# Time to provide your input!



## 35 Whelen (Dec 27, 2016)

If you want to voice your opinion on hunting regulations:

http://www.georgiawildlife.com/Hunting/RegulationsProcess

If you can not attend a meeting, mail, phone, or email your comments.


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## Buckman18 (Dec 28, 2016)

The deer/bear season in the Chattahoochee National Forest needs to be re-instated to the same dates as the State. We still have some great hunting in late December in Towns County, and DON'T want the season closed now...


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## tree cutter 08 (Dec 28, 2016)

I agree about the season and was one change I suggested along with no doe days on nf for a few years. While some may disagree, Also suggested allowing one of the bears to be any size and other over 75lb. I think this change alone would help reduce the number of bears. Alot of bears get a pass from being close to the legal size and no telling how many are shot that are to small and left in the woods because of fear of a ticket.


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## goshenmountainman (Dec 28, 2016)

I think the season is alright just like it is, I don't like it closing in the start of the rut like it does but I am willing to let it be like this for a while to repopulate the mountains. I also don't think we need any doe days at all, we got to give a little in hopes to bring back the herd we once had. I think they need to get rid of all the bears, they are only hurting the deer herd. Lots of people including myself are letting bears walk because its to hard to get them out of places that have locked gates, also think we need a dog season for bear to get the population down with no limit on the fuzzy suckers. May not be to popular with alot of people but it needs to be done. I have seen more bear this year than I have deer in the mountains, let a few real nice bucks walk waiting for a bigger one that didn't show. Maybe he will be there next year and with the season closing he will get to breed some does without having to worry about being shot.


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## Killer Kyle (Dec 28, 2016)

I'd love to see the old deer dates back in place. Sunday in Rabun County in the NF, I found buck rubs not even a week old. I mean SUPER FRESH. I want to see a longer deer season like the rest of the state, and a winter bear dog season in January. Lots more people would be running dogs on them if they could, and that could help out slightly more with best harvest. Also an increased bear bag limit to three, and more winter/summer hog rifle hunts /dog hunts on the WMA's. Of course, that is my utopia, and I realize that is never gonna happen, but I'll still provide my input anyway!!


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## deerpoacher1970 (Dec 28, 2016)

Killer Kyle said:


> I'd love to see the old deer dates back in place. Sunday in Rabun County in the NF, I found buck rubs not even a week old. I mean SUPER FRESH. I want to see a longer deer season like the rest of the state, and a winter bear dog season in January. Lots more people would be running dogs on them if they could, and that could help out slightly more with best harvest. Also an increased bear bag limit to three, and more winter/summer hog rifle hunts /dog hunts on the WMA's. Of course, that is my utopia, and I realize that is never gonna happen, but I'll still provide my input anyway!!


A BEAR dog season in January would be a waste of time,most bears are in a den the best time to have it would be in October.


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## Hammer Spank (Dec 28, 2016)

Bear harvest limited to archery only.  Ill be sure to send them my opinion. 

I bet they listen to me just as much as the rest of you


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## Hammer Spank (Dec 28, 2016)

Im all for removing the size limit on bears because it makes no biological sense. I cant imagine who would accidentally kill a 75 lb bear, but I have no issue with people doing so if they choose.


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## tree cutter 08 (Dec 28, 2016)

I'd say you would be surprised hammer. If it wasnt for deer hunters with boom sticks taking there first and usually last bear each season we would be over run. Do away with head and hide tagging also. I'd say at least a few dozen are to small and get left in the woods each season. Not to mention how many trouble bears are gut shot and nothing said.


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## Buckman18 (Dec 28, 2016)

A couple thoughts:

1. If reducing the bear population is really the goal, a bear only gun season of a couple weeks in late July - early August, before the archery opener, would be an effective ticket for that goal.

2. I read someone mention the NF deer herd repopulating... I would argue the smaller deer herd in the NF is not from hunter over harvest, and keeping the season open would have <1% net impact on the herd. By this late in the season, only the hard core among us are still out there, but now is arguably a very good time to bust a 5+ yr old in the peak or post rut. I've got a house full of December Mtn deer heads. I would also argue that the western NC mountains, with their super short 3 week rifle season, have no more deer than our mountains. In fact, it's quite the contrary. Another example is Cohutta, very few rifle days on a huge piece of rock, and those mountains have no more deer than our mountains. A shorter season is not the ticket to a higher deer population. Instead, timber mgmt, food plot mgmt, and coyote mgmt would go a lot further in my estimation.


