Early October Weekend Gun Hunt For Antlerless Deer In WRD Regs Proposal

A two-day, early October firearms hunt for antlerless deer might be in the cards for the majority of Georgia deer hunters this fall. If proposed new hunting regs are approved, hunters in the green, pink and purples counties (see map below) would have the option to shoot antlerless deer with firearms Oct. 4-5, 2025. Only the mountain counties (orange, blue/cyan, yellow) and the archery-only counties (gray) would not have the early October firearms opportunity.

The addition of an October firearms season for antlerless deer is part of WRD’s proposed hunting regulations that hunters are being asked to comment on before the April 30 deadline. Comment instructions are in the bottom of this article.

Tina Johannsen, WRD Game Management’s assistant chief, says the early October firearms proposal stems from a segment of hunters asking to shoot does earlier in the season to help control numbers on their properties. Some hunters report it’s been a challenge in recent years to thin enough does with deer coolers staying full for a portion of the regular firearms season. The result of that has some hunters reluctant to pull the trigger—and doe numbers have continued to grow on some properties, according to hunters.

“The hope is that hunters so inclined will take their does during this early season before the scramble of opening weekend and the rut,” said Tina.

In addition, assuming the proposal goes through, hunters will have increased opportunities to find an open deer cooler that will take deer for the Hunters for the Hungry program. The Georgia state legislature has added $200,000 to the pot of money originally allocated for venison donation.

“With the funding now coming from the General Assembly, we are exercising the option of having this two-day firearms opportunity for antlerless deer to help those who need to get more deer harvested, as well as get more venison to people who need it. Venison donation programs are such a win-win, and it’s very exciting to have the legislature funding this in our state.

“If they can donate the deer to someone else or to Hunters for the Hungry, they’re much likely to take more antlerless deer. Conversely, if they know their local processor is swamped on popular days, they may pass on a doe.”

T.J. Harper, a landowner in Putnam County, was excited about the news of a possible early October gun hunt for does.

“I’m all for the early firearms, that will help a lot of hunters looking to punch a few tags earlier in the season before deer get educated to human presence and pressure,” said T.J. Harper, who hunt Putnam County. “I’m a meat hunter, and this will also let me get a few in the freezer so I can focus on a good buck in November. I also like the additional opportunity to donate to Hunters For The Hungry. I’ve never donated a deer just because the coolers in our area seem to get full during the regular gun season, but knowing a cooler is open and taking deer in early October, I’d certainly be more inclined to donate one to the program.”

However, not everyone was thrilled with the news of sharing the early October woods with firearms hunters. One bowhunter GON heard from said, “I’m definitely going to that meeting and voting no. People have plenty of time to harvest does. We have one of the longest seasons in the country.”

If the early October firearms weekend does get approved by the Board of Natural Resources, look for a media push from WRD to get deer coolers on board and get that word out to hunters who might be interested in donating a deer.

“We and the Georgia Wildlife Federation will be reaching out to processors ahead of time so they’re prepared and can enroll in HFTH if they haven’t already. And our communications section staff will be reminding hunters they have the option of shooting does and donating the meat just before that weekend,” said Tina.

Hunters, Taxidermists & Deer Parts

Another proposed regulation is designed to minimize the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The proposal comes after a CWD positive deer was discovered earlier this year in Lanier County.

The proposal would create deer-carcass disposal requirements for hunters and taxidermists, two groups who currently do not operate under any sort of deer-disposal requirements. If approved, deer carcasses and parts of deer not processed for consumption, would need to be left on the property of the kill or disposed of in an “approved method.” Approved methods of disposal would include using a commercial deer processor, permitted solid waste landfill, burial, incineration, rendering or composting. Commercial facilities, aka “deer coolers,” that process deer for human consumption are governed by the Dead Animal Disposal Act and already dispose of extra deer parts in the proper manner.

“The primary group of people who’d be affected by this new regulation will be those who kill a deer, take it home far away to process, and then dump the inedible parts (hide, skeleton, etc) behind the house for the scavengers to clean up. That’s what we want to avoid,” said Tina.

