Hunting in Georgia?

C

citizenkane

Inactive
In mid-August I'm set to be stationed in Georgia. Not the first time I've been stationed there, but the first time as a hunter. Outside of the usual links to the state Dept of Natural Resources site, where are some good places to find tips on hunting large game and varmints specific to Georgia? Are there any hunters from Georgia here who can point me in the right direction? I know there's hunting on Ft. Gordon, but outside of that, I have no idea. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
If you're in the southern zone of georgia, be prepared for a large herd of deer and big bucks! and be ready for brush, no scopes or fancy rifles down here.
 
I am inferring that you will be stationed at Fort Gordon.
I hope you like hot weather.

That area does have some great hunting. Lots of wild hogs and deer.

You can google up hunting clubs Augusta Georgia.
Here is one I found.

http://www.huntclublisting.com/index.php?page=modules/search/detail&clubid=69

It costs $850 per year plus a one time fee for newbies of $150.
I bet this would be a great hunting club.
It has 52 members on 7,200 acres. Limit of five deer, looks like no limit on hogs, damn, I am ready to drive down from the North Carolina mountains to hunt this club!

Hunting on WMAs in Georgia is not something I enjoy. They are crowded, and a high percentage of dumb asses hunt on WMAs.
If you are a serious hunter it is worth the money to join a private club.
 
I am indeed going to Ft. Gordon. I had not really thought of joining a club. The main reason being the cost. I would have a hard time rationalizing to myself (not to mention my wife) dropping $1,000 to go hunting on my military paycheck :(. I will look into other hunting clubs in the area though and see what they offer.

Or maybe a few bad seasons fighting off the native redneck population on tiny, overcrowded plots of goverment managed land for the few remnants of a herd that used to run thru gran-pappy's plantation before the yankee aggression ruined the whole lot of them....that might make me change my mind.
 
You might also consider hunting in SC. There's a lot of public land around McCormick and it's not far from Ft. Gordon. If you're willing to put in the legwork, you can get far enough from a road to avoid the yokels. There are also lots of clubs in the area and prices range from $300 up. If you live in GA it will cost around $300 total for all of the necessary non-resident permits to hunt in SC. If you have the option of living off post, you could find a place just over the line in SC. That way you could hunt SC as a resident, GA as military on orders and your home state on leave, all without paying as a non-resident.
 
hard time rationalizing to myself (not to mention my wife) dropping $1,000 to go hunting
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Here is how you rationalize it to your wife:

"At the club, everything is a lot safer - I know the guys, we coordinate our hunts, etc. You don't want me to be hunting somewhere I might get accidently shot, do you?"

Worked for me once upon a time...
 
Worked for me once upon a time...
__________________
U.S Army, Retired
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My bride would say... "Hey doofus, yer in the army risking yer life to possibly get shot and I am still with ya' so go hunt them public woods if you want to hunt... Yer rich Uncle ain't payin' you enuff fer a private hunt club...!":D:eek:
Brent
 
I don't know how much you like to eat wild game. I love venison, and I don't know if you have ever had wild hog, but it is the best meat I have ever eaten.

So, if you like wild game, and you limited out on deer at this club, which I imagine you easily would, 5 deer x 50 pounds of meat, = 250 pounds of venison.
Also it would be no big deal to take four or five wild hogs, there is another 250 pounds of meat.

So, 500 pounds of organic meat, with no dye or growth hormones or antibiotics in it, for $1000, pretty good deal. Buy a big freezer and go for it!

When I lived in central Georgia I never bought steak, but I ate steak 5 days a week. Venison, and wild hog, mmmmm good.


Additionally, Georgia law regards hogs as pests, you can hunt them year round.
Of course the club may have their own rules, but by law, you could fill the freezer with venison by Christmas, and then knock off some hogs in May and August when the freezer is getting low.
On the other hand you may not feel like hunting in Augusta in August, you may just want to lay around in front of the air conditioner.
 
Or maybe a few bad seasons fighting off the native redneck population on tiny, overcrowded plots of goverment managed land for the few remnants of a herd that used to run thru gran-pappy's plantation before the yankee aggression ruined the whole lot of them....that might make me change my mind.
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citizenkane,

Something about that statement that don't sound right. If you go around looking or talking about a redneck you may not like what you find. The south still had ton's of pride and do not like any Yankee making fun of them so thought I would warn you before it becomes a problem. I have several relative's down that way and have seen for myself what their pride consist of.
 
Brent - getting shot in the line of duty would have been better financially for her than if I got shot wandering around the woods on my own time...

The trick is not to have enough life insurance to influence her response in the wrong direction.....:p
 
Rabble Rousin'

VaFisher,

I appreciate your concern, but I tell you that whole remark was made in jest. Growing up in California and moving to Georgia was a huge culture shock at first (I'm sure it would be the same the other way around). But it didn't take too long for me to find many reasons to love it, including the people. Georgia is where I met my wife, where we had our two boys and became a family. So going back to Augusta is really like coming home for us.

