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Bear Hunting
WRD Biologist Brent Womack said it was another good year for bear reproduction in north Georgia, and he’s heard several reports of sows with two or three cubs. “Four is not real common, but it’s not out of the question,” he said. Looks like the new two-bear limit for north Georgia black bears was just in…
Each month we turn back the clock to see what was being reported in the pages of GON, both 20 and 10 years ago. Here’s what was happening. 20 Years Ago: October 1991 • Shot-In-The Foot Hunt Accident Awards: During the 1990 season, there were 94 hunting accidents recorded in Georgia. Included among them were…
They grow them really big in south Georgia, and we are not talking about football players, sweet potatoes or watermelons. We are talking about trophy bears, bruins in the 400-plus-lb. range. Hunters who trek to Canada or out West in search of trophy bears might be surprised to learn they could avoid expensive travel and…
A doubling of the bear limit, banning dog training on Chattahoochee National Forest and the plan to charge fees for WMA users not hunting or fishing were all presented to the public at eight WRD regulations meetings Jan. 3-6. However, public comment was geared toward perennial concerns like baiting and deer populations. The meetings opened…
Kill a Georgia Mountain Bear Since the late 70s, when WRD began managing the bear harvest, the idea has been to grow the state’s bear populations to sustainable levels. Mission accomplished — especially in the north Georgia mountains, where nuisance bear complaints were at record levels last year, according to Adam Hammond, WRD’s Bear Committee…
Georgia bear hunters are currently limited to killing one bear per season. If the Georgia legislature passes a bill currently being considered, DNR would have the option to raise the season bear limit to three. The bear-limit legislation, HB 1000, is the only bill of significance on the radar of sportsmen this legislative session, according…
In December, a rumor reached GON that biologists with WRD were meeting to discuss the possibility of allowing dog hunting for bears in north Georgia. There was a bear meeting at Dawson Forest on Dec. 8, but the impetus for the meeting may have been the opposite of what the rumor suggested. Region I Supervisor…
It was a remarkable archery season for black bears in north Georgia, and the gun opener brought in a flood of bear reports to the GON office. Judging from those reports from hunters across the state, this year’s black-bear harvest is on track to be off the charts. Here are two of the most impressive…
The topic around the breakfast meeting places across the north Georgia mountains the past month has been bears. Bears in the backyard bird feeders. Bears in the trash. Bears almost getting hit on mountain roads and highways. The past few weeks another topic of the conversation is bears — and some big ones — being…
On opening day of archery season 12-year-old Laura Cloud of Jasper may have become the youngest hunter in Georgia to kill a bear with a crossbow. Laura and her dad, Raymond, were hunting on a Pickens County club. “I had found a few white-oak and red-oak acorns right together that were falling,” said Raymond. “I…