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## Buckman18 (Dec 28, 2016)

deerpoacher1970 said:


> A BEAR dog season in January would be a waste of time,most bears are in a den the best time to have it would be in October.



Not true. We run bear/hog dogs in January in western NC quite successfully. It is true bears aren't as easy to come by in the winter, but hardly a waste of time.


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## Ihunt (Dec 29, 2016)

Killer Kyle said:


> I want to see a longer deer season like the rest of the state
> 
> The state deer season closes at the same time.


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## Ihunt (Dec 29, 2016)

Killer Kyle said:


> I want to see a longer deer season like the rest of the state
> 
> The state deer season closes at the same time.


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## Ihunt (Dec 29, 2016)

Sorry. Double post.


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## 35 Whelen (Dec 29, 2016)

Ihunt said:


> Killer Kyle said:
> 
> 
> > I want to see a longer deer season like the rest of the state
> ...


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## lampern (Dec 29, 2016)

I commented that the doe limit on the national forest should be reduced 1 per season max outside of WMAs.


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## lampern (Dec 29, 2016)

A dog hunting season for taking bears would also help control their numbers.

It does in SC and NC.


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## ripplerider (Dec 29, 2016)

The few bucks killed on National Forest after Dec. 26 arent going to affect the herd in any meaningful way. We've got lots bigger problems than that. I agree with eliminating mtn. doe days on N.F., killing more bears somehow ethically (personally dont believe in baiting... agree with doing  away with weight limits on bears.) Timber management would help more than anything. By the way, the best buck by far I saw this year chased 2 does across my property Christmas morning! Was cooking,by the time I got my rifle they'd crossed onto land I dont have permission to hunt. Man he was a good one, long yellow tines clearly visible at 300 yds. I have to admit I was tempted.


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## ripplerider (Dec 29, 2016)

I just submitted my views on the early closure on National Forest. Hope all yall have done so. Im going to try  my best to make one of the meetings too.


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## Killer Kyle (Dec 29, 2016)

I agree about the minimal impact on deer population after Dec 26th. MUCH of the NF up here is so deep, and so virtually inaccessible, no man will ever hunt it again. There are places so deep and rough in the Cohuttas, Brasstown Wilderness, Swallow Creek, Warwoman, and old Coleman River WMA that it is just about impossible to even get to, much less hunt. Loads and loads of bucks will live and die there and never see another human, or even hear a vehicle besides aircraft. Those deer can grow old and die and never even know humans exist. There aren't even that many hunters out here in Late December. Just think about the fact that a man can park his truck at an old logging road, or closed off FS road which gives him access to hundreds if not thousands of acres, and nobody else will park there to hunt. He might have to hike two or three miles to get to his spot. One or even a few parking there over the course of a season cannot cause overharvest of a deep population in a huge expanse of wilderness.
After Thanksgiving, go up on old lake Burton WMA and ride around on a Saturday morning and count how many hunters are there on a December day. You'll probably count the trucks on one hand. And that is prime time to kill a buck there. Where I was Sunday, there is only one way in and one way out, and it was about 2.5 mike hike to get to where I was going. When you get there, you are surrounded by probably several thousand acres of wilderness. How on earth can I go in there, hunt that giant area, kill one or two bucks, and cause over harvest? 

Also, I disagree about the January bear dog hunt. I think it would be a lot more successful than people realize. Don't underestimate a good pack of bear dogs....They will surprise you. And the number of bears they can get on in the dead of winter might surprise you too.


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## rivercritter (Dec 29, 2016)

Now I know why we have an obscene bear population with few deer keep it that way with most of the input I'm reading.


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## lampern (Dec 29, 2016)

rivercritter said:


> Now I know why we have an obscene bear population with few deer keep it that way with most of the input I'm reading.



Right across the border bear hunting gets priority over deer hunting in NC.

