Georgia Deer Season Rating Backslides

After three seasons where we saw an increasing number of deer hunters rating their seasons as “excellent,” the string has been broken.

The last of that improving run of excellent deer seasons came during the 2020-21 hunting season when 24.6% of hunters reported excellent seasons. The break came when 21.4% of GON readers said their 2021-22 season was “excellent.” We haven’t seen an excellent ranking that low since the 2017-18 season.

In addition, 12.4% of hunters said they had a “poor” deer season in 2021-22, a rise from 10.1% we saw during the 2020-21 season.

Still, Georgia hunters shouldn’t be alarmed. Compare last season’s 21.4% excellent rating to 2012, when only 6.8% of hunters reported excellent seasons. Also in 2012, an alarming 45.8% of folks said their seasons were poor. According to the chart on page 55, deer hunting has improved drastically in the last decade. 

In addition to the Rate Your Season Survey, GON readers also answered questions on their time spend in the deer woods, Georgia’s next governor and chronic wasting disease concerns.

The county ratings start on this page and go to page 61. For each county you will see a letter and number, which shows the number of season ratings for that county (e-excellent, g-good, etc.). 

We had nearly 2,000 responses to wade though, so we were only able to publish a fraction of the comments in the magazine. However, all legible county comments that used appropriate language are online at www.gon.com.

Appling Co. G-1, P-1

Good: Deer numbers were good with plenty of shot opportunities.

Poor: Very few buck sightings.

Atkinson Co. P-1

Baldwin Co. E-2, G-13, F-3, P-2

Excellent: Saw more deer this year than the past 40 years, but all my processors were overwhelmed so I couldn’t shoot any.

Excellent: Had a very successful season and have seen lots of deer.

Good: Lots of small deer, does, some bucks, most 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 year olds.

Good: Harvested a ‘messed up’ 12-pointer and messed up racked 9-pointer. The timber company spraying herbicides the last two years has caused most of white oaks to die and fall over, full of black ants. It should a law for them to burning instead of herbicide!

Good: Deer sightings were down but I was still able to harvest three deer.

Good: Even though we have let very nice deer walk over the years, we are seeing fewer nice bucks. Seeing a lot of smaller bucks instead. Also seeing fewer deer during daylight hours while cameras are showing bucks ranging at night.

Good: Limited opportunity to go but saw plenty of deer.

Good: Saw a lot of deer and some nice bucks.

Good: Good deer population and sightings.

Good: Saw a lot of deer but we had a large number of fawns and yearling bucks this year. Only one doe taken on our lease and a handful of decent-sized bucks. Hopefully the little ones will stick around and get bigger.

Good: Plenty of does down, bucks were in a growing year.

Good: Killed a buck I’ve been hunting for three years and tagged out with the first buck from my own property a week later.

Good: Saw more deer than ever before because hunting new land with high population.

Fair: All does, few bucks.

Fair: Weyerhaeuser poising woods and timbering creekbeds.

Poor: Didn’t get the hunt as much as I wanted to.

Poor: Didn’t take a deer.

Baker Co. G-1

Good: Saw deer. Not as many as previous years.

Banks Co. E-2, G-7, F-1

Excellent: Didn’t kill anything but got to see a lot of wildlife.

Good: Saw quite a few deer and rut activity.

Good: Seen a lot of bucks and does.

Good: Doe-to-buck ratio appears to be good even with me not getting food plots in this year.

Good: Deer sightings as a whole were up for me this year. I’ve been able to take control of the area I’ve hunted in the past and manage it with an eye for deer health and maturity. Mature buck sightings were up for me, also.

Good: Killed two deer.

Good: Saw lots of does, let a couple good bucks walk.

Barrow Co. E-1, G-2, F-3, P-1

Excellent: Plenty of large deer to choose from.

Good: Saw good amount of deer. No true trophy buck.

Fair: Only able to hunt minimal days, saw several deer, mostly small deer, some strange racks, have let all deer walk due to lack of size.

Fair: Hunting small tract of land and most of my deer were running during the night.

Fair: Shot the one cull I was after. Overall deer numbers seem down.

Poor: Fewer deer.

