Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Georgia Deer Hunting??

Well.... I'm taking the vows and since my fiance lives in Atlanta, I'm leaving the Northwest for the Southeast... Im hoping to do some whitetail hunting in GA next season but I have no idea where to hunt. I know its not like back home in WA state where public land is everywhere (gotta love the west) so I'm trying to decide if hunting public land is even worth it, or do most people hunt leased land? Any idea what part of the state is best?? Thanks in advance...
Jet

Most is leased and very expensive due to the huge population around Atlanta. Good luck. I did not have much luck finding land when I was there.

GA hunting is confusing at times. There is a lot of public land in the north and a decent amount in the south. Each tract will have its own season within the state's season. If you are willing to walk (ATVs are restricted on most WMAs) you can get away from others and enjoy some really fun hunting. Like a lot of hunters these days, most GA hunters don't want to be too far from the road. Also, GA has some limited draw hunts on WMAs that are great. It doesn't cost anymore, it is just that you apply and then get selected. I hunt the Berry College WMA (a limited draw) every other year and have killed a decent buck each time. I tend to walk a lot though.

OTH, the big bucks come tend to come off leases/private land. A lease really is the way to go if you get with the right group in a good area.

Bag limit is 12 deer. 2 bucks (one of which must be 4pts or more on one horn) and 10 does. They are some goooood eatin' too.

RH

RH... thanks for the input.. Walking is no problem, actually, I would prefer to hunt huge parcels of land and be a long way from the road. Places, where no one else puts the time into hunting sounds like a lot more fun to me.. Coming from out west, all we do is hike straight up and down for several miles a day with 35lb packs on our backs. The flat lands of GA would be a piece of cake for hiking.. Is there a way to find out about leased land?? I looked it up on the net several months ago, but its very hard to tell a good lease from a bad lease..

Having gotten into a few leases with strangers, it is not the way I would recommend. I am now in with some squadron mates(all USN guys) and it works well. The only thing I can say is to get here and start asking around - don't get too pushy though. It may take a season or two but you'll find the right mix.

As far as the flat lands of GA, there are some good sized mountains in north GA. Nothing compared to the mountains of the WA but enough to get your heart pumping.

BTW, we should have a Cabelas just up I-75 from ATL by the end of the summer. Try to save a few $ during the move.

RH

I have hunted in GA since 1987. Hunted various timber company leases for years and then bought a farm south of macon. most of the typical GA hunting is in the macon area in the piedmont or coastal plain. I have no experience in North GA. I would keep a close eye on the classifieds section of the paper to look for hunt club ads. this may be the only way to get started unless you want to go the public land route. once you get in with a group of hunters, you may learn about new opportunities by word of mouth.

for a decent club, memberships start at roughly $1000 and up per year.

Word of mouth will end up being your best bet on finding a good lease. The really good lease's could posibble have a waiting list also. Don't be discouraged though, there will be oppertunities come along & there are some very good deer taken off of some of the drawn hunts in south Georgia.

Hello, may I make a comment?.. Wjen you settle in Georgia
look up www.woodystaxidermy.com
This is a website pretty much devoted to Georgia hunting and
fishing. They have a forum thread which list openings in hunting leases and another thread with helpful info
about the WMA's in Georgia. The WMA's in north Georgia
have very little hunting pressure but a very low sucess rate for deer numbers killed. The deer that are killed usually
are very mature big bucks. You'll work for them though.
The Cuhutta WMA is 95,000 acres with 40,000 acres designated as a wilderness area, no motorized vechicles of any kind. Their are some big deer in that area but you better
have one leg shorter than the other to make walking easier,
and take along your wader cause there are several creek drainages that you will be crossing. If you want a solitary hunting expierence go to the WMA's in the north/ If you want
the hunting camp expierence join a club. You can expect
to pay from $400.00 to $1,000.00 for a club. Some are QDM
only and others are State rules.

Thanks for the help guys... I'm pretty much living in GA now since I work here and my fiance lives here.. I go back to the NW about twice a month to go hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, see family, and make sure my roomates havne't burnt my house down... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Im really looking forward to hunting in GA, its gonna be totally different than what I'm used to back home. Plus theres a hell of a lot better chance of shooting deer in GA.. I'm still gonna go home to hunt elk and Muley's though... This is gonna be a perfect reason to buy another gun.. haha... Thank god my fiances dad is a rifle nut as well, so she seems to understand...

Where are you living? I'm west of Atl about 30 miles.

Right now my fiance is renting a house in Buckhead while she finishes her DR. from Emory. We are hoping to be able to buy the house this spring. If not, I'm not sure where were gonna live.. I'm used to driving to go hunting/fishing so when the season roles around that won't be a big deal..

lemme know where u will live and i'll fill u in.....
lease is probably your best bet though
woodys is a good place

Jet, Georgia is covered with hunting leases. they go from 300.00 to as much as you want to spend. Its like anything else. You have to shop around. I'm on one in south Ga. that wasn't as good as I was hoping. I'll be on the hunt for another right after the season.

Hoot... What should I be looking for in a lease property... I would love to have a couple square miles to hunt, but I think that may be a strectch in the SE......... Do you guys tend to hunt tree stands, or do more stalking?? These probably sound like stupid questions so I appologize in advance. Ive never hunted a tree stand before...

Jet

Oh you are in for some culture shock my friend. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

GB

tree stands - climbers and ladders, or tripods, some still hunting but wear alot of orange!

Most of the clubs are going to be leased from timber companies, which means a lot of pines varying in age from newly planted to 20 yrs old, little to no hardwoods unless creeks running through(buffer zones) and you have to get in and scout your best places and hope nobody else found it first. Try planting food plots in the skidder roads. Tree stands are how 90% or more hunt just to get your scent above the deer. Usually all thick and short range. If you're loaded you can check Temple Inland's website for available land to lease possibly start your own club.

I've hunted a few WMA's usually bow hunt them so it's just sign in.

Welcome to a great state<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Mike

welcome to the south. you also might want to think of east alabama. our rut is a little later than georgia's (in fact, just getting kicked off). there's some clubs i could pm you if you're interested. like someone said, most start around 1000 and go up. i'm paying 2000 for 13,000 acres and 40 people. it's pretty easy to find a spot that doesn't get pressure. we're about 1 hour from atlanta, so you might could hunt two ruts.. just a thought

Thanks for the advice guys.. One thing that would be important to me would be to find a place that my Dad could come from back home and hunt with me. I understand that would probably be a no go on opening day, but he is my hunting/fishing partner and I don't know anyone really who hunts in GA.. I figure whitetails in GA and Rosevelts back home....
JMJ... Since Im guessing I will have to buy an out-state tag for my first year, any idea what an outa-state tag in Alabama goes for?? I like the idea of 13,000 acres...

an annual all game is 250 bucks. this club has a pretty nice campground, several guys from florida are in. if i was smart enough i'd post a picture of a couple of bucks we got this year. if anyone would do it for me, pm me and i'll email it to you. your average deer around here will be 8 points 185-200 pounds. a 200 pounder is considered a good one. the central county racks seem to have a bit more mass than the south central counties. we're hitting the best 2 weeks of season right now, so if the rain holds off it should be good here on out..