.

After living here for eight years, I've managed to find a few reliable woodcock covers and a couple of ponds that consistently hold wood ducks, but that's about it. I never really got into the coastal marsh hunting here, so I usually drive to southern New Jersey for that.

I have found a few town forests and parks where I can run and train my dogs, but those opportunities are fairly limited, especially in southwestern Connecticut, which is essentially an extension of the NYC suburbs.

What makes this decision difficult is that I don't want to move from one game-poor area to another and spend years trying to find places where I can hunt and work my dogs. On the other hand, this is a generous relocation package with a salary increase and bonus, and the cost of living around Charlotte is considerably lower than in southwestern Connecticut.

On my own, I've also been trying to find work in NH, TX, ID, or even in eastern Washington, without success, so I've pretty much accepted that it isn't going to happen. My field is tied to large metro areas unfortunately.

I've been to North Carolina several times. I tested one of my dogs at Hoffman and absolutely loved the longleaf pine savannas and the people I met there. Everyone was welcoming, although many were disappointed by the decline of wild quail across the South.

I also spoke with a member of my breed club who moved from New York to South Carolina. He recommended joining a hunting club, which is something I've never really considered before. Judging from his experiences, it seems to have worked out very well for him, although I have no idea what memberships typically cost or what access they provide.

A little about me: I'm an avid upland, waterfowl, and small game hunter, and I'm heavily involved in hunting dog training and testing. I belong to several hunting dog clubs in southern New England. While I've never hunted big game myself, I have helped track wounded deer with my dog.

One thing that is absolutely essential for me is having access to public land—whether it's a state forest, game land, or park—where I can walk and train my dogs almost every day. I'm perfectly happy to drive an hour or more to hunt, and walking 10–12 miles to find birds doesn't bother me at all.

For those of you who live in North Carolina, especially around the Charlotte area, I'd really appreciate your thoughts.

1. How would you rate North Carolina overall for upland, waterfowl, and small game hunting?
2. Are there enough public lands or game lands within a reasonable drive of Charlotte to regularly train and hunt dogs?
3. How crowded are those areas during hunting season?
4. Is joining a hunting club almost a necessity, or can a dedicated hunter do well on public land?
5. If you belong to a hunting club, what do memberships typically cost, and what do they usually include?
6. If you moved to North Carolina from another state, are you happy with your decision from a hunting perspective?
7. Is there anything you wish you had known before making the move?

Thanks in advance. I'm not looking for GPS coordinates or secret spots, just an honest assessment of what life is like for a hunter and dog owner in North Carolina.

 

[loganwayne]

I live in wnc outside of asheville towards the Tennessee line. Tons of public extremely low game density. I talked 4 hrs and deer hunt with my best friend from college. He is north of Greensboro. We also woodcock hunt down there a good bit.
uwharrie is probably going to be your closest big area to do any hunting. (Not super knowledgeable on the charlotte area). You also very close to SC so I would look there as well.
In general further east you go more woodcock and quail you will find. And quail are very slowly making a comeback ive found them on one of our farms and on public.

Also I would look into permit hunts. They are much less pressured game lands. We usually do a couple a year. Although it is harder to get drawn than it use to.

 

[B Harrison]

Charlotte is a turd!

Waterfowl isn’t great, only good at the coat and that’s sketchy at times.
Deer hunting is ok, wild birds are few.
Turkey hunting is pretty good

I wouldn’t live in Charlotte for a $100k raise, and that’s a pile of money.


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[VomSteinbruch]

I wouldn’t live in Charlotte for a $100k raise, and that’s a pile of money.

Would you mind to elaborate?
I have not been sold on deer hunting yet.

I would like to hunt feral hogs with my dogs. Apparently they are becoming an issue in NC.

Hunting Nutrias is something I would be quite curious about.

And quail are very slowly making a comeback ive found them on one of our farms and on public.

This is good to hear. For me quality of hunting doesn’t necessarily overlap with the bird numbers, but there has to be something to go after.

Coming from upstate NY, I am used to low bird numbers.

What is permit hunt?

 

[loganwayne]

Would you mind to elaborate?
I have not been sold on deer hunting yet.

I would like to hunt feral hogs with my dogs. Apparently they are becoming an issue in NC.

Hunting Nutrias is something I would be quite curious about.




This is good to hear. For me quality of hunting doesn’t necessarily overlap with the bird numbers, but there has to be something to go after.

Coming from upstate NY, I am used to low bird numbers.

What is permit hunt?

Very few pigs on public.

Grouse numbers are near zero. I flushed 5 last year. Woodcock come in decent numbers if your in the right spots.

Permit hunts are a lottery hunt, deer is the main one, but also turkey and quail. 3 day hunts. The other days the game lands are closed except for small game. Low number of hunters on property one we hunt often is roughly 3000 acres and is limited to 8 hunters. We typically see 6 total. Another is only 800 acres and limits to 4 hunters but ive never seen anyone on it besides me and my buddy.