Bartow Co. E-4, G-8, F-8, P-1

Excellent: I shot a buck I was after for two years. Archery, public land.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer and took a couple of them.

Excellent: It was a good long rut. I watched way more bucks chasing does almost the entire month of November. It was awesome. I also killed two really good bucks. This is the first season that I will most likely reach my limit for this season. Only problem I had with this season was the heat. It never has really got much below freezing this year. Scale of 1 to 10, I’d say my season was a solid eight.

Good: Good number and size of deer.

Good: Didn’t take any game but still enjoy being in the woods.

Good: Saw a lot of deer but it seemed the quality was a little lower than last year. Not a lot of real big bucks (for our area) seen on camera and never during daylight hours.

Good: Seen a lot of deer, had more time to hunt.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Took a nice late-season 10 in December, which I have never done before. Lots of action on both properties but have not seen as many wall hangers at night on the way to work like I normally do.

Good: Saw plenty of mature deer.

Good: Saw lots of deer and had some decent rut activity.

Good: Seen several deer.

Fair: Wacky weather this fall.

Fair: Deer seemed to be moving at night and not during daylight hours.

Fair: Too hot.

Fair: Deer population seems to be going down every year.

Fair: Not a lot of time in the woods this year.

Fair: Quality of deer is questionable. My family let a small buck and a couple of buttonheads walk, but I am pretty sure someone shot them on the management area adjacent to my property. My family shot one mature doe. I would love to see quality management take place statewide.

Poor: Didn’t get out this year.

Ben Hill Co. E-1, G-1, F-2

Excellent: Killed my two 6.5-year-old target bucks. One on opening day of archery and the other before Christmas. Watched several young bucks and have a good crop of 4-plus-year-olds coming back next year.

Good: Saw lots of deer. Killed nice 11-point.

Fair: Did not see many deer.

Fair: Quality buck sightings are down because neighbors shoot anything with horns and not enough does. There needs to be a QDM in place statewide, not just in certain counties for people over the age of 18.

Berrien Co. E-3, G-4

Good: Seen lots of good quality deer.

Good: Only because I killed a buck. Deer numbers are still very low in my area due to farmers killing deer on permits. Please slow this down and only use this fir severe damage. Several crops on permit I never even see deer in those fields.

Good; Saw lots of deer, including young bucks, and we have a good button buck crop, also.

Good: Good deer movement and numbers. No big bucks to chase.

Bibb Co. G-1, F-2, P-1

Good: Saw more and better deer than previous years.

Fair: Not as many big bucks.

Fair: Deer not moving well through property.

Poor: Too many coyotes. Doe population down from previous years. Bucks are small.

Bleckley Co. E-3, G-3, P-1

Excellent: Saw more bucks than the last five years.

Excellent: Wife and grandson killed first bucks which were good enough to have mounted, 9- and 8-points. We added two more deer to the freezer.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer every hunt and a lot of shooter bucks from Nov. 14-23. They were really chasing!

Good: Saw plenty of deer but it was a struggle to find a mature deer to hunt. My suggestion is to shorten the rifle season. No one should have any trouble hunting for “meat” even if the season would shortened significantly, there are plenty of deer.

Good: Seen lots of deer just not many mature bucks.

Brantley Co. P-2

Poor: Because of overpermitted farmer getting away with killing does in Brantley County! It takes does having fawns to ensure a good deer population. Farmers need to be accountable for their actions!

Poor: Been sick most of the season.

Brooks Co. E-1, G-3, F-3, P-4

Excellent: Saw lots of deer especially bucks.

Good: I killed one deer for my meat.

Good: Saw lots of young bucks.

Good: Saw deer most every time we hunted, and my son harvested a big doe a couple of weeks ago. Several young bucks that are going to be really nice deer next year.

Fair: Weather not good most of the time.

Fair: Nocturnal.

Fair: The deer in my area did not use the food sources I provided until very late in the season.

Poor: Saw very few deer.

Poor: Terrible buck inventory, no mature sightings.

Poor: The rut was really short, meaning it was over before we realized it was on!

Poor: Not as many deer as usual. No big deer.

Bryan Co. G-3

Good: Saw lots of good seed bucks, rut was pretty good.

