Ken Barrett's Fast Facts
For TRCP's Life in the OpenSouth Carolina Low Country Hogs, Whitetails and Marsh HensLocation: ACE Basin, near Green Pond, South Carolina, approximately half-way between Charleston and Beaufort . The ACE Basin takes its name from the three rivers that drain this Low Country area: the Ashepoo, the Combahee, and the Edisto. Its 350,000 acres comprises one of the richest estuaries on the Atlantic seaboard.It’s about an hour drive from Charleston and Beaufort.  Access: Though much of the area is private or accessible only by boat (water and marshes) there are two large publicly accessible hunting areas: Donnelley Wildlife Management Area (8,000 acres) and Bear Island Wildlife Management Area (12,000 acres) in addition to the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge. For more information on these areas please call 843-844-8957. I hunted and fished both public and private land (at the owner’s invitation) during my week in the Low Country.
Best time to go: South Carolina has a very long and liberal season for both deer and hogs. See http://www.dnr.sc.gov/ but for those, like me, who enjoy hunting when the weather is cool, I’d hold-off going until November or even later in the season. South Carolina is a great place to head when cold grips the northern tier states and their hunting seasons come to an end.  For marsh hens you’ll need to get local tide charts. There are only a handful of tides during the whole of the season that get high enough to push a boat over the Spartina grass.
License availability: Non-residents can buy licenses over-the-counter. Big Game licenses cost $100 plus you’ll need a WMA permit for $76. South Carolina has an all inclusive hunt and fishing license for non-residents that includes: all big game, WMA permit, all small game, state Duck stamp, fresh and saltwater fishing and six issues of South Carolina Wildlife Magazine for $388. A three-day non-resident small game license is $40. Visit the SC DNR at http://www.dnr.sc.gov/. Recommended Equipment: I use a 30.06 for most of my big game hunting (150, 165 and 180 grain bullets), but any big game caliber rifle you use for deer will work just fine for hogs. Be mindful that they can be tough and if not put down in quick order will escape into the jungle like cover, making recovering them difficult, if not downright impossible. Bring along insect repellent, if the weather is warm and good rain gear as well. And yes, you may want snake boots and/or chaps: there are snakes, both rattlers and cottonmouths, in this area. Just be careful and watch where you are going. I saw one rattler that made our local Montana prairie species look like a little garden snake!  For Marsh Hens I used a 28 gauge with 8’s and 9’s; marsh hens are quite easy to bring down. Any gauge shotgun with light loads will work. NOTE: I checked and there apparently aren’t any guides you can hire to hunt these birds. You’ll have to bring your own boat; I recommend a 12 or 14 foot flat bottom (John) boat and a push pole. You can use a motor to run out to the marshes, but it’s illegal to run a motor while hunting migratory birds.
Costs: If you are willing to camp and cook for yourself, this can be a relatively inexpensive trip. We cooked-up a storm and enjoyed the wild bounty of this great country. We ate a whole small pig I shot, along with a bunch of redfish and flounders and a mess of marsh hens. You can buy fresh shrimp and shell fish for a modest price and live off the fat of the land! Tips and Commentary: America is not a homogeneous country; it’s made-up of many different places and cultures. Sportsmen will find the Low Country of South Carolina both fascinating and enticing. It’s filled with great people, great land and water, and great hunting and fishing opportunities. I love this place; it’s nothing short of exotic for a guy who does so much of his hunting in the snow and fishing through the ice! Mix me up another mint julep, serve me another helping of wild boar BBQ, and let me watch the wood storks and egrets fly by the Spanish moss covered oaks on the banks of the Ashepoo River. Special thanks go to: |