Georgia
1,000,000
Est. Whitetail Population
300,000
No. Licenses Sold Annually
$42.50
It's $25 for a big-game license.
Resident hunting license and deer permit
$327.50
It's $327.50 for a big-game license.
Non-resident hunting license and deer permit
191 4/8"
Taken by Buck Ashe in Monroe County in 1962.
Record B&C Typical Stat
192
Total B&C Typical Entries
249 5/8"
Taken by Billy Padgett in 1998 in Telfair County.
Record B&C Non-Typical Stat
60
Record B&C Non-Typical Entries
Check out the latest info for Georgia. Image by Jim Cumming
Season Dates (2023):
The statewide archery season opens Sept. 9 for most, but closing dates vary. An extended archery season runs until Jan. 31 for numerous counties. Primitive weapons season opens Oct. 14, with various closing dates. Firearms season runs Oct. 21 to Jan. 14. Check the GEORGIA DNR WEBSITE to confirm.
The Grade: B
Georgia is riding a long trend of improvement to its deer program. Better management practices coupled with selective hunter harvest have helped increase the buck age-class structure. In fact, according to harvest data, the buck quality has been steadily increasing since the 1990s. Back then, bucks aged 1-½ were a large component of the overall harvest. The numbers of 1-½-year-old bucks in the annual harvest has decreased greatly, and now there are many more bucks in the 2-½- and 3-½-year-old age ranges being tagged.
Georgia is known for its liberal bag limits. You can take 12 deer per season (statewide). No more than 10 can be antlerless, and no more than two may be antlered. So far, Georgia is free of chronic wasting disease, too, and hunters hope to keep it that way.
According to Charlie Killmaster, state deer biologist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the good old days of deer hunting are now.
Antler Nation Knowledge:
The Peach State has bigger deer than its neighbors to the east and west. According to the GDNR, trophy buck hunting has been fairly stable for the past five to 10 years. Some of the best areas for a trophy buck are in southwestern Georgia and along the Flint River Basin. This part of the state has good genetics and agricultural areas. An overlooked area for big bucks is the metro Atlanta area. This urban/suburban landscape with lower hunting pressure lets bucks get older. Some of the top counties for bucks larger than 125 inches include Colquitt, Dooly, Dougherty, Fulton, Macon, Worth, and 15 to 20 other counties sprinkled throughout the state.
Trying to find a public property to hunt? Use GDNR’S INTERACTIVE PUBLIC LANDS MAP, which shows its wildlife management areas, public fishing areas and more. According to Killmaster, the WMAs in the piedmont area have the best average of deer numbers and quality bucks. Find a good spot here, pattern the deer, and fill that tag.