Good: Was great until the neighboring dog clubs let their dogs run all over my property. The deer then went nocturnal.

Bulloch Co. E-3, G-3, F-2, P-2

Good: Due to work obligations I was not able to hunt as much as I would have liked. The time I did go, I got a quality buck and three does, so I can’t complain.

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Fair: Weather too warm.

Fair: Deer locked down early this year. Sightings were few after Thanksgiving .

Poor: No deer hunting this season due to health issue.

Poor: Very few shooter bucks on camera. Usually get several on camera in same locations.

Burke Co. E-5, G-9, F-6, P-2

Excellent: Saw a bunch of deer and killed a nice buck and some hogs.

Excellent: Fantastic season, culled a mature 8-point from the herd while he was relaxed and eating acorns. 

Excellent: I was able to see and kill lots of deer. Great year for venison.

Excellent: Saw lots of deer both bucks and does.

Excellent: Total of four good quality bucks killed on my property and saw a lot more.

Good: Saw good amount of deer but believe there could be a few more does. I would say the ratio of buck to doe is one to one. I would like to see it be more like one buck to every 1.5 or 2 doe per buck. Trying to manage a smaller track to get the numbers up.

Good: I saw lots of deer and several nice bucks.

Good: I rated it good even though I haven’t hunted yet this year/season due to health reasons. But hunting is always good.

Good; Did not hunt much.

Good: Nice bucks taken by group along with several does. Good time with other hunting buddies.

Good: My work schedule doesn’t allow me to hunt like I want.

Good: Saw deer about every time except for two hunts.

Good: We have seen a lot of deer this year.

Good: Saw a lot of deer, just didn’t see quality bucks we are used to seeing. The numbers were there, just a bad year for horns on our lease (1,450 acres). We experienced a very extended rut. We saw chasing begin on Oct. 9 and continue all the way through Thanksgiving. The typical lockdown period didn’t occur this year. It seemed like they were always rutting during that seven-week period.

Fair: I saw many bucks and does on my trail cams at night but never got a shot at the one I was hunting for during the day.

Fair: Acorns didn’t drop well and didn’t see as many deer as years past.

Fair: Hunt public land. Not many doe days.

Fair: Big bucks disappeared middle of September when hogs moved in. Too many small bucks.

Fair: Worked a lot, hunted less.

Fair: Deer numbers seem to be down on our lease.

Poor: Compared to previous years, I saw very few deer. Most movement from early on in the season has been nocturnal and the deer seem like they are getting a lot of pressure from coyotes.

Poor: Didn’t see the number of deer I have been seeing in years past.

Burke Co. G-4, F-1, P-1

Good: My work schedule doesn’t allow me to hunt.

Good: Bagged four does.

Good: Got to hunt newly purchased property with my family, and we all saw and harvested deer. Hunting is great therapy, deer or not.

Butts Co. E-3, G-4, F-3, P-1

Excellent: Tagged out.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer. Saw a great number of bucks, including mature bucks. My son got his first deer.

Excellent: No shortage of deer (either sex) all season long and its not quite over.

Good: Two does for the freezer. Saw several smaller bucks with much potential.

Good: Saw lots of deer. Shot what I felt like was shooters.

Good: Lots of deer, good rut movement, live on farm!

Fair: Harvest way down from previous years. Out of control development is heavily impacting wildlife.

Good: Amount of wildlife.

Good: I had a good amount of deer on camera.

Fair: I believe waiting the two weeks after all the other counties for doe days to come in hurt getting early deer. If you live close to the county line the hunters in the next county are driving the deer to go nocturnal before our county gets to kill a doe or two before going and killing a buck.

Fair: Saw very few deer.

Poor: Didn’t hunt this year in Georgia due to losing place to hunt.

Calhoun Co. E-1, G-2, F-2, P-1

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer. Saw a few good bucks. Was able to tag out on bucks.

Good: Saw a good amount of deer. Weather has been all over the place for sure, making it less enjoyable in the warm temps.

