Sunday Hunting Ban Lifted on Public Land After 150 Years

After more than 150 years, the Sunday hunting ban on public lands has finally been lifted.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission lifted the Sunday hunting ban on most public lands across the state. However, shooting a gun is still prohibited on public lands between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Hunters have spent years advocating to remove the ban. Lifting the ban will help those with busy work and family schedules find time to hunt. Removing the ban also will also help get more youth hunters in the woods.

“We can leave after school on Friday, and I can take them to my favorite places and have that time in the woods with them through Sunday,” said North Carolina hunter Tyler Ross, whose sons are 4 and 8. “It provides more of an opportunity for those who chose to engage that way on the landscape.”

North Carolina was one of the last bastions still holding on to a Sunday hunting ban, a remnant of “blue laws” that restrict certain activities on Sundays that could discourage church attendance. The state’s Sunday hunting ban is still in place during church hours, requiring hunters not to shoot firearms from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

North Carolina has once again changed their Sunday hunting ban, allowing hunters to spend more time in the woods.

READ: HOW TO HUNT SOUTHERN PINE FLATS

Ross said he understands the rationale of banning firearms near churches, but he thinks a buffer around churches would be a better approach.

Over the last few years, the Wildlife Commission has slowly removed parts of the Sunday hunting ban — initially allowing only bow hunting on private land, and then gun hunting on private land. The Wildlife Commission conducted two statewide studies and public listening sessions leading up to their most recent rule update. The Wildlife Commission held another round of public input in January and received more than 1,500 responses. Through these studies, the Wildlife Commission learned that the main opponents to Sunday hunting weren’t from churchgoers, but from hikers and outdoorsmen/women who wanted one day a week free from worrying about running into hunters.

As a compromise, the state lifted the Sunday hunting ban for 75% of the 2.1 million acres of public lands, leaving the ban in place for public lands near urban areas hikers and mountain bikers frequent. Hunting is still completely prohibited in national parks like the Smokies or Blue Ridge Parkway.

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