Central GA Bear Hunters Kill 4

Tyler Jenkins (left) and Slaton Lunsford got lucky on the middle Georgia bear hunt and both dropped bears on the same club in Twiggs County.

Four bears­—two males and two females­—were killed during the one-day central Georgia bear season, which took place on Saturday, Dec. 21. With only two females taken, a second season will be hosted on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. 

Central Georgia bear hunting is only offered on private lands in Twiggs, Houston, Bibb and Bleckley counties. No bear hunting takes place on Oaky Woods or Ocmulgee WMAs. Hunting with dogs is prohibited. 

Dec. 21 was a perfect weather day to bear hunt, with temperatures in the low 30s, clear skies and little wind. 

Tyler Jenkins was sitting in his deer stand in Twiggs County, near Jeffersonville, patiently waiting for a bear to amble by. He was getting cold from sitting still for a long period of time, and he had seen nothing moving. He was considering getting down from the stand when he noticed something black moving through the bushes. His first thought was that he was looking at a wild pig, but as he studied it in his rifle scope, he quickly realized that he was looking at a black bear. After four years of trying to kill a central Georgia bear, maybe this was his lucky day.

He studied the bear to make sure it met the 75-lb. minimum harvest weight, and it looked plenty big enough, so he put the scope’s crosshairs on the bear’s chest and pulled the trigger on his Howa 6.5 Creedmoor rifle. The bear dropped quickly, and soon Tyler was standing over his first black bear, an accomplishment that he had dreamed about for a long time. He plans on having a full body mount done on the bear.

Nearby on the same hunting club, Slaton Lunsford, who is Tyler’s brother-in-law, was hunting another stand on the 3,600-acre club. Everything was quiet and cold when Slaton saw a black bear amble out of the woods into the food plot about mid-morning. He waited for the bear to temporarily stop, and he drilled it with a bullet from his 300 Weatherby rifle. Slaton said it was his first bear hunt and his first bear, so he’s batting 100% and was very excited that he was successful. He plans on having the bear’s pelt tanned and the skull turned into a European mount.

All central Georgia bears must be reported via Georgia Game Check. Central Georgia bears must also be checked and tagged at the Oaky Woods WMA check station from 12 noon through 9 p.m. on the day of the hunt. 

At the Oaky Woods WMA check station, Slaton’s bear went 142 pounds, and Tyler’s went 132 pounds. Both were male bears. 

WRD Wildlife Biologist Bobby Bond took a few bear hairs for DNA analysis and pulled a tooth from each for age determination, although he believed both bears to be 2 years old.

The female bears were taken during afternoon hunts, one in Twiggs County and the other in Houston County.

According to the current hunting regulations, if fewer than six female bears are killed by hunters during the first central Georgia bear season, another one-day crack at a central Georgia bears will be offered. With just two female bears taken, that second hunt will take place on Jan. 4, 2025. 

With a population of 300 to 400 bears, WRD has studies to back up a stat that says if six females are taken in a single day, a second season doesn’t need to take place.

The middle Georgia bear population fights a number of factors, habitat loss being the headliner in recent months. In August, the Houston County Board of Commissioners disapproved an application that would have allowed Silicon Ranch solar company to place panels on a 4,700-acre tract adjacent to Oaky Woods WMA. Citing quality of living, property values, Georgia lawsuits against Silicon Ranch and wildlife habitat, the board unanimously voted against adding a solar farm to the landscape. However, Silicon can bring back the petition as early as August 2025.

“The loss of bear habitat in central Georgia, for any purpose, is concerning,” said WRD Biologist Bobby Bond in August. “The loss of 4,000-plus acres of prime habitat in an area where habitat is limited and where bears have already begun showing signs of genetic inbreeding and malformations, further exacerbates the problem. Current and previous research studies conducted through the University of Georgia have documented these issues.”

A local group of citizens hope the 4,700-acre tract never becomes a solar farm, or a shopping mall, hotels or houses. Their desire is to work with the Georgia DNR, the Trust For Public lands, the Nature Conservancy, the National Parks Conservation Association and other interested parties to purchase all available lands adjacent to Oaky Woods. They also look to work with the current property owners to put together a comprehensive deal that is beneficial to all parties.