South Carolina, 2027 shed season

South Carolina Shed Antler Season 2027

Q: When is shed hunting season in South Carolina?

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources lists its South Carolina shed rules without dated closures, so they hold year round. The weeks that matter most are the ones when antlers drop.

Q: Do I need a permit to collect sheds in South Carolina?

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources's published shed rules name no permit, course or license for collecting. Landowner permission and the land manager's own rules still apply wherever you walk.

Q: When do deer shed antlers in South Carolina?

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources names white-tailed deer among the antlered animals of South Carolina. For whitetails, Iowa Department of Natural Resources puts the drop at mid January to mid March: "Whitetail deer have about a two-month shedding period in Iowa, beginning mid-Jan. and ending mid-March."

Q: Who sets the shed antler rules in South Carolina?

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The rules here were read from its own pages on September 21, 2026, and each one links to the page it came from. Rules change between winters, so the agency page is the one to check before a trip.

South Carolina allows shed antlers, and antlers removed from the pedicel, to be bought and sold.

“On the other hand, deer parts not listed may be bought and sold. This would include deer hides, antlers that have been shed or removed from the pedicel, etc.” South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

Sale and possession

Rule type

from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

Rules quoted

each linked to the agency page

None named

Course or permit

in the agency rules quoted below

September 21, 2026

Rules read

from the agency page

The rule

Shed antler rules in South Carolina

Sale and possession

State Law 50-11-1910 bars selling antler velvet or white-tailed deer antlers still attached to the pedicel. Antlers detached from the skull plate are among the deer family parts that may be brought into South Carolina from a state with chronic wasting disease.

Statewide

Shed antlers, and antlers removed from the pedicel, may be bought and sold; antler velvet and antlers attached to the pedicel may not.

On the other hand, deer parts not listed may be bought and sold. This would include deer hides, antlers that have been shed or removed from the pedicel, etc.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Statewide

Antlers detached from the skull plate are among the cervid parts that may be brought in from a state with chronic wasting disease.

No person may import or possess a whole cervid carcass or carcass part from an infected state except the following may be imported: quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached; meat that has been boned out; hides with no heads attached; clean (no meat or tissue attached) skulls or skull plates with antlers attached; antlers (detached from the skull plate); clean upper canine teeth, also called "buglers," "whistlers" or "ivories;" and finished taxidermy heads.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Courses, sale and state land

More South Carolina shed rules

Buying and selling sheds

Shed antlers may be bought and sold in South Carolina; state law bars selling antler velvet or white-tailed deer antlers attached to the pedicel.

No. State Law 50-11-1910 prohibits the sale of the following deer parts in SC; any live deer, venison of any deer except as provided in 50-11-1920, any white-tailed deer gamets (egg and sperm) and antler velvet, or any white-tailed deer antlers attached to the pedicel. ... On the other hand, deer parts not listed may be bought and sold. This would include deer hides, antlers that have been shed or removed from the pedicel, etc.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

When antlers drop

When deer shed antlers in South Carolina

For white-tailed deer, Iowa Department of Natural Resources puts the drop at mid January to mid March.

Whitetail deer have about a two-month shedding period in Iowa, beginning mid-Jan. and ending mid-March.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Read it at the source

Mule deer standing and browsing on a snowy sagebrush slope — Mule deer on winter range in southwest Wyoming. Oregon closes several of its wildlife areas over winter to protect wintering big game, and Nevada and Wyoming close public land in their shed country from January 1. “Mule deer SW Wyoming on winter range (46257596142)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

South Carolina shed antler questions

Is it legal to pick up shed antlers in South Carolina?

When is shed hunting season in South Carolina?

Do I need a permit to collect sheds in South Carolina?

Can you sell shed antlers in South Carolina?

Shed antlers may be bought and sold in South Carolina; state law bars selling antler velvet or white-tailed deer antlers attached to the pedicel. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources: "No. State Law 50-11-1910 prohibits the sale of the following deer parts in SC; any live deer, venison of any deer except as provided in 50-11-1920, any white-tailed deer gamets (egg and sperm) and antler velvet, or any white-tailed deer antlers attached to the pedicel. ... On the other hand, deer parts not listed may be bought and sold. This would include deer hides, antlers that have been shed or removed from the pedicel, etc."

When do deer shed antlers in South Carolina?

Who sets the shed antler rules in South Carolina?

Shed antler rules in other states

South Carolina deer seasonArchery and firearms dates for South Carolina, read from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.South Carolina deer rutWhen bucks breed in the fall, months before those antlers drop.Shed antler rules by stateEvery state's shed rule, the dated western closures and when each species drops.

A young bull elk carrying a single antler standing among elk bedded in snow — A young bull that has already dropped one antler, among elk bedded in snow. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says elk may start shedding in February and run through April. “Bull Elk and Herd (6258537907)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Compiled September 21, 2026. Every rule above is republished from Deer FAQs, SCDNR and the other South Carolina Department of Natural Resources pages linked beside each quote, read on September 21, 2026. Rules change between winters, so the agency page is the one to check before a trip. Every state is in the national shed antler guide.