Good: Killed 29 by family, friends and me so far as of Dec. 23 compared to last year 48 kills. I am 79 years old. I keep a log of every time my friend or family members and myself hunted and record all kills since early 1990s. I am 79 years old and ride to Albany a lot of time. This year I take my grandson to school in Albany and I saw most road-kill deer I have ever seen. Thus I know the deer population is way up over last year in spite of lower kills on my farm.

Fair: Too warm, no concentrated rut activity.

Fair: Heat was a major factor in movement of deer, and the acorn crop kept them concentrated in certain areas, very large acorn crop.

Poor: Hot weather, gun season needs to come in the week of Thanksgiving and go until Jan. 31 in the southern part of state.

Camden Co. G-4, F-1, P-2

Good: Saw some nice deer.

Good: Freezers are full. 

Good: Sightings were up and bucks were very active during the rut.

Good: Harvested six deer (so far), one 8-point, one 4-point and four does.

Fair: Only killed one buck.

Poor: Too many other hunters, saw a few deer.

Candler Co. E-4, G-5, F-1, P-1

Excellent: Lots of deer and a good population of 3.5-year-old and older.

Excellent: Plenty of nice bucks and lots of daylight activity unlike most years when they moved after dark.

Excellent: Hunt well-managed property, plenty of deer, good buck-to-doe ration, very healthy herd with quality bucks.

Good: I’ve seen a lot of deer. More smaller bucks than does.

Good: Saw plenty of deer.

Good: I saw lots of deer and some nice bucks. Didn’t see the most mature ones, however.

Good: Saw a lot of mature bucks using scrape and run lines. Never really just hunted the old way I guess I should say. Hunted acorns, swamp chestnuts, there was a big crop of acorns. Really looking forward to next year because I didn’t take any bucks. Maybe they all will make it.

Fair: Did not see very many deer.

Poor: We planted about 5 acres of the best food plots ever on our property. No deer. With in 3 miles of us they had 3 different crop damage permits for deer this growing season. They wiped them out. About 20 to 30 deer were killed per permit. They use nightvision and silencers. Deer have no chance. Last year we had a good healthy herd to hunt. This year no tracks crossing the roads and plots are not being touched. Not a lot on the cameras. My father and I put a lot of money and time into having a healthy managed herd here and this year they are gone.

Carroll Co. E-3, G-9, F-5, P-2

Excellent: Mostly good weather. Good deer movement. Personal best buck harvested.

Excellent: I saw deer just about every time I hunted, and I killed and good 8-pointer and two mature does.

Excellent: I’ve seen deer almost every sit and have seen four really nice bucks while on stand. I’ve managed to get my children on some deer, too, so I can’t complain one bit.

Good: Saw fair amount of deer.

Good: I saw a lot of deer.

Good: I was able to take a couple of does for the freezer, enjoyed being in the outdoors, only wished the temperature would have felt more like deer season.

Good: I have only harvested one doe, but the season isn’t quite over. I enjoyed hearing of friends whose children have shot their first deer. Nothing is better than hunting!

Fair: Able to harvest a few deer but didn’t see as much as I normally do.

Fair: Didn’t see but four deer this season.

Poor: Local homeowners let their dogs run the woods. The dogs kept the deer spooked and run off. Did not see any deer on our property this year.

Poor: I have seen rubs but no deer.

Catoosa Co. G-3, F-2, P-1

Good: Now that my friends and I have hunted the coyotes hard around here, you can finally just now see the results in a large increase in the animals that you’d rarely get a chance to see otherwise. Seems with only our small local efforts, which is just really between about seven or eight guys all just trying to do our part to get our local large and small game animals out of the coyote stool, it finally has now really taken a DEFINITE toll on our community in the past 18 months. Just myself alone I have taken a total of 76 coyotes in those 18 past months within 4 to 5 miles of my home. I’ve seen a quite a few deer this season. Most all the bucks are still younger in age class and still growing around here, with the exception of about three good bucks now past their obvious prime as far as antler size. I bet our deer hunting will just continue to get better in the future with our non-stop efforts to support the ongoing predator eradications.

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Fair: Not seeing many deer this year.

Fair: I had several excellent hunts while hunting in Worth and Sumter counties during Thanksgiving. The deer population in Catoosa County does not compare to that of Worth and Sumter.

