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Bear Hunting

Legislature Considers Raising Bear-Limit Option To Three

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…

Bear-Dogging In North Georgia Discussed

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…

2009 Year Of The Bear: Two Georgia State Records Broken

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…

A Year For Bear

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…

12-Year-Old Girl Takes 200-lb. Crossbow Bear

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…

2005 Georgia Bear Harvest Sets Record

North Georgia bear hunters this year set a new record for total numbers of bears harvested, taking 259 bears. The number eclipses the previous record of 256 set in 2003 and follows a slow hunting season during the 2004 season. The rebound year was not unexpected. “We figured that this would be a bounce-back year…

Teen Kills 437-Pound Bear At Dixon Memorial WMA

Randy hadn’t even got situated in his stand yet when his 13-year-old son Hunter Crumpler shot. Randy, from Townsend, headed 75 yards away to learn that Hunter had shot at a big bear. This all happened Saturday, November 12 on a Dixon Memorial WMA bear/deer hunt. After a quick search Hunter discovered the big male…

Bowhunter Shoots Bear Running Straight At Him From 5 Feet

The night before, and then again upon rising out of bed on opening morning, I considered not even going bowhunting since I have never shot any game on opening day of archery season. Finally, I decided to go ahead on and give it another try. After all, opening morning only comes once a year. Not…

Lake Burton WMA Four-Minute Bear Hunt

Despite the heavy rain, Gabe Kidd, of Calhoun, and Chuck Cain went to the Lake Burton WMA bear, boar and either-sex hunt on Nov. 16-17. The result would be the first—and likely the last—big bear either will ever choose to tangle with. Chuck arrived at the campsite Saturday at about noon. Gabe had hunted that…

The Bear Hunter

“Bow season is the best time to hunt bears,” said 37-year-old Jeff Sanford, of Ranger. Jeff ought to know — in the past 10 seasons he has killed seven bears in north Georgia. Five of those bears have been bow kills, including a 335-lb. Cohutta WMA bear that exceeded the Pope & Young minimum skull…