# Dawson Forest - Hog Hunting



## Buckbreaker (Sep 12, 2006)

I am interested in trying for a hog.  Does anyone have a place to suggest on Dawson Forest???


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## pnome (Sep 12, 2006)

This is a subject of much debate.   Some say they have seen hogs in Dawson Forest, but I've never seen them, or any sign of them in the 10 or so times I've been there.


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## EnglishRedNeck (Sep 12, 2006)

pnome said:


> This is a subject of much debate.   Some say they have seen hogs in Dawson Forest, but I've never seen them, or any sign of them in the 10 or so times I've been there.



Sorry to say neither have I. I am up there quite a bit and have never seen any sign on any of the 3 tracts that I go to.
Pine log or up in the mountains may be the only viable option.


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## Sugar Hill Scouter (Sep 12, 2006)

Never seen any hawg sign on DF. But, there's a lot of land on that WMA. I've just never seen any sign where I have hunted, and when we hunt there, we walk and walk and walk.....


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## wellham (Sep 12, 2006)

me neither- never seen/heard any  - it is a really heavily used WMA in terms of lots people driving thru, fishing, riding and struck me as generally trashy and not very well maintained, plus there's radioactive waste buried there.


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## Vernon Holt (Sep 12, 2006)

If you have designs on hunting in N. Ga. by far the best approach is to plan to hunt what is in season and not target any particular game.

To plan a hog hunt in the mountains and carry it out is most likely to end up in disappointment.  On the other hand to approach the hunt with deer, bear, or hog in mind will enhance the possibility of greater success.

It is a mental thing.  Do not think hog as your objective.  Just go on a mountain hunt.  It is a great experience.


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## Sugar Hill Scouter (Sep 12, 2006)

Words of wisdom...


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## stev (Sep 12, 2006)

I hunt up at df a lot and never seen any sign of hogs.I hunt all 3 tracts regularly.You may be wasting your time for hogs in dawson forest.


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## J HESTER (Sep 12, 2006)

There was some hogs on df back in the mid 90's. Have'nt seen any are heard of anyone seeing any in the last 10 yr's.


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## Buckbreaker (Sep 13, 2006)

o.k thanks for the info.....I've been here for 6 years and never hunted DF much but i had heard of them being on the WMA....


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## EnglishRedNeck (Sep 13, 2006)

wellham said:


> me neither- never seen/heard any  - it is a really heavily used WMA in terms of lots people driving thru, fishing, riding and struck me as generally trashy and not very well maintained, plus there's radioactive waste buried there.



I'm afraid I have to agree with this statement with regard to the city of Atlanta tract.
I have started to see some deer there finally.
Not a prolific amount of wildlife on there but it is close and if you know where to look they are there.
You just have to spend a little more time scouting out the decent locations that maybe too much work to hunt for the average hunter.
The other tracts are a little better IMHO.


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## Sugar Hill Scouter (Sep 13, 2006)

I'm afraid I may open a can of worms here and perhaps offend someone, but IMO, the City of Atlanta tract @ Dawson Forest is overused by folks other than hunters. There is a lot of traffic (horse, ATV, automobiles) up there that once again IMO has caused game to move on to more secure areas for them. I realize WMAs are public land, but it would be nice if these areas were "off limits" to anyone other than hunters during big game seasons.


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## pnome (Sep 13, 2006)

I saw 5 does, 5 turkeys, and a black bear on the Atlanta tract just last weekend. 

And of course a whole mess of horseback riders.


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## Buckbreaker (Sep 13, 2006)

pnome said:


> And of course a whole mess of horseback riders.



That is why i will stay out of the atlanta tract.  It's just not worth it.


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## EnglishRedNeck (Sep 13, 2006)

pnome said:


> I saw 5 does, 5 turkeys, and a black bear on the Atlanta tract just last weekend.
> 
> And of course a whole mess of horseback riders.



P.
Was it you that I was talking to up there about the 300lb bear at the sign in board on Sunday afternoon? I think you were in a white chevy trail blazer?


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## pnome (Sep 13, 2006)

Sure was.  It was a white ford escape tho.  

Me and Robk from this site were there.