I guess that isn't the case in N GA?


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## deerpoacher1970 (Dec 29, 2016)

Buckman18 said:


> Not true. We run bear/hog dogs in January in western NC quite successfully. It is true bears aren't as easy to come by in the winter, but hardly a waste of time.


I am from Tellico maybe we done got most of ours killed before then,but they are dried up by then hard to find a track unless weather is very mild.


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## Buckman18 (Dec 30, 2016)

deerpoacher1970 said:


> I am from Tellico maybe we done got most of ours killed before then,but they are dried up by then hard to find a track unless weather is very mild.



10-4 good buddy!


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## rivercritter (Dec 30, 2016)

Not looking for priority everyone deserves a little here and there I don't like nc season I would go crazy I luv deer hunting and I don't like the fact we have a dog training season here in ga during turkey I would be il if I was working a bird just when a pack of dogs comes over top of me they need to fix that. Yes I'm a dog man I think an early bear dog season maybe a couple weeks before bow would be ideal. I don't like two buck kill on wmas it should be one per wma that way you can't kill two spikes every hunt on say coopers creek. A lot of changes are needed.


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## rivercritter (Dec 30, 2016)

Training on chattahochee starts Monday I think they need to wait till deer season is completely over we know dogs sometimes get over the line I wouldn't want to ruin someone's hunt. We need to pull together to ensure we keep game and hunting opportunities for our kids and grandkids


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## lampern (Dec 30, 2016)

I for one am happy the bear hunting gets total priority over deer hunting in NC.

It makes for much better bear dog hunting.


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## deerpoacher1970 (Dec 30, 2016)

Killer Kyle said:


> I agree about the minimal impact on deer population after Dec 26th. MUCH of the NF up here is so deep, and so virtually inaccessible, no man will ever hunt it again. There are places so deep and rough in the Cohuttas, Brasstown Wilderness, Swallow Creek, Warwoman, and old Coleman River WMA that it is just about impossible to even get to, much less hunt. Loads and loads of bucks will live and die there and never see another human, or even hear a vehicle besides aircraft. Those deer can grow old and die and never even know humans exist. There aren't even that many hunters out here in Late December. Just think about the fact that a man can park his truck at an old logging road, or closed off FS road which gives him access to hundreds if not thousands of acres, and nobody else will park there to hunt. He might have to hike two or three miles to get to his spot. One or even a few parking there over the course of a season cannot cause overharvest of a deep population in a huge expanse of wilderness.
> After Thanksgiving, go up on old lake Burton WMA and ride around on a Saturday morning and count how many hunters are there on a December day. You'll probably count the trucks on one hand. And that is prime time to kill a buck there. Where I was Sunday, there is only one way in and one way out, and it was about 2.5 mike hike to get to where I was going. When you get there, you are surrounded by probably several thousand acres of wilderness. How on earth can I go in there, hunt that giant area, kill one or two bucks, and cause over harvest?
> 
> Also, I disagree about the January bear dog hunt. I think it would be a lot more successful than people realize. Don't underestimate a good pack of bear dogs....They will surprise you. And the number of bears they can get on in the dead of winter might surprise you too.


I will guarantee you they are more bears killed in October with bear dogs than they ever will be killed in January if you want to reduce the bear population you need to kill the sows,most of the bear chased in January are boar bears.


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## ripplerider (Jan 1, 2017)

So how many of you have commented on the link provided? It only takes a couple of minutes.


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## Buckman18 (Jan 1, 2017)

Here's what I sent in an email, feel free to copy and paste if you feel the same:



Dear Sir or Madam:

I would like to propose the deer and bear season on Chattahoochee National Forest be returned to the same dates as the statewide deer season.

 I would argue the smaller deer herd in the NF is not from hunter over harvest, and keeping the season open would have <1% net impact on the herd. By late December only the hard core among us are still out there, but the late season is arguably a very good time to bust a 5+ yr old in the peak or post rut. I've got a house full of December Mtn deer heads.