Poor: Heat waves had it hard to see anything but a group of does every now and then.

Chatham Co. G-1

Chattahoochee Co. E-2, G-1, F-1

Excellent: Plenty of deer.

Fair: I hunt on Fort Benning, and I’m not seeing that many deer out there, but I did shoot a nice buck.

Chattooga Co. E-4, F-4, P-2

Excellent: I tagged out. Two big bucks.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer this season.

Excellent: Saw deer regularly and killed a 10-point that’ll probably score 125-135. Biggest of my life.

Excellent: Saw deer pretty much every time hunted. Watched a lot of rutting activity.

Fair: Right before gun season, I learned my hot spot has been sold and I had to scramble to find new territory. I had access to enough property but had not been through most of it for years. I had three cameras out and had one shooter buck, but he was very nocturnal. Never saw much evidence of a rut either. After over three exhausting (I’m 70 and not so mobile anymore) weeks, I said “OK, the next legal deer is going down.” The very next day I took a little 6-pointer I had passed up two other times, but it was just a bad day for him, and I got my venison in the freezer and could finally sleep late again!

Fair: I think deer season is way too long! It would be much better if it was half as long! By mid season they are almost totally nocturnal from all the pressure.

Fair: Only taken one deer.

Fair: Too many new hunters in the woods. I believe every one got a new gun last Christmas due to COVID and took up hunting.

Poor: Haven’t been at all.

Poor: Poor weather.

Cherokee Co. E-7, G-17, F-6, P-5

Excellent: Plenty of bucks. Lots of does. Healthy herd. Lots of young bucks with great potential.

Excellent: Could have easily taken my limit of deer. I blew a chance at a mature buck this year, but what made it excellent is that my wife started deer hunting this year.

Excellent: Killed two nice bucks and saw other younger and older deer.

Excellent: Bucked out by Nov. 6. Rut was awesome, deer plentiful.

Excellent: My wife Sandi and I spend equal time on two pieces of property. We have killed three really nice bucks to date, Sandi having killed two of them. We have also killed several does and could have taken plenty more. We are very blessed and have had an excellent season. Sandi tagged out early on her bucks so we haven’t spent as much time in the woods as we normally wood have. Thanks for giving us a voice!

Excellent: I managed to see a lot of deer activity on nearly all of my hunts. I also managed to fill plenty of tags this year and also managed to harvest a very nice buck. I could not have been more happy.

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer on our property this year.

Good: Saw plenty of deer and got lucky.

Good: Saw a few 3-plus-year-old bucks but as many as previous seasons.

Good: Seeing plenty of deer.

Good: Saw some deer. I think the bag limit is too high.

Good: I was able to harvest one good buck and a doe. My son was able to harvest a buck and a doe, also. Seen a lot of deer while hunting this year.

Good: Plenty of healthy deer. Too little land to hunt.

Good: Any time spent in the woods is good if not great.

Good: Saw good numbers of deer on the properties I hunt but was not blown away with the antler size on bucks as I have been in the past two or three seasons.

Good: Typical season but more people hunting than ever.

Good: Good mix of bucks of all ages and lots of does.

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Did not see a lot of deer activity. No acorns this year. Did kill two 8-point bucks and one doe, not including one doe with my truck.

Good: Saw lots of deer, good mixture of mature does and bucks and yearlings.

Good: I went with good based on weather. Deer population is excellent but very warm and rainy weather keep me from an excellent rating.

Fair: Just not a lot of deer in the area. Early season is the only time the deer stick around my spots.

Fair: About to run out of a place to hunt! Leases have gotten outrageous.

Fair: Not many places to hunt anymore. Saw deer most every time.

Fair: Lack of acorns this fall and increasing pressure on surrounding land cut down on deer sightings.

Poor: Hunted almost every weekend and didn’t see many deer. Saw more deer hunting WMAs.

Poor: Didn’t see near as many deer as usual.

Poor: Issues with my crossbow.

Poor: Quite a few deer seen early season, then they seemed to disappear. Probably due to the increased sighting of coyotes on the tracts I hunt.

