Hunting Opportunities NC - Relocation

[Robobiss]

You don’t seem very interested in deer hunting and I don’t believe this applies to areas surrounding Charlotte (if memory serves).

But just an FYI deer hunting public lands in the eastern part of the state (or anywhere dogs are allowed) during gun season when every block of timber has a crowd of people with a pack of 100 dogs running deer and blasting anything and everything that crosses the road out of the back of a pickup truck with a semi auto shotgun and buckshot… it can get interesting.

Better off staying out of the woods period if you are seeing trucks with dog boxes on the way in. I had an interesting experience where my truck was stuck in the Croatan and my friends and I cut across a block instead of walking the road after dark on the way out looking for help. Around the corner came a truck loaded with light bars that pointed 360 degrees. We hit the deck and hid behind trees when we realized they were spotlighting and shooting deer (or whatever) under the lights. That was thanksgiving day in 2014, couldn’t forget it if I wanted to.

Coastal NC public lands may as well be Mexico. The stuff that ive seen there would blow your mind.

That said, the wildlife is plentiful. Big bears, too.

 

[KenLee]

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.

SC non-resident hunting license and tags are relatively cheap. I'm thinking $350 for hunting and 8 deer tags. Extra $76 to hunt public land.

 

[timekiller13]

Upland bird hunting is poor in NC.

Waterfowl is hunting is bad as well except in select areas.

Deer hunting is pretty decent throughout a lot the state.

Big bears on the coast.

Turkey hunting is pretty decent statewide.

Freshwater fishing is good to great. Salt water fishing is ok but has declined over the last decade.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

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Huntsville is the area I was looking at the rentals. There are seems to be a few parks and somewhat outside of Charlotte.
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Thanks for your answers

Huntersville? Good Luck if you have to go to Charlotte for work. 2.5hrs during rush hour is about right unless you drop 30-40 bucks each way in the express lane. The toll surges based on traffic conditions. A wreck during rush hour will make the toll to each exit about 6 bucks...spent 43 dollars last week trying to get out of Charlotte around 3 in the afternoon on Thursday. Motorcycle wreck with a fatality around the Huntersville exit. The stretch of 77 between Sam Fur Rd and Huntersville is always a shitshow.

 

[TreeDux]

We have a lot of opportunities to hunt waterfowl in the east, but a number of factors conspire to limit the quality of those opportunities. First and foremost, it’s still the Atlantic flyway. Overall bird numbers aren’t great and there generally has to be weather up north to make the birds come here.
When they get here the private lands will have the best habitat, including 10s of thousands of acres of flooded agricultural fields- impoundments. The vast coastal sounds have been abused by county blind laws in many areas. To effectively hunt those areas takes a bigger boat and a lot of scouting.
Those permit hunts we mentioned have gotten hard to draw, too.
I love hunting along the coast but overall can’t give it much more than a 4/10 due to crowds, access, and often low numbers of birds.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. A few good guides can be found along the outer banks for pintail and redhead. Bluebills usually show up in decent numbers. Wood ducks are beautiful, good to eat, and consistent. We also have sea ducks and probably the most unique hunt we have is tundra swans. Huge birds, not hard to hit, but not easy to kill.
Plenty to do in some really cool locations from beaver swamps to blinds where you can hear the ocean waves. Don’t get hung up on limiting out and you can have a lot of fun.
I follow your approach to nutria hunting. That would be fun and we could certainly stand to get rid of a few.

 

[SMOKYMTN]

1. How would you rate North Carolina overall for upland, waterfowl, and small game hunting?
   • Upland? Not great.
   • Waterfowl? Decent on the coast.
   • Small Game? Can be really good.
   • North Carolina does have some of the best, if not the best, black bear hunting in the Lower 48.
2. Are there enough public lands or game lands within a reasonable drive of Charlotte to regularly train and hunt dogs?
   • Can't speak for east of Charlotte, but there are tons of public land in the western part of the state if you are willing to hike mountains and put in the work. Link up a good group of grouse hunters at your local BHA chapter and they should be able to assist.
3. How crowded are those areas during hunting season?
   • Again, can't speak for east of Charlotte but Western NC is typically not crowded at all during hunting season unless you're hunting close to a USFS road.
4. Is joining a hunting club almost a necessity, or can a dedicated hunter do well on public land?
   • Are we strictly talking fowl? I can't help you much there but I almost exclusively big game hunt the National Forest lands in WNC. Not great density, but decent quality and very fulfilling.
5. If you moved to North Carolina from another state, are you happy with your decision from a hunting perspective?
   • Born and raised in NC. I did live in other states over a 6 year period in the military and travel a lot for work and leisure, so I do have experience in other states. North Carolina is a great sportsman's state. I am not going to tell you that it excels in any one particular type of hunting or fishing but very few states can have you trout fishing in the Smokies while standing in a stream with elk on one day, and then the very next day catching Red Drum on the Neuse River with the alligators. NC is as diverse as they come and can offer you countless experiences. I've completed the inshore slam in the marshes on the coast, I've fished for Wahoo in the Gulf Stream off the coast of the Outer Banks, I've camped and deer hunted in a snowstorm at 4,000' feet of elevation while 4 miles in the backcountry in the middle of the Pisgah National Forest, I've chased whitetail and turkey on peanut farms of Duplin County, I've hiked to nearly a mile above sea level on a blue line stream fishing for native Brook Trout. I've done all of this in North Carolina. Experiences may vary but I am pretty happy to call this my home as a lover of the outdoors.