 I would also argue that if a shorter season and hunter over harvest were the issue regarding the deer herd on the CNF, the western NC mountains, with their super short 3 week rifle season, would have more deer than our mountains. In fact, it's quite the contrary. Another example is Cohutta, very few rifle days on a huge piece of rock, and those mountains have no more deer than any of our other mountains. A shorter season is not the ticket to a higher deer population. Instead, timber mgmt, food plot mgmt, and coyote mgmt would go a lot further in my estimation. We are in full agreement that either sex days on the CNF need to be eliminated, or remain very low.

I heard someone mention the recent change in the CNF deer season was to allocate more time to small game hunters. In the CNF I hunt in Habersham, White, Towns, Rabun and Union Counties, I very seldom see a small game hunter, whether during deer season or not. There is enough land and few enough big and small game hunters to greatly minimize conflicts. 

Thank you for your time, and I hope you consider restoring the deer season on the CNF to run concurrent with the rest of the northern zone.

Joseph Youngblood


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## lampern (Jan 1, 2017)

Good letter but if overharvest is a problem, you just close the doe seasons.


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## tree cutter 08 (Jan 1, 2017)

I sent my opinions.


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## 900 Shooter (Jan 2, 2017)

goshenmountainman, I'm surprised at your comments that you dislike bears so much and you posted on the bear hunting forum. I think if you have so many bears that you don't want, send me your location and I will be more than happy to take a couple for you. Bear hunting was tough where I was hunting this year due to the acorn crop. 
I also think that opening the WMA to bows all season long will help too.


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## humdandy (Jan 2, 2017)

First time ever I have sent comments in.


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## Lone Hunter (Jan 2, 2017)

What does one do with a little bear?

Are they shot to eat?

I could see killing a big one for a mount or a rug.

There are no bears where I lived before coming to GA, so I am asking out of lack of knowledge not to criticize anyone.

I could see getting in to hunting big boars bears with my single shot .35 Whelen, but, never having hunted them I know little about them.

Seems we could use as many as possible just to thin out the hogs.


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## humdandy (Jan 2, 2017)

Lone Hunter said:


> What does one do with a little bear?
> 
> Are they shot to eat?
> 
> ...



Eat them........they taste great!

Make slippers out of the little ones........


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## Lone Hunter (Jan 2, 2017)

I would like to see some shipped to the Kisatchie in Louisiana.

Where could one hunt them on public land in Northeast GA?

Any excuse to carry a gun is enough to get me out in the woods.

If I just saw one I would consider it a successful hunt.

Shooting a big old mean one would be a thrill, but not sure I could eat one.

If you shoot one are you required to butcher it or can you just use the head and hide?


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## Lone Hunter (Jan 2, 2017)

Personally I would find it hard to eat anything that would eat carrion.

Of course, I once gagged at the thought of fried speckled trout roe, and found it to be a great.

I would try bear if someone offered it I guess, but I could not shoot one just to find out.

Is it much different from coon?

Living where bears are is totally new to me, but, if overpopulation is a concern I would be all for shipping some to the Kisatchie in Louisiana to help with the hogs.

I would appreciate any information on where to hunt them on public land, as just being in the woods is reward enough.


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## ripplerider (Jan 2, 2017)

I doubt if Ga. bears ever taste carrion more than once or twice in their lives, if that. Unless you'd consider a fresh gut pile carrion. Regardless, theyre good to eat. Out West they get more winterkill but hunters out there seem to enjoy them too. Anywhere on the Chattahoochee National Forest youre liable to run into one. I've never ate a coon so I couldnt compare it to that. Youre required to bring out the meat here.


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## Joe Brandon (Jan 3, 2017)

I sent mine in, quick and easy.


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## Lone Hunter (Jan 3, 2017)

Thanks.

I went up there to look around, and stepping out of my truck I threw my back out and spent two weeks in bed!!!!

A flatlander from LA transplanted to GA I am looking forward to going back up to the mountains above Commerce and finding even a bear track.

The "bring out the meat" requirement will surely cure any itchy trigger finger.

I'd love a big fuzzy rug for my feet on cold days though.


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## Killer Kyle (Jan 4, 2017)

deerpoacher1970 said:


> I will guarantee you they are more bears killed in October with bear dogs than they ever will be killed in January if you want to reduce the bear population you need to kill the sows,most of the bear chased in January are boar bears.