Clarke Co. E-2, G-1, F-1, P-1

Excellent: Plenty of deer movement all year. Good acorn crop. Multiple buck sightings. Could’ve easily tagged out. The list goes on.

Excellent: I was able to kill two bucks my first season bowhunting.

Good: New property for bowhunting. Always saw deer, just two target bucks always a step behind me or in front of me.

Poor: Did not have many opportunities to go.

Clay Co. E-1, G-2, F-2

Good: Saw deer.

Good: We had a good season. We saw plenty of deer, and each of us had an opportunity to kill a mature buck.

Fair: Only shot does the past two years. Had to pass on all bucks seen because of age, too young.

Fair: Too many young bucks being killed over bait. Need stricter buck rules.

Clayton Co. E-2, P-1

Excellent: Just a number of good looking bucks, lots of does!

Excellent: Deer numbers are high, probably higher than they need to be. Rut activity this year was above average as a whole as was daylight activity.

Poor: Didn’t see a lot of deer.

Clinch Co. E-1, G-1, F-1

Excellent: Didn’t hunt very much but saw animals and had a good time. I chose not to harvest anything this year.

Good: Lots of decent bucks.

Fair: Below normal activity.

Cobb Co. E-3, G-2, F-2

Excellent: Harvested my largest buck to date, as well as managed a 300-acre piece overloaded with does.

Excellent: I killed a great buck with my crossbow and a doe. I could have taken a deer every day I went hunting.

Excellent: From my backyard in suburban Marietta using four trail cams I was able to record a very healthy deer herd. At times up to five deer in the same spot. I was also able to trace their travel corridors and bedding areas. I’ve hunted public land and occasionally found success in harvesting for the table. Now that I’ve taken up crossbow hunting and having a nice deer population in very close range and extended archery season, I think my chances of harvest this year have improved substantially.

Good: Crowded public land make things difficult.

Fair: Didn’t see as many deer this year like years in the past.

Fair: I usually identify about three to five (what I consider) shooter bucks using trail cams. Probably 3.5 years or older bucks. This year I only saw a very few pictures of one shooter, and no daylight pictures. Not sure why. Maybe warmer weather or more suburban bowhunters.

Coffee Co. E-1, G-2, F-1, P-1

Good: Saw deer most of my hunts, hit the rut perfectly this year.

Fair: Didn’t hunt much.

Colquitt Co. E-2, G-3, F-4, P-1

Excellent: Got to go a good number of times.

Good: I harvested two nice deer.

Excellent: I was able to take a 190 4/8-inch non-typical.

Good: Took a wide 8-point buck and saw several deer, was able to fill my freezer with fresh venison. Have a few days left to hunt.

Good: Saw a lot of deer. Just not cold enough.

Fair: Winter was not very cold. Lots of rain this year produced a lot of acorns. Kept deer movement fairly low, they did not have to go out and look for food as it was everywhere. Rut was not very hot this year. Still great to be in the deer woods.

Fair: Property was clearcut, which changed the deer movement. Deer went nocturnal after Thanksgiving with very few does and bucks seen during legal shooting hours.

Fair: Seen a few deer but think that was due to the unseasonal warm weather this hunting season.

Fair: Saw good numbers of deer, passed on immature bucks. No harvest this year.

Poor: Hot weather seemed to make most of the activity happen at night. Most of the rut activities in this area were nightly from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.. Got lots of trail-cam pictures of mature bucks running does during those hours but only saw one young buck chasing in the daylight hours.

Columbia Co. E-3, G-6, F-3, P-2

Excellent: Buck-to-doe ratio was outstanding. Killed two 8-points with my bow.

Excellent: Harvested my No. 1 and No. 2 bucks on opening weekend and passed another wall hanger two weeks later. QDM works!

Good: I saw many deer but did not pull the trigger. I enjoy being outside.

Good: Saw quite a few deer early, harvested a nice 10-point. Latter part of season the weather was not cooperative and seems like deer turned mostly nocturnal.

Good: Saw deer most hunts and able to take a decent buck on private property.

Good: New lease with lots of great bucks on camera but did not harvest one yet.

Good: Saw plenty deer and shot a 6-pointer.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. No monsters during the day. I see some good ones at night on cameras.

Fair: Didn’t see many deer.

