South Carolina is divided with baiting being only legal in the Coastal Plain over which the SC Department of Natural Resources has no agency authority.

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/deer/baitinglaws.html

Conclusion of the SCDNR Wildlife Section biological staff concerning baiting in the Piedmont:

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Conclusion

Wildlife Section staff recognizes that hunting deer over bait has taken place in the Coastal Plain for a number of years. However, staff also understands that this situation exists only as a result of the history of deer hunting in that region, the fact that there has been a relatively recent change from dog hunting to still hunting, and the fact that the baiting issue has never been addressed in state law. Now, baiting is the norm rather than the exception in the Coastal Plain yet state law does not prescribe the practice in that region.

Staff is concerned with the obvious role that baiting can play in the biology of deer and in the dissemination and maintenance of disease. Baiting affects other �non target� species and habitats, as well. It should also be understood that social issues involving bait pit hunters and landowners against one another in a �competitive� atmosphere related to the distribution, behavior, and harvest of deer. There are ethical considerations and it is important to recognize that the public at large does not support baiting and this point undermines hunting and wildlife management programs that have historically been accepted.

Finally, although some hunters and legislators believe that baiting increases hunter success and deer harvest rates, data collected in South Carolina over the last 8 years indicate just the opposite. In the Piedmont where baiting is prohibited, hunters kill more deer per unit area and spend less time doing it than in the Coastal Plain where baiting is the norm. The most significant concern of SCDNR Wildlife Section staff is the likelihood that decreased hunter efficiency and deer harvest rates would occur over time if the prohibition on baiting were eliminated in the Piedmont.

In the end, Piedmont hunters who believe that baiting should be allowed must answer one question. What is broken about deer hunting/management in the Piedmont that can be fixed with bait?