Potato Creek Hatchery WMA: 2026-27 seasons, rules and map
Potato Creek Hatchery WMA is 224 acres of public hunting land in Clarendon County, in SCDNR's WMA program, in Game Zone 4. Its 2026-27 deer seasons are Game Zone 4's seasons for WMAs SCDNR does not list by name: youth deer hunt day, archery and still gun hunts; the earliest dated hunt is Sept. 15-Oct. 10 (archery).
Data updated October 2026. Seasons: SCDNR's 2026-27 Game Zone 4 WMA table. Harvest: SCDNR's 2024 Deer Harvest Report.
Potato Creek Hatchery WMAOther SCDNR WMAsNational wildlife refugeLake or riverHighwayCounty line
| Size | 224 acres (measured by FilledTag on SCDNR's mapped boundary) |
|---|---|
| County | Clarendon County |
| Game zone | Zone 4 |
| Deer hunts | Youth deer hunt day, archery and still gun hunts |
| Archery deer | Sept. 15-Oct. 10 |
| Still gun deer | Oct. 12-Jan. 1 |
| Dogs for deer | No dog drive hunts listed for the area |
| Spring turkey | April 3 to May 3, limit 2 (regular WMA season) |
| Phone | (803) 734-3886 |
| Nearest towns | Summerton (5 mi), Manning (10 mi) and Eutawville (10 mi) |
When are the 2026-27 seasons on Potato Creek Hatchery WMA?
SCDNR's Game Zone 4 table does not list Potato Creek Hatchery WMA by name, so the zone's seasons for its other WMAs are the ones below.
| Hunt | Dates, 2026-27 | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Youth Deer Hunt Day | Jan. 2 (see Youth & Mobility Impaired Hunts WMAs) | 2 deer total |
| Deer Archery | Sept. 15-Oct. 10 | Statewide WMA limits |
| Deer Still Gun Hunts | Oct. 12-Jan. 1 | Statewide WMA limits |
Source: SCDNR 2026-27 Game Zone 4 WMA seasons, read October 2026. SCDNR's rules are the final word.
When is turkey season on Potato Creek Hatchery WMA?
SCDNR opens the regular WMAs in all four game zones, Forest Service land included, for spring turkey April 3 to May 3, 2027, limit 2 gobblers.
Source: SCDNR spring 2027 turkey seasons on WMAs.
How many deer are taken on Potato Creek Hatchery WMA?
SCDNR's 2024 Deer Harvest Report does not list Potato Creek Hatchery WMA on its own; it counts 844 deer on its other and unnamed WMA lands together. Around it, Clarendon County's harvest was 4,357 deer in the 2024 season (9.4 per square mile of deer habitat).
Source: SCDNR 2024 Deer Harvest Report, Table 4 (WMA harvest); SCDNR 2024 Deer Harvest Report, Table 1 (county harvest).
What does SCDNR say about Potato Creek Hatchery WMA?
From SCDNR's property page: "Potato Creek Hatchery WMA is located in Region 4. The Potato Creek Hatchery Waterfowl Area is located on the Potato Creek Hatchery WMA and is a category II Waterfowl Management Area. On Designated Waterfowl Areas, no species other than waterfowl may be taken during waterfowl hunts. Potato Creek Hatchery Waterfowl Area is closed to public access and fishing one week prior to and two weeks after the Federal Waterfowl Season, except for scheduled waterfowl hunts."
Source: SCDNR Public Lands, Potato Creek Hatchery WMA, read October 2026.
Which county is Potato Creek Hatchery WMA in, and what do hunters take there?
| County | Acres of the area in it | County deer, 2024 season | Per square mile of deer habitat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clarendon County | 224 | 4,357 | 9.4 |
Acres measured by FilledTag on SCDNR Public Lands property boundaries and the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 county boundaries. County harvest: SCDNR 2024 Deer Harvest Report, Table 1 (county harvest), for the whole county.
How do you get to Potato Creek Hatchery WMA?
Highways within 5 miles: I-95 and SC 260. Nearest towns: Summerton (5 miles), Manning (10 miles), Eutawville (10 miles) and Vance (11 miles). SCDNR's number for the area: (803) 734-3886.
The closest other South Carolina WMAs with a page here: Santee Dam WMA (4.4 miles), Santee Cooper WMA (6.7 miles), Moultrie Hunt Unit WMA (7.8 miles) and Hickory Top WMA (9.5 miles).
Questions hunters ask
Can you hunt deer with dogs on Potato Creek Hatchery WMA?
No dog drive hunts are listed for Potato Creek Hatchery WMA on SCDNR's 2026-27 table, so deer are hunted without dogs there.
What county is Potato Creek Hatchery WMA in?
Clarendon County, measured on SCDNR's boundary.
How big is Potato Creek Hatchery WMA and where is it?
224 acres by measured by FilledTag on SCDNR's mapped boundary, in Clarendon County, about 5 miles from Summerton, near I-95 and SC 260.
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Use the map while you wait for your plan.
You need a South Carolina hunting license, a WMA permit and big game tags; statewide WMA limit: 2 deer a day, 5 in all, no more than 2 antlered, unless the area's rules say otherwise; antlerless deer 2 a day. The WMA rules on one page. FilledTag is not part of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; numbers are copied from SCDNR or measured from public maps, each with its source above.
South Carolina hunting All South Carolina WMAs Clarendon County deer harvest