Fair: Saw several small deer in early season. Had two trophy-sized bucks during the rut, then had an unexpected medical issue. Can’t point the finger at one issue when you are recovering from surgery. Our biggest problem come from leasing timber land. All the hardwoods have been cut on our tract, leaving pines, gums, ironwood trees! Still thankful to get three this year. Could have taken more, just don’t like taking so many smaller deer.

Poor: Was only able to get out once on Army Corps Engineer property. Was drawn for B.F. Grant rifle season, too, but wife got sick and was not able to go. Did see a lot of scrapes and rubs when during the one time I got out, but no deer.

Poor: I hunt northeast Columbia County. Private land off the savannah river and near the lake. Several hundred acres of land with only a couple of people hunting. We have food plots but hardly any deer. The deer population seems to be getting worse since 2016.

Cook Co. E-1, G-1, F-1, P-1

Excellent: Shot a 5 1/2-year-old buck and a 4 1/2-year-old buck. Many shooters for next year already lined up hopefully. 2022 should be even better!

Good: I saw a lot of deer but I didn’t hunt near as much as I usually do. I still haven’t shot one, but I have a little bit of time left.

Fair: It was a late rut.

Coweta Co. E-7, G-8, F-6, P-3

Excellent: Nov. 2 I killed a 3-year-old 9-point and Nov. 4 a 5- or 6-year-old 9-point so I can’t complain.

Excellent: I didn’t harvest any deer, but I actually saw more than I ever have.

Excellent: Plenty of deer and older age structured bucks. That is due to extensive feeding and managing, as well.

Excellent: We saw lots of 2- to 4-year-old bucks and pretty much saw deer every hunt.

Excellent: Made memories with my son and grandson! Filled my freezer with two deer.

Excellent: I killed two mature bucks and a few does. Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Fun.

Good: Had multiple opportunities to shoot, didn’t see one I would be happy with.

Good: Improved buck size in our area.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. No big bucks though.

Good: Saw plenty of deer just haven’t got my hit-list buck to show up in the daylight.

Good: Patterns were unusual this year and had to adapt to overcome, but I managed to shoot a mature 8, with several opportunities on other nice but not mature bucks. Had does early season that are gone late season. Turns out neighbor has wounded and lost at least three in the last couple weeks.

Good: I saw a lot of deer, mostly does and harvested a small buck.

Good: Always see deer, good acorns this year.

Fair: Not enough hunt time this year! My fault.

Fair: Seen a few but no shooters.

Fair: Population of deer is way down.

Fair: Saw deer most hunts, mostly small bucks and yearlings. Only a few does were big enough to shoot. Took one.

Poor: Saw very few deer this year compared to previous years.

Poor: Deer sightings while in the woods.

Poor: Weather too warm.

Crawford Co. E-6, G-12, F-6, P-1

Excellent: Harvested a buck scoring 128 0/8 and saw several bucks in the 115- to 120-range.

Excellent: I rated it excellent because God allowed me to harvest a main-frame chocolate-racked 10-pointer. I don’t shoot does and young bucks and try to let many bucks go that would normally be taken by my other club members. In hindsight, I really should have let the deer I harvested go. I can only imagine what he could have grown to in two or more years.

Excellent: Killed the biggest buck I have ever killed and also several does. The deer herd is healthy and plentiful.

Excellent: Killed and saw larger bucks than all previous seasons.

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Good: Good deer sightings even with the warmer weather during the season.

Good: Less sightings of deer.

Good: Weather a little off. No defined rut. Great amount of deer seen. Let over 200 walk.

Good: Hunting at a new club is always difficult during the first season. Saw plenty of deer but was only able to get a good shot on one 8-point. More bad luck than lack of skill or deer.

Good: Killed nice buck, saw plenty of deer.

Good: We saw lots of deer.

Good: Saw a lot of nice deer, hunting a new place. Had a great time.

Good: Lots of deer on cameras, meat in freezer and great weather.

Fair: Warm December weather made bowhunting rather difficult.