With Georgia being state No. 36 to discover deer with CWD, GA WRD has been able to learn what works—and what doesn’t—when dealing with the issue of trying to keep hunters from jumping through crazy hoops while curbing the spread of the CWD disease.

“The overwhelming majority of hunters are unlikely to have to do anything different,” said Tina. “Using myself as an example, I either take my deer to a processor or I quarter it at the lease in Screven County, dump the guts and hide and such on property in the gut pile and just take home the quarters to process. The big bones and scraps go in my regular trash and on to the landfill, courtesy of Republic Services trash service. So I literally do not have to do anything new here.”

In addition, it’s worth noting that a hunter does have the option to take a whole deer home (to a different county), process that entire deer in their backyard, work it all up in the kitchen and then dispose of everything by an approved method—yes that includes guts, hide, head, bones, etc. For some, that could be as simple as bagging up all the leftovers and making sure those parts get to a permitted solid waste landfill. Your local county will have a list of nearby permitted solid waste landfills.

“Other states enacted restrictions on transport of carcasses within the state. In those states, you’d have had to totally debone that deer first (on the property of kill),” said Tina. “That is obviously a significant burden on someone who is law-abiding. The goal is to keep CWD positive carcass parts off the open landscape. We opted to make it easier on hunters in a way that still works to minimize the odds of CWD positive deer parts getting moved to a new location and tossed out on the landscape.”

Tina added that the proposal should not alter the way most taxidermists deal with deer parts. Unlike deer coolers, who operate under the Department of Agriculture, taxidermists fall under DNR jurisdiction and have never been subjected to any sort of required deer disposal guidelines.

“Fortunately, the vast majority of taxidermists already use approved disposal methods, which makes sense, if you’re doing a sufficient volume of deer. That’s more carcass parts than most people want to have lying around,” said Tina. “Taxidermists would have to follow the same requirements as hunters in this case. They can use any of the lawful options for disposal outlined by Department of Agriculture in the Dead Animal Disposal Act. What they cannot do is create a gut pile on the back of their land and dump the carcass parts out there after they cape the deer out.”

Other Proposed Hunting Regulation Changes

• Make a consistent definition for youth to say “persons under 16 years of age.” This would include youth ages for Youth Waterfowl Season and WMA hunts, which currently have different definitions.

• Add Calhoun County to zone of counties with extended deer season for firearms and archery. If approved, it would extend firearms season to Jan. 15 and archery season until Jan. 31.

• Reduce the number of early teal season hunting days from 16 days to nine days in September. The 2024 blue-winged teal breeding population estimates warrant a reduction in length of early teal season for the 2025 season. This change is mandated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and supported by Atlantic Flyway Council.

Full listing with additional information and WMA proposed changes found on WRD website.

Create your own user feedback survey

Comment On Proposed Hunting Regulations

Hunters are asked to comment on the hunting regulations proposals and have that opportunity in several ways before the April 30, 2025 deadline:

Virtual and In-Person Scheduled Meetings: Members of the general public will have an opportunity to comment on these proposed regulations at four public hearings scheduled at 7 p.m. each night.

• April 8: Worth County Community Center (1310 North Monroe Street, Sylvester, GA 31791)

• April 10: Virtual Public Meeting on the Georgia WRD Facebook Page at Facebook.com/WildlifeResourcesDivisionGADNR

• April 15: Bulloch Center for Agriculture (151 Langston Chapel Road, Statesboro, GA 30458)

• April 22: Gilmer County Agricultural Center (346 Clear Creek School Road, Ellijay, GA 30536)

• Alternative Comment Submission Methods: Those unable to attend the hearings may submit comments on these proposed regulations electronically by email ([email protected]), by telephone 706.557.3350 or by submitting written statements, before close of business on April 30, 2025. Written statements should be mailed to the attention of Dr. Tina Johannsen/GA DNR Wildlife Resources Division/2067 U.S. Highway 278, S.E. Social Circle, Georgia 30025.

After the April 30 deadline, a package will go to the DNR Board for final approval.