You are correct Deer poacher. I'm not disagreeing with you on that. I suggested a January hunt so the additional hunt still provides opportunity for the dog men, yet doesn't interfere with the already set traditional seasons. That's the only reason I suggested that month. You are correct, Sept-Oct is prime time in the bear woods.


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## goshenmountainman (Jan 4, 2017)

900 Shooter said:


> goshenmountainman, I'm surprised at your comments that you dislike bears so much and you posted on the bear hunting forum. I think if you have so many bears that you don't want, send me your location and I will be more than happy to take a couple for you. Bear hunting was tough where I was hunting this year due to the acorn crop.
> I also think that opening the WMA to bows all season long will help too.


The bears I saw were all on public land and none of them were in the same place, three different counties. I did the most scouting this year that I ever have done and there wasn't alot of deer sign anywhere but plenty of bear everywhere. A friend and I were talking about the late eighties and early nineties today, and were talking how they weren't bear back then and plenty of big bucks and lots of deer. Now we have plenty of bear and not very many deer period. If something isn't done pretty quick I bet in the next five years there won't be any left. Also I have seen some hunts for black bear out west in the spring and what do you think they were using for calls to call them in? Fawn in distress!! That alone should tell us something about the Black bear and the deer population.


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## deerpoacher1970 (Jan 5, 2017)

goshenmountainman said:


> The bears I saw were all on public land and none of them were in the same place, three different counties. I did the most scouting this year that I ever have done and there wasn't alot of deer sign anywhere but plenty of bear everywhere. A friend and I were talking about the late eighties and early nineties today, and were talking how they weren't bear back then and plenty of big bucks and lots of deer. Now we have plenty of bear and not very many deer period. If something isn't done pretty quick I bet in the next five years there won't be any left. Also I have seen some hunts for black bear out west in the spring and what do you think they were using for calls to call them in? Fawn in distress!! That alone should tell us something about the Black bear and the deer population.


You are right bears and coyote eat fawns that is something that we didn't have many of in the 80s and 90's also all these clear cuts that everybody thinks is so good for deer,what are they good for now ,what can they eat in these now not much.


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## ripplerider (Jan 5, 2017)

Good place to find fox grapes but they are mostly grown up in poplars. They were good for deer when they were newly cut though. We need more now. I'd love to see a spring bear season, theyre supposed to come to calls much better then. That would be a rush, calling a bear in close. I have no doubts that they take many fawns; look what they did to the elk in Cattaloochee valley. Elk numbers were stagnant till they started an agressive trapping program for bears then the elk population really took off.


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## tree cutter 08 (Jan 5, 2017)

Prime example, if a bear will kill a elk, a fawn deer is no match. Bear are constantly searching for food during the summer and that's when fawns are born. Its hard for me to understand how deer are even surviving the big mountain woods now. I found more bear sign than ever this year and I didn't walk more than normal. That's just looking for deer sign not trying to find a bear. One stretch of land I hunt I covered in a few days during muzzloader. I'm guessing probably a 1000 to 1500 acre section of woods. Best I could tell there were 3 sows with cubs and 3 boars or loan sow bears plus the one I killed. With as much cover and food and water I feel sure they were different bears. That's nearly a bear per 100 acres. I seen 4 deer there this season. As recent as 8 years ago I have counted 15 deer in 1 hunt. May would see 1 bear a year or so there. I'm with kyle, would like to see a January dog season.


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## deerpoacher1970 (Jan 5, 2017)

ripplerider said:


> Good place to find fox grapes but they are mostly grown up in poplars. They were good for deer when they were newly cut though. We need more now. I'd love to see a spring bear season, theyre supposed to come to calls much better then. That would be a rush, calling a bear in close. I have no doubts that they take many fawns; look what they did to the elk in Cattaloochee valley. Elk numbers were stagnant till they started an agressive trapping program for bears then the elk population really took off.


I have watched the bears in Cattaloochee walk the tree line watching the elk calves waiting on the chance to get one.