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## EnglishRedNeck (Sep 13, 2006)

Wow..
Too funny..
What a small world!
Well, as I said Sunday..It was good to meet you both.
Hopefully, we'll catch up again soon.

Sorry about the 'Chivvy' comment


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## EnglishRedNeck (Sep 13, 2006)

Must admit I could swear it was 4 does, 5 turkeys and 1 bear though


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## pnome (Sep 13, 2006)

It WAS 4 does when I talked to you,  saw another that evening.


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## EnglishRedNeck (Sep 13, 2006)

10-04 LOL


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## wellham (Sep 13, 2006)

Sugar Hill you are absolutely right about it being underused by hunters and overly so by everyone else. Being a hunter AND a rider, my riding activity is seriously curtailed this time of year and stays confined to the farm or well-used roads. Riders who do not pay attention to the regs (ride only after 10am during any game season, only on road, and pick up after themselves/camp in horse designated spots) are some that can ruin it for everyone. IMO, they seem to have a little law enforcement problem in DFWMA, as many places I went the folks were so drunk I didn't even get out of the truck. I waited until a weekday to hunt/fish, there were very few folks out until around noon or so, was about 6 weeks ago.


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## SmokyMtnSmoke (Sep 14, 2006)

*Are you being serious.....*



wellham said:


> .... plus there's radioactive waste buried there.



Or are you just trying to keep the masses away?

I've never heard this before and would figure it would be marked/ fenced off.


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## Robk (Sep 14, 2006)

It is marked off and fenced but the isotope they were studying there in the early 50's only had a half life of 5.5 years and has long since degraded to a level not even noticable according to one of the area managers there that I spoke to there today.

Rob


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## EnglishRedNeck (Sep 14, 2006)

Most of the waste was taken by train to Savannah and dumped in the ocean from what I was told.
But yes, it was some form of Govt. testing ground, hence all the concrete bunkers.


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## GA DAWG (Sep 14, 2006)

There is hogs on Dawson forest.I've seen em close but not on the atlanta track.They could have been in just mins.Tracks galore on the wildcat track where I hunted.My buddies Bayed a sow and little ones on the amicaloa track one night coon hunting a few years ago.Most sign is on the wild cat track.Its big.Very big and THEY WILL BE HARD TO PIN DOWN.


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## EnglishRedNeck (Sep 14, 2006)

Good Info, Dawg.
Thanks,
That is a pretty tract and I don't know it well at all. May have to check it out.
E


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## Robk (Sep 14, 2006)

Englishredneck,
we may need to hook up and tackle that tract together some time.  My six year old daughter wants me to put a bear on the wall in her room.  

It was nice meeting you last sunday at the horse camp.

Rob


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## GA DAWG (Sep 14, 2006)

Guys good luck! Its a rough track of land.I killed a 140lb 4.5 yr old 8 point off it a couple yrs ago.Took me over 3 hours to get him out of those hills and most of it was down hill!!!!


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## EnglishRedNeck (Sep 14, 2006)

Robk said:


> Englishredneck,
> we may need to hook up and tackle that tract together some time.  My six year old daughter wants me to put a bear on the wall in her room.
> 
> It was nice meeting you last sunday at the horse camp.
> ...



That sounds like a great idea. It'd be an honor to get together with you guys.

My 2 current hunting buddies (one's my wife's brother) are only reliable in their ability to constantly let me down

Not really I go by myself a good bit, but it is always more fun with some friends. I would really have to think twice about arrowing a deer if I was alone. Mainly because of tracking it, getting it back out etc.. 
It get's mighty lonely in them woods


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## Robk (Sep 14, 2006)

Being an ex-army knuckledragger I hope I can keep up with you.  LOL  


Having buds to help with the drag is a definite plus in them hills.

R


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## J HESTER (Sep 14, 2006)

Good luck guys. I have lived in dawson co on and off for most of my adult life [ im 38 ] .i have only been on the wildcat tract may be 5 times.its way to rough for me.


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## Lostoutlaw (Sep 14, 2006)

My son lives up there and he has been on wildcat tract a couple of times and he say's it is way too rough for him and his friends


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## Pineyrooter (Sep 14, 2006)

If you want hogs Dawson Forest is not the place to be looking. In North Georgia Warwoman WMA & Lake Burton WMA used to be good and I guess still are but you have to do some walking.

