# Chattahoochee or Blue Ridge WMA-Deer, Bear, & Hog?



## Blackberryhill (Nov 22, 2013)

I've searched threads for this and last several years, but I still cannot determine my best option. Thanksgiving week my brother, niece (15yoa), and I are going to north GA for deer, bear, and hog hunting on a WMA. I have found contradicting information so far about which WMA will offer the best hunting experience. My niece has never killed anything, this is her second year hunting. My brother and I are mostly looking to go somewhere different from our typical flatland hunting area. I've been to Cooper's Creek, Chestatee, Swallow Creek, and Warwoman WMA's in the past. 

This trip will be our first since our Dad passed away. We will be camping Tuesday through Sunday morning. I keep reading mixed reviews of the deer and bear activity for the north GA WMA's. Our only option for this trip is between Chattahoochee and Blue Ridge WMA's, and we've never been to either of these WMA's. 

I'm seeking information on which of these two WMA's will offer the best experience. We love the mountains, weather, and different hunting experience. We just don't want to waste the entire week, especially since our family is not too thrilled with us spending Thanksgiving hunting away from home. This will be our only chance to get up to the mountains this year.

We were supposed to make this trip the hunting season before our father passed away, but we were unable to go. Now he has passed on and we want to make this a trip he would be proud of. I'm looking for any help all of you can provide. You don't have to give up your secret hunting spots, just lead us in the right direction for the highest chance of seeing something.

Thank you in advance for your assistance, and good hunting.


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## Coon Dog (Nov 22, 2013)

Wish I could help ya but hard to say If I where you would probably go to blue ridge but I love chattahoochee my opinion is chatt has more hogs and bear normally than blue ridge but blue ridge has more deer and since no acorns this year blue ridge has better food sorces for game good luck


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## pnome (Nov 22, 2013)

I would go to Chattahoochee and hunt the upper elevations.


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## tree cutter 08 (Nov 22, 2013)

More apt to get a hog on Chattahoochee. Probably more hogs than anything. Just plan to walk a lot to find the sign. This time last year I was finding good hog sign at the lower elevations.


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## Blackberryhill (Nov 22, 2013)

Thank you for the responses. I'm mostly interested in getting a mountain hog or possibly a bear. However, it would be nice for my niece to get a shot at her first deer. I'll discuss this with my brother tonight at dinner and see if we can figure out which way we want to go. We may divide our time between the two. 

Does anyone know if the portion of Chattahoochee off the Richard B. Russell Scenic parkway is a good area to hunt. I don't see many ways in other than the Appalachian Trail or next to the Raven Cliff trailhead. We're thinking about camping somewhere between these two WMA's so we can go to either one. I sure wish the drive wasn't so far for us so we could make multiple trips.


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## Paint Brush (Nov 22, 2013)

Man I wish you could have some luck, I miss hunting with my dad also. But on a side note I spent 10 hours today looking and its not so good. I found 0 bear and hog sign. I found where a deer was  but have no idea where to kill him. All day I only saw 2 grey squirrels, its with out a doubt the worst year ive ever seen for chattahooche wma and ive been hunting it for over 40yrs. The last hunt they checked out one bear and one hog 0 deer.


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## hoochman2 (Nov 22, 2013)

I would agree with paint brush. I have found zero acorns on Chattahoochee. a friend of mine has found some acorns on blue ridge. hope this helps.


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## Unicoidawg (Nov 22, 2013)

Paint Brush said:


> Man I wish you could have some luck, I miss hunting with my dad also. But on a side note I spent 10 hours today looking and its not so good. I found 0 bear and hog sign. I found where a deer was  but have no idea where to kill him. All day I only saw 2 grey squirrels, its with out a doubt the worst year ive ever seen for chattahooche wma and ive been hunting it for over 40yrs. The last hunt they checked out one bear and one hog 0 deer.



If this guy ^^^^^ says its bad on the hooch........ I'd stay home. The man knows those hills as good as anyone alive.... Hope all is well Cliff.


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## tree cutter 08 (Nov 22, 2013)

Might want to consider lake Russell wma next week. It can be action packed hunt and a good chance at a buck


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## Blackberryhill (Nov 23, 2013)

I really appreciate all this information. Everything ya'll have given me is helpful. I completely overlooked Lake Russell. Our only chance to go is this coming week (Thanksgiving). Nov. 27 thru Nov 30 is the dates we're going to be up there hunting. My goal is to eventually hunt all of the WMA's in north GA. Looks like we might have to change our plans a little as far as which WMA to hunt. This time of year is difficult for us to make trips away from home because of holidays, birthdays, and work. We missed our chance to go at the end of Oct. 