I have a bad habit of joking around with folks and sometimes they don't get my sense of humor until they get to know me better. I'll be more careful in the future.:cool:
 
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Georgia says "Welcome" to the California Boy.
 
Well sir that's the way I took it but thought I would tell you a bit about them southern boy's just the same being they don't sometimes. Wish you well on your hunting and hope you find some southern buddies to hunt with.
 
On the other hand

Quote:

Or maybe a few bad seasons fighting off the native redneck population on tiny, overcrowded plots of goverment managed land for the few remnants of a herd that used to run thru gran-pappy's plantation before the yankee aggression ruined the whole lot of them....that might make me change my mind.

Turn this around to California....

Or maybe a few bad seasons fighting off PETA, hippies, legislators and other hunters on small plots of government mis-managed lands for what deer that haven't yet starved to death from overpopulation with a barely legal rubberband shooter (to comply with the Lead-Free ammunition/Condor protection area rule:barf:)... that might make me want to hunt in Georgia ;)

That was too easy. Anyways, thanks for the tips so far. Are there any decent public land sites off the beaten path? Is the hunting better in the north of the state up near Dahlonega or further down south near Florida?
 
Turn this around to California....

Or maybe a few bad seasons fighting off PETA, hippies, legislators and other hunters on small plots of government mis-managed lands for what deer that haven't yet starved to death from overpopulation with a barely legal rubberband shooter (to comply with the Lead-Free ammunition/Condor protection area rule)... that might make me want to hunt in Georgia
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Now that sound's true to your word and I would hate for anyone to have to deal with that mouth full of social forgive me's. Got to better in GA or anywhere else for that matter.
 
Getting back to the hunting in GA idea:

If you're up for a different experence here are some things to try.

1. Sapalo Island. It's a drwaing hunt run by the state. Plenty of deer, even though small. You go across by boat and camp on the island. In the mornig the DNR rangers haul you out to your area on carts pulled behind trucks. They pick you up later in the day and then take you back in the afternoon.

2. Ossabaw Island. Same basic hunt method as on Sapalo. Used to have a really good population of hogs. Thay did a "management" program a few years ago and reduced the numbers so you'd need to do some checking on that. Deer population, small ones again, used to be just crazy.

A quick story about our first trip there. We got there in the afternoon before the hunt and after getting our assigned area we grabbed our stands and asked the warden to show us on a map where we were going to be so that we could go and scout and set up stands for the morning. Upon hearing this the wardens, along with a few other hunters that were checking in, looked at us like we were looney. One even asked us why we had stands and what we were going to go through all that trouble for.

We went and scouted anyway even though we did not carry the stands.

In the morning we were about the only folks on any of the trollies with stands. Got more odd looks.

There were so many deer up there that most of the guys who knew the place just walked out into the woods wherever they got dropped off and sat down on a bucket. And yes there were that many deer and hogs back then.

3. Cumberland Island:

This one is owned by the Federal Gov., adminstered by the Park Service. Deer population is not what it used to be, due to the state introducing bobcats about 15 or 20 years ago( The cats just hammered the small deer, and the turkeys of which there were more than you could shake a stick at. ). Still it's a beautiful place. Got to camp and go by boat. Two camp areas, one on the south end with some facilities and one on the north end that is primative. You apply through the NPA for this one.
 
Hi citizenkane. I moved back to Georgia about a year ago (Athens), I went to high school and college here, but have been away for 12 or 13 years. I deer hunted this year for the first time (well, seriously, anyway) since I last lived here. I hunted public land, and private a few times when I got invites from friends, but you don't want to wear out your welcome, you know. It's just not in the budget at the moment for me to join a club.

I hunted the Redlands WMA and enjoyed every minute of it. Didn't see a deer in season, but saw plenty of turkey and other critters. (Then saw plenty of deer during turkey season, but that's another story:))

Out of 20-25 trips, I saw the Game Wardens once, they were very courteous and helpful, and only once did I run into another hunter, just as I was walking into the woods, two other guys pulled up right beside my jeep but decided to go elsewhere. I did see other vehicles parked along the road many times, but I just gave them the same courtesy I would expect from them and moved on down the road.

I had heard tales of the WMAs being "war zones", with wild gunfire and bullets whizzing around everywhere, as well as stories of the woods being orange (from all the vests) and needing to bring your own tree for your stand. I was honestly a little nervous when I went the first time or two, but I found it to be a very pleasant experience. I'm sure there are places that are a bit overcrowded, but do a little research and you'll see that there is huge amount of public hunting opportunity in GA.

Check out this link:

http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/huntingmaps_maps.aspx

Look for smaller WMAs, or isolated pieces of land on larger ones if you want to see less competition from other hunters. You can also layer their maps onto Google Earth and really do some pretty advanced scouting without ever leaving the house.

Good luck!
 
"isolated pieces of land on larger ones if you want to see less competition from other hunters. You can also layer their maps onto Google Earth and really do some pretty advanced scouting without ever leaving the house."


He posted a VERY good piece of advice there................
 
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