Hunting in Georgia: 5 Animals to Hunt in the Fall

There are plenty of hunting opportunities in in the Peach State. Georgia provides hunters with easy access to public land where they can practice their craft. This public land is known as Wildlife Management Areas and, in Georgia, there are 100 of them, covering 1 million acres of ground.

Acording to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division website, "Every Georgia resident has at least one WMA within one hour of home."

These Wildlife Management Areas host a diverse cross-section of prey, providing hunters with plentiful opportunities year round to catch both large and small game, including deer, turkeys, mink, duck, coyotes, and more. However, certain species of wildlife are best to hunt during different seasons throughout the year.

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Here are five animals that any hunter in Georgia can safely expect to find during the fall hunting season:

1. Deer
Deer hunting season occurs in Georgia from September through January in certain counties. Deer hunting season also allows hunters to try their hands with a variety of different weapons, including archery and primitive weapons. Before any hunter goes out in search of deer, they should familiarize themselves with Georgia's regulations. For instance, according to eRegulations, "No more than 10 deer hunted may be antlerless and no more than two may be antlered."

2. Bears
Hunters can catch bears from September through October, but they are only permitted to catch a maximum of two bears per season. However, no more than one bear may be caught in the southern or central parts of Georgia. Also, there are specific rules for cubs and their mothers. eRegulations notes that the, "killing of females with cub(s) or bears under 75 pounds is prohibited."

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3. Alligators
Alligators are popular game for hunters in Georgia during the fall. However, the parks department has to work year-round to ensure that there is a thriving population of alligator available to hunters. The Georgia DNR's Wildlife Resources Division notes, "As part of The Wildlife Resources Division's (WRD) goal to maintain a sustainable alligator population in Georgia, records of the state's alligator harvest, alligator hunter effort, and alligator hunter success are acquired each year, and then used to adjust hunting regulations in subsequent years to achieve desired results."

4. Dove
Dove season runs from September through December, but pauses for short periods of time throughout the fall. Hunters cannot bag more than 15 doves a day. The only exception to that are the Eurasian doves, which has no bag limit.

5. Grouse
Grouse are chicken-like birds that mostly feed on vegetation and span between 12 and 36 inches. It's okay to hunt grouse in Georgia from September through November with the catch that hunters can only bag up to three per day.

This article is for information only. Please check current regulations before hunting.

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