2022 WMA Bow Special

B.F. Grant WMA’s best-ever bow buck was taken by Dev Adams in 2011. It scores 112 2/8 inches.

Included in these three pages are last year’s bowhunting stats from Georgia WMAs, PFAs, State Parks and VPAs. It’s impressive the number of places someone can take a bow or crossbow and get after a deer this month.

Every September we publish last year’s WMA bowhunting stats as a service to our readers. The amount of information you see here can be quite overwhelming, but GON’s WMA Bow Special should help you drill down to make your bowhunting choices a little bit easier.

This year we’re able to publish stats on 114 different pieces of public land, along with a list of the top-25 most successful places for bowhunter success from the 2021-22 season.

Ossabaw Island’s quota bowhunt was the most successful last season. Only 52 of the 100 who were drawn showed up to hunt, but they killed 42 deer for a hunter-success rate of 80.8%.

Despite this hunt being in early October, a time when weather and biting bugs can be huge factors, there’s a crowd of folks who really enjoy this hunt. It took two priority points for a guarantee draw, and nobody got drawn with zero points. 

As stated in last month’s WMA Special, hog control and improved island habitat continued to be reasons why the Ossabaw’s deer population is so impressive.

“Quality of habitat has and will continue to get better as we control hogs,” said Allison Colter, WRD biologist. “The efforts we have made are keeping them controlled well enough that we are seeing less damage on the island overall… We were able to get some burning in this last year to knock back some of the dense palmetto growth and increase the early successional habitat component in some areas. Planning to get more burn acres knocked this year in between hunts to keep a good rotation going.”

The second best bowhunt last year came from Lake Lanier’s Buford Dam hunt. This is a 611-acre area that has an estimated 112 deer per square mile. This year’s hunt will be Nov. 15-17, with a mandatory pre-hunt meeting on Nov. 14. Fourteen hunters will be drawn, and each hunter can bring a buddy.

“Each hunter is allowed two deer and only one may be antlered, and these deer are tagged by the GA DNR and do not apply to the hunter’s yearly harvest record. The hunt is separated into 14 different hunting zones with a possibility for two hunters each (28 total hunters),” said Sam Thompson, Natural Resource Specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

To apply for the hunt, please go online to: www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Recreation/Lake-Sidney-Lanier/Hunting. There is a link to the application, which is to be filled out and mailed to the corps project office: 1050 Buford Dam Rd, Buford GA 30518 with  ATTN: Quota Hunts. The information can also be found in the GA Hunting Regulations Books under Federal Areas.

When looking at Buford Dam’s hunter-success rates from 2010-2021, it ranged from 16% in 2011 to 86% in 2019.

Most bowhunts in this state are non-quota, meaning you just sign-in to hunt and enjoy. Study the GON WMA Bow Special and take a good look at the new Georgia Hunting Seasons & Regulations booklet. Consider looking for tracts—some of them are small pieces of dirt—that are open outside of the state’s regular archery season. With a little work, you can find yourself successful in the WMA woods this fall with your bow.