 

[TreeDux]

Lived in the eastern part all my life. I know just enough about the greater Charlotte area to take part in the conversation. NC has, relative to east coast standards, a decent amount of public land. Quail are doing slightly better but I would only consider them a bonus. It’s very unfortunate, but it’s the reality. Doves and woodcock ARE your upland game here. You can find a few grouse on the NF in the west but odds will remain low.
Small game in general is pretty good.
Waterfowl in that part of the state is abysmal. If you put in the time you can find wood duck swamps that will fill your limit and maybe give up a mallard or teal on occasion. Take the 4 hour drive to the coast once or twice a year for variety and the experience. Not for greatly increased odds of finding a limit of big ducks.
Permit hunts are just our version of a limited entry drawing. They offer some good opportunities but rarely anything magical.
Feral pigs are definitely a thing but are pretty localized.
Uhwarrie is not the best hunting but there’s spots. It will fill your requirements for close and probably be able to work dogs. You need to check specific regulations on that part.
South Carolina is close by and may in fact have more to offer within a reasonable drive.
Hunting clubs? Join one if you can. It’ll give you private ground to learn on. If the first one really sucks be looking for the next one. I have no good reference on pricing but some may cut you a tiny break if you’re not deer hunting.
Politics not aside you’ll find that the typical mindset of cities is very much at play in Charlotte.
Overall we’re a good place to be. But a lot of other people have realized that and things are changing here.
If you do come here and decide to really learn the area and put in the work, you’ll be rewarded.
Oh, and nutrias? We got ‘em. Your dog(s) can catch and kill them, but it’s going to come with a vet bill unless you personally are very good at stitching and cleaning out deep puncture wounds. May not happen every time but it’ll happen a good percentage of the time.
Best of luck with whatever choice you make.

 

[PARA1977]

Sounds like you are a dog hunter by heart and you said you wanted to try hogs why not try bear hunting, not a long drive from Charlotte and you can be in some of the best hound hunting in the east for bears I’m in East Tennessee Half the year and the other half in western Montana and I see lots of NC hunters running dogs all over eastern Tennessee

 

[Ashy Larry]

The good part about Charlotte is you are a short drive from anything. Im an hour and half north in the foothills but I’m 15 minutes from trout fishing, real mountains and Virginia (more/better public). You aren’t far from the coast either.

 

[Nine Banger]

The good part about Charlotte is you are a short drive from anything. Im an hour and half north in the foothills but I’m 15 minutes from trout fishing, real mountains and Virginia (more/better public). You aren’t far from the coast either.

You can fly anywhere too.

6th busiest airport in world.

A gateway to the west.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Carolinas have great hunting and fishing if you been here for a while and know where to look...lived an hour south of clt for 20 yrs...Problem is both states are getting an influx of people moving in and public land landing hunting is good but it's getting crowed. Good luck on NC salt water regs, I gave up and quit fishing the NC coast years ago. Today is day 5 of the reduced redfish limit in SC. It's still 2x the NC redfish limit and we can still catch flounder so it's not all bad.
If you want to run pigs with dogs SC is your best bet. I know farmers who hire dog hunters to run pigs off there land.

If you do make the relo..I would move as far from Charlotte as you stand to commute. Definitely not in Meck county due to property taxes. Its went downhill over the years. Its mostly safe during the day if you stay away from the bus station. They also just raised sales tax to 8.75% in Meck County on 7-1.

 

[HandgunHTR]

While NC may not be great for waterfowl (based on the comments provided) there are quite a few opportunities for waterfowl hunting in SC, including several lottery hunts (https://www.dnr.sc.gov/hunting/waterfowllottery.html)
Depending on where in Charlotte your office is, you may want to look at living in SC and working up in Charlotte. For someone used to a New England commute, it may not be that bad for you.
Also, something has only been briefly mentioned, but I think would be of particular interest to you is dove hunting. It is big down here. Not so much up in New England. As someone who grew up hunting ducks and geese in MN and has now spent the last 30 years of my life hunting doves and ducks all across the south, I much prefer dove hunting. It is much more laid back, you aren't freezing your butt off, and unless you really like watching dogs work water, is just as enjoyable, or even more so from working the dogs perspective. Yes, watching a good long swimming retrieve is cool, but watching a good dog find a dove that fell 80 yards away into a patch of knee-high pines or field edge scrub is pretty cool too.
I can pretty much guarantee that if you have a couple of good dogs and are willing to put the leg work in to making some friends, you will be welcomed into many a dove field.

A couple things to keep in mind about hunting down here with dogs, however. You will need do some snake avoidance or aversion training with your dogs. We have all the fun ones down here. Also, if you do end up hunting the coastal areas of SC, we have alligators. I know quite a few waterfowlers and deer hunters that have lost dogs to gators down here in SC.

As someone who was stationed in CT for almost 6 years and hunted it quite a bit (mid 1990s) and who now lives in SC, I wouldn't hesitate to move down here to any of the neighboring states (SC, NC, TN or GA). No, it isn't the Rocky Mountain states, but if you have to live east of the Mississippi, there isn't much better than here, in my opinion.

 

[ShortMagFan]

Charlotte is right on the border with South Carolina. I’ve lived there for 23 years. Working on retiring and relocating to upstate SC now but that’s a different story

Within an hour south of Charlotte (going straight down 77) you can get into some really good hunting in SC depending on what you are looking for

Lots of timber company leases with no shortage of deer. And likely pigs. And plenty of public down that way too

Plenty of folks do dove fields.

I own some ground that I manage intensely for turkey and we have a great population but like everywhere in the southeast the population has taken a hit the last 10-12 years

One side benefit of managing for turkey habitat is that we have a decent wild quail population

In terms of waterfowl it’s not hard to find a spot for a quick wood duck shoot at first light. If you are looking for much more than that you are either on the coast or shooting tamies

I’ve found NC opportunities harder to find. I’m in a club with a few different tracts within an hour of Charlotte (north into NC) but generally speaking it’s hard to find larger tracts close to charlotte

Eastern NC is some of the best hunting in the southeast. But it’s a 3+ hour drive from Charlotte.