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## deerpoacher1970 (Jan 5, 2017)

tree cutter 08 said:


> Prime example, if a bear will kill a elk, a fawn deer is no match. Bear are constantly searching for food during the summer and that's when fawns are born. Its hard for me to understand how deer are even surviving the big mountain woods now. I found more bear sign than ever this year and I didn't walk more than normal. That's just looking for deer sign not trying to find a bear. One stretch of land I hunt I covered in a few days during muzzloader. I'm guessing probably a 1000 to 1500 acre section of woods. Best I could tell there were 3 sows with cubs and 3 boars or loan sow bears plus the one I killed. With as much cover and food and water I feel sure they were different bears. That's nearly a bear per 100 acres. I seen 4 deer there this season. As recent as 8 years ago I have counted 15 deer in 1 hunt. May would see 1 bear a year or so there. I'm with kyle, would like to see a January dog season.


I think a spring bear season with dogs would be good,last 2 weeks of May would be real good,and allow you to bait them up and then turn the dogs on them.


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## lampern (Jan 5, 2017)

October would be best for a season with dogs.


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## deerpoacher1970 (Jan 5, 2017)

lampern said:


> October would be best for a season with dogs.


You are right but it might interrupt their deer season.


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## lampern (Jan 6, 2017)

deerpoacher1970 said:


> You are right but it might interrupt their deer season.



So?

Share the woods and make it short. The national forest is plenty big.


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## Killer Kyle (Jan 12, 2017)

I'm here at the Banks County meeting right now. Anybody else here?


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## Tio Hey Seuss (Jan 18, 2017)

tree cutter 08 said:


> Prime example, if a bear will kill a elk, a fawn deer is no match. Bear are constantly searching for food during the summer and that's when fawns are born. Its hard for me to understand how deer are even surviving the big mountain woods now. I found more bear sign than ever this year and I didn't walk more than normal. That's just looking for deer sign not trying to find a bear. One stretch of land I hunt I covered in a few days during muzzloader. I'm guessing probably a 1000 to 1500 acre section of woods. Best I could tell there were 3 sows with cubs and 3 boars or loan sow bears plus the one I killed. With as much cover and food and water I feel sure they were different bears. That's nearly a bear per 100 acres. I seen 4 deer there this season. As recent as 8 years ago I have counted 15 deer in 1 hunt. May would see 1 bear a year or so there. I'm with kyle, would like to see a January dog season.



How is it hard for you to understand how deer are surviving in the mountains now? They did just fine for thousands of years in the absence of clear cuts or food plots. During that time they also were surviving predation by wolves and cougars, which belong here and are FAR FAR more efficient killers than the bears and coyotes everyone is convinced are hurting deer populations. 
The fact of the matter is a lot of people got used to easy hunting during the 90's and early 2000's when deer were over populated. I say we keep the population at a healthy level to avoid things like black tounge, chronic wasting and hemorrhagic disease.


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## goshenmountainman (Jan 18, 2017)

Tio Hey Seuss said:


> How is it hard for you to understand how deer are surviving in the mountains now? They did just fine for thousands of years in the absence of clear cuts or food plots. During that time they also were surviving predation by wolves and cougars, which belong here and are FAR FAR more efficient killers than the bears and coyotes everyone is convinced are hurting deer populations.
> The fact of the matter is a lot of people got used to easy hunting during the 90's and early 2000's when deer were over populated. I say we keep the population at a healthy level to avoid things like black tounge, chronic wasting and hemorrhagic disease.


Either you are not hunting the mountains or your not hunting at all. Kyle and myself pretty much strictly hunt public land mountain terrain and there are not that many deer at all. I saw more bear this year than I did deer and that goes for my father too. When we had a good deer population in the mountains we didn't have the bear and the wolves were long gone. The first coyote that I ever even heard of was killed by my dad on Chimney mountain back in 1988, it was running a big eight point buck and there were two of them after the buck. Back then if you saw a bear in the woods it was a big deal now if you see a deer its a big deal, we had lots of deer in the mountains then and now we got lots of bear and yotes. Now I am not saying you can't hunt a private track tucked down in the settlement and not see lots of deer just saying they are not on the public ground like they used to be and it has to be one of these three reasons, 1 bears are getting alot of fawns.2 Coyotes are getting alot of all deer. 3 Over harvest of deer period from hunters that don't know when to quit.  I am betting my money on all three reasons!!


