10 Bears Taken During 2016 Middle Georgia One-Day Hunt

As Dr. Albert Warren was sitting in his deer stand on Dec. 10, he was taking a rare opportunity to bear hunt, even though he had never seen a bear from his stand in south Houston County. But other hunters had seen bears on the club.

Then a little after sunrise, he noticed what looked like a bear ambling through the woods and then wondered if it was big enough to shoot? He was aware of the 75-lb. minimum weight requirement, and as the bear got closer, he realized it was a pretty big bear!

At 7:42 a.m., he sent a .308 slug on its way and quickly dropped a 305-lb. sow in the middle of a food strip firing lane. It was the heaviest sow ever taken during the central Georgia bear hunts.

Josh Maloy, a pastor at the Sojourn Church in Warner Robins, and his friend Greg Cahill, had seen a bear feeding in a peanut field several times during the summer of 2016 in Twiggs County. They decided to see if the bear would show up on the one-day central Georgia bear hunt, and crept into the field before sunrise.

At first light, they saw no bears, but later in the morning, they saw a bear amble across the lower end of the peanut field. At 410 yards, he was out of range, but they quietly stalked around the bear and worked to within 50 yards for a shot. At the shot, the bear seemed down for the count, but an insurance bullet made sure. At the Oaky Woods check station, the bear weighed 270 pounds, so it would have been well over 300 pounds live weight.

Josh Maloy (right), of Warner Robins, had seen this big bear feeding in a peanut field during the summer, and it showed up again on the one-day bear hunt in central Georgia on Dec. 10, 2016. Also pictured is Greg Cahill.

For middle Georgia’s annual one-day bear hunt, which took place on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, there were 10 bears checked in. Five were female sows, and five were male boars. This hunt continues to be hosted on private lands in Bibb, Twiggs and Houston counties, with no bear hunting allowed on Oaky Woods or Ocmulgee WMAs. Other lucky bear hunters were Clinton Stevens, Kyle Kothe, Patrick Floyd, Steven Stewart, Paul Syribeys, Rand Atkinson, Allen Cochran and Shane Annexstad.

The biggest bear was Steven Stewart’s 386-lb. male. Patrick Floyd’s bear had a tag, which aged it at 13 years, and Allen Cochran’s bear was 9 years old.

The youngest successful hunter was Kyle Kothe, 12, who bagged a 160-lb. bear in south Houston County. He said he was sitting on his deer stand and heard something moving and looked up and saw the bear. He held his .270 steady and made the shot.

Since the 2011 mid Georgia bear season started, 76 bears have been taken by hunters. In addition, 49 other bears have been killed, mostly from road accidents and a few from poaching during that same time period, bringing the total bear mortality to 125 bears.

Dr. Albert Warren, of Gray, had never seen a bear from his Houston County deer stand until this 305-lb. sow showed up on the right day for him to get a shot with his .308 rifle.

Researchers at the University of Georgia say there is still lots to learn about the middle Georgia bear population. Over the last three years, researchers have used different population models and ranged the bear population between 140 and 458 animals. The lack of consistent data has researchers agreeing that there is just not a good scientific understanding on even whether that population is decreasing, stable or increasing in numbers.

To reduce the number of road-killed bears, a series of underpasses along Highway 96—a hot bed for bear/vehicle collisions—will be installed. These underpasses will allow bears to go under Highway 96 instead of crossing it.

As far as the one-day bear season goes, suggestions have been made by the UGA research team that maybe the season should be moved from December to January. The move would better protect the sows during their denning season. A sow won’t even breed until they are 3 to 5 years old, and they may stay with their cubs for up to two years before breeding again. This simply means that bear populations are slow to grow.

The key here is that the suggestion of a shift in the hunting season is only being brought up because there are still lots of unknowns about that population.

On the flip side, GON hears from middle Georgia hunters every year who complain about bears destroying their feeders. It is illegal to take a bear within 200 yards of a feeder.

To make a comment about the mid Georgia bear season, attend one of the January WRD public meetings. The closest public meeting to middle Georgia will be held in Cochran on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. at Dillard Hall at Middle Georgia State University. Refer to Briefly on page 48 for other public meetings locations.