Gun season in the South Carolina low country opens up on private land August 15. Public ground opens up around the state middle of Sept for now, for muzzleloader Oct. 1 with firearms season opening Oct. 10th. Plenty of public ground to hunt and lots of different terrain to hunt. The upstate is more mountainous while the lowcountry is mostly swamp bottoms, and the midlands of the state is more rolling hills. Bag limits are 2 per day and either sex tags are relatively cheap. The rut varies but the further to the coast you go the earlier the rut starts. Around Columbia the public ground I hunt typically starts showing rut sign around mid to late October.