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## tree cutter 08 (Jan 18, 2017)

Tio Hey Seuss said:


> How is it hard for you to understand how deer are surviving in the mountains now? They did just fine for thousands of years in the absence of clear cuts or food plots. During that time they also were surviving predation by wolves and cougars, which belong here and are FAR FAR more efficient killers than the bears and coyotes everyone is convinced are hurting deer populations.
> The fact of the matter is a lot of people got used to easy hunting during the 90's and early 2000's when deer were over populated. I say we keep the population at a healthy level to avoid things like black tounge, chronic wasting and hemorrhagic disease.


I don't know of the easy hunting you are talking about. I started hunting the mountains about 12 or 13 years ago. I heard alot for the older generation of hunters about how good it was in the 70's and 80's. Well before my time in the woods. When I started hunting, you would see deer, probably would see anywhere from 30 to 50 through the the season. Maybe 1 or 2 bears. I already forgot but I think it was less than a dozen deer I seen in the mountains this year. Seen 6 bears and more bear sign than ever. I'm not smart by no means, I'm just voicing what I've seen in the woods over the years and I do spend alot of time in the woods each year. Alot more than I probably should


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## tree cutter 08 (Jan 18, 2017)

By the way, it is possible for something to go extinct. I think it's happened a time or 2 before


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## deerpoacher1970 (Jan 18, 2017)

Tio Hey Seuss said:


> How is it hard for you to understand how deer are surviving in the mountains now? They did just fine for thousands of years in the absence of clear cuts or food plots. During that time they also were surviving predation by wolves and cougars, which belong here and are FAR FAR more efficient killers than the bears and coyotes everyone is convinced are hurting deer populations.
> The fact of the matter is a lot of people got used to easy hunting during the 90's and early 2000's when deer were over populated. I say we keep the population at a healthy level to avoid things like black tounge, chronic wasting and hemorrhagic disease.


You must be having a dream of some kind if you truly hunt the mountains you would know that there is a major problem with the deer population in the mountains,and I ain't talking about the edge of the mountains where people have deer living in there yard living off of a corn feeder.


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## Tio Hey Seuss (Jan 18, 2017)

I wasn't trying to offend anyone. Just offering my observations. I hunt exclusively on public land in white, lumpkin, habersham and union counties. During the course of this last year I logged about 1.5 thousand miles on foot and probably 125 days in the woods...all public ground up here. That's not to mention the 4 days a week I spend working in a sizeable state park. I think I'm qualified to comment on the state of things and I saw plenty of deer. That being said, I know Kyle, amoung others, spends lots of time out there observing too. All I'm saying is that our ecosystem up here can't support the numbers of deer that other areas can. I actually do agree that our population is a little on the low side now but I think it's primarily due to hunters over harvest of does and not predation by bears. I've got enough pictures of bear CensoredCensoredCensoredCensoredCensored to fill a photo album and maybe 2 or 3 of them had deer fur in them lol.


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## ddd-shooter (Jan 19, 2017)

Let's not forget for thousands of years deer in the Appalachians had chestnut mast every year. A good estimate was 1 out of 4 hardwood trees was a chestnut. Combine this with natural fire, other masts and no humans and you can see why deer and elk thrived here. 
If you think they're thriving now, you're crazy. Public land in the actual mountains will net you a lot of bear sightings, a lot of coyote howls, hog rooting and some deer sign.


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## Tio Hey Seuss (Jan 20, 2017)

There absolutely were humans and even though their technology was primitive their skills were not and you can bet they killed plenty. 

Of course losing the chestnut was a serious setback to the forest that was defined by it's presence but even considering that, most biologists agree we have more deer now than at the time of European arrival. I find that hard to believe but I don't make a living studying it.
Also, I never said they were thriving now. I said in my opinion, the population is a little lower than it could be but not due to lack of food or predation by bears. 
I'm done arguing so think whatever you want. 
Getting back on topic, something I think would benifit both the deer and turkey would be to open up our wma's for trapping. It's well documented that trapping is much more effective than hunting as a means of predator population control. Right now only NF outside wma's is open for trapping but even that can't be effectively trapped with all the roads closed after deer/bear season.


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