The City of Atlanta tract does get its fair share of use and the public pressure no doubt has an affect. The deer are there though. DF is no different than most of the WMA's statewide in terms of DNR law enforcement. They continue to have to do more with less due to budget cuts and lost positions. The population isn’t exactly going down and public use of such areas reflects that. Maintenance is always a big issue on areas where you have large numbers of visitors. When you have limited staff working large areas there is no way to address every issue. What we see from the road is a small portion of what really goes on. I personally think the staff does a fine job given the resources available. If every visitor to the WMA carried out their own trash, didn’t drive their vehicle like they stole it and followed the rules maintenance wouldn’t be near as big a problem.


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## Coastie (Sep 15, 2006)

There has not been a hog reported killed on the Dawson Forest WMA in the past three seasons and only one report of a sighting that I am aware of. If you want to hunt hogs, try Chestatee or Chatahoochee management areas. The managers there will be happy to point you in the right direction. Coopers Creek also has a resident population of hogs that need hunting. 
Beyond that, please remember one thing about the City Tract of Dawson Forest. It is NOT your typical WMA, it is owned by the City of Atlanta Board of Aviation. The hunting rights are leased by the DNR for use by hunters, the City retains the right to utilize the other recreational and commercial aspects of the property as they see fit. The Georgia Forestry Commission manages the timber for the city and the DNR manages the trails which are there for Horses and Bicycles, again this is for the city, not the state. This is no different than the lease arrangeent you may have on your club. The property owner leases you the hunting rights and the right to set up and maintain a camp, yet retains all other rights of use for that property.
For those of you that have observed violations of the law, such as public drunkeness, may I suggest that instead of merely ignoring it,  use your cell phone (or drive a couple of miles to the nearest public phone) to call 911 and ask the S.O. to contact a DNR Ranger.


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## wellham (Sep 17, 2006)

LOL you can't keep the masses away! Was told about 2 months ago by state govt that the area is still radioactive- not enought to hurt anyone- but I guess that's why someone told me I could get a "wallhanger" up there....


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## GA DAWG (Sep 17, 2006)

Yeah they still check for radiation.I've seen em doing it.Aint gonna be many deer left though.Not after the doe days this year!!!!


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## Robk (Sep 17, 2006)

yeah, a whole three days will wipe out the herd.  

R


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## GA DAWG (Sep 18, 2006)

I wish they would bring back the primative weapons hunt myself.


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## Robk (Sep 18, 2006)

That's in the works.  At least Thacker thinks so. 

R


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## GA DAWG (Sep 18, 2006)

Yeah thats what he told me.Said they were supposed to lose one hunt and wanted it to be the dec gun hunt and somehow it wound up being the primitive weapons hunt.Said since the regs are every 2 years now that they could not change it.So maybe next year it will be back.


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## Coastie (Sep 18, 2006)

wellham said:


> LOL you can't keep the masses away! Was told about 2 months ago by state govt that the area is still radioactive- not enought to hurt anyone- but I guess that's why someone told me I could get a "wallhanger" up there....



You can believe what people tell you or you can look it up in public information  published at various locations on the web. The last published report that I have read, which is dated 2002, indicates radiation readings have reached background levels. That means that the radiation is at a level which would be expected in an area that had never been exposed to any artificially introduced radioactive material. GEMA and various other organizations monitor the site and will likely continue to monitor the site for the foreseeable future as a safety precaution. The public would go nuts if they didn't, regardless of whether it is necessary or not.


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## Eddy M. (Sep 24, 2006)

I did a "google" search for Dawson wildlife management area and read the studies for the Atlanta tract and the radiation sounded like it has been monitored very well and is VERY safe- hope to take my son on the adult/child hunt on one tract this fall


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## KKrueger (Sep 26, 2006)

In the fall of 1998 I saw some hog sign off Steve Tate Rd on the Management area. My dad said I was crazy. Then we ended up seeing the hogs twice in the next couple of weeks.

I've still seen far more bears on there. I had a collision with one a couple years back.


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