I'll keep reviewing info on these WMA's, including Lake Russell, and we have until Monday to decide. We are hitting the highway Tuesday morning to drive up. 

Even if we don't get anything I would rather be up there in the mountains than here. I love north GA and try to travel up there every chance I get. Maybe some day I'll be able to convince my wife to move up there. 

Again, thank you to all of you for your help.


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## Wheeler2 (Nov 24, 2013)

*mountain hunting*

A usually tough mountain hunt is complicated by the fact that there aren't ANY ACORNS. Good luck to you and the family. I didn't even see a squirrel this morning. Please let us know how you do. OH, I did see a huge black bear yesterday on the chestatee NF. Didn't shoot it because I didn't know how to get it up a 300 yard cliff. Helicopter????


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## Fire Eater (Nov 25, 2013)

I hear no good reports from WMA's due to the acorn failure. I would find some non-WMA Chattahoochee National Forest property in close proximity to large private fields...the deer are feeding there at night and perhaps you can ambush one on his way to or from feeding. Good Luck!


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## Blackberryhill (Nov 25, 2013)

Fire Eater said:


> I hear no good reports from WMA's due to the acorn failure. I would find some non-WMA Chattahoochee National Forest property in close proximity to large private fields...the deer are feeding there at night and perhaps you can ambush one on his way to or from feeding. Good Luck!



This is an option I have been thinking about trying. We're not very familiar with the National Forest up there outside the WMA's, so that will be another challenge. The weather forecast is nothing but rain all day Tuesday, then turning into snow Wed morning. I guess we'll be driving up in the rain and setting up camp in the rain. We're flexible, so we'll try different locations and hope we get to see something. The main point in this trip is to get away from home for a little while, with hopes of seeing something while we're there. 

At least we'll get to do some camping and wonder around in the mountain. Even though I didn't get any turkey action up there this year it was still nice to get up there for a few days. I got a nice gobbler last year at Warwoman. I really appreciate all the information and help.


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## josh chatham (Nov 25, 2013)

I was up high all day today.  Seemed like there were no deer or bear.  I probably walked 4-5 miles and sat the rest of the day.  Saw 3 squirrels!  I was excited to see the squirrels if that tells you the kind of day it was.


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## deadend (Nov 25, 2013)

Hunting in many of the mountain WMA's will be forever doomed until someone stands up to the enviro-Nazis and facilitates some timber cutting.  Deer and other animals can't subsist on dry leaves and bark.


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## Blackberryhill (Dec 3, 2013)

We signed in on Wed morning at Chattahoochee WMA. The harvest sheet listed 2 bucks, 1 hog, 1 bear (110lbs). We never went back to the check station the rest of the trip. We got blocked in Wed by a downed tree from the high winds. The wind never stopped until late that night. Thurs we hunted some ridge tops and a food plot, took a shot at a large coyote and never found him. While looking for the coyote we discovered a freshly killed deer. The deer was obviously killed by coyotes and the blood on the ground was still wet. I think the coyote I shot at was headed to the fresh kill.

Friday we decided to head over to Blue Ridge WMA, too many people. Every decent looking area had more trucks than a Wal-Mart parking lot. We decided to hunt near a food plot with no other hunters in the area. Heard about four gunshots nearby. I spooked a deer on the road while walking back to the truck. 

Saturday we went back to Chattahoochee WMA. The Russell Parkway off of HWY 75-Alt was finally open after the salt melted the ice. We went deep in the mountain to the last food plot. Actually ran into a hunter that lives about 45 minutes from us. We followed a game trail up to the top of several ridges. At 2900 to 3000 feet we found some acorns on the ground. We hunted higher than the rest of the days, but still no luck. 

At least we had fun and enjoyed the amazing views from the ridge tops. Beautiful valley and ridge top hunting. The snow flurries on Wed were a nice change of pace for us since we almost never get snow down here in south GA. 

We'll definitely be back, we just need to spend more time planning and researching before driving up there next time. The hunters we talked to on Saturday said they saw a lot of turkeys on Fri and Sat. I always enjoy chasing gobblers in the mountains and might get back up there this spring.


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