Fair: Saw a good number of deer while hunting. The reason I rated it “fair” is because of the deer processing availability. All of the processors close to me were full and not taking any deer fairly early. I am very selective about the deer I harvest, waiting for a mature one. I may not be able to harvest a deer early in the season when processors are still taking deer. I am hesitant to go hunting because of this issue. It would be a waste if I were to harvest a deer and can’t get it processed.

Fair: Went from seeing multiple quality mature 4.5-year-old and older bucks for years down to only a handful of 2.5-year-old bucks this season. All neighboring properties saw the same thing. We trophy manage and our neighboring properties do also. I personally haven’t harvested a buck since 2017. The last buck taken was 2020. We plant and feed year-round, and we do not over pressure and only hunt when it’s time to. We also target mature 4.5-year-olds or older and let all younger bucks walk. We have plenty of does and we harvest a few for the freezer in early season to keep from taking a bred doe, which could be carrying the future generations of deer. Guess the property is in a lull. Hopefully next season will be better.

Fair: Low numbers of mature bucks, excessive doe population reduced observed rut activity.

Fair: Not much deer movement this year.

Poor: Local farmer shooting too many deer in the off season.

Crisp Co. E-2, G-3, F-2

Excellent: Deer movement was good and saw several good bucks.

Good: I saw a good number of does and equal number of good young bucks.

Fair: Deer movement was slow.

Fair: Saw a lot of deer before Thanksgiving, no mature bucks. After Thanksgiving only saw four deer. Way to warm!

Dade Co. E-1, G-1, F-2

Good: I feel like there was plenty of deer not as many in the age class I would like but lots of deer. Wish I had more time in the woods, but due to work my hunting was limited.

Fair: Not near as many deer seen as in the past. Not many shots heard around general area. Other hunters experienced same.

Dawson Co. E-4, G-6, F-3, P-1

Excellent: My son was tagged out by Thanksgiving on bucks. Tons of doe. All around more deer activity than I’ve seen in years up here.

Excellent: Awesome season in Dawson County. We saw lots of deer, and the rut was dead on with your rut prediction map.

Excellent: First traditional bow deer, 6-yard shot, double lung and heart. Dropped in sight. Short drag. Saw a ton of deer. Learned a lot.

Good: Deer numbers are still really down. Bear numbers continue to soar. Every year I see less deer and more bear.

Good: Harvested two deer and saw plenty more.

Good: Just moved to Pickens County. Took me a while to find places to hunt.

Good: Rated as good because I went to a new (to me) WMAs and learned new areas. The weather was historically hot in both October and December and that greatly decreased deer sightings.

Good: Was selected for the island hunt on Lake Lanier.

Fair: Did not get food plots in, therefore not seeing as much as usual.

Fair: Very limited daylight movement even with very light hunting pressure. Ninety percent of all camera photos spread throughout the property were capturing nighttime events. I strongly believe weather was a factor. We typically have at least five to 10 days with lows in the upper 20s as a modest number—that has always helped get them on their feet when the sun is out. But this season we hardly had any frost, much less a freeze or hard freeze. Obviously there was a rut, as with every year, but they must have preferred the ambiance of moonlight this go around.

Fair: I didn’t hunt much this year, but when I did I usually had one of my kids with me. They weren’t very patient, so we didn’t spend a lot of time in the woods and didn’t have much success. And they didn’t want to walk very far, so we were a bit handicapped.

Poor: I never went once.

Decatur Co. E-2, G-2, F-2, P-2

Excellent: Any time you set a goal for deer season and you reach your goal, you have had an excellent season.

Excellent: Been able to hunt a lot and see deer on most hunts.

Good: I have seen deer just about every time I have been hunting. I just have not had as many chances to go this year as compared to previous seasons.

Good: Deer population is healthy.

Fair: Too hot.

Fair: Really didn’t see as much rut activity as I have before and much warmer hunting season this year.

Poor: Hot weather and season ends before the rut gets going good. Would like to see the whole season backed up a month. Bow season is brutally hot and deer still have small fawns or haven’t delivered yet.

Poor: 

DeKalb Co. G-1, P-1

Poor: Too hot.

Dodge Co. E-3, G-9, F-3, P-3

Excellent: I went deer hunting approximately 44 days this year. Out of those days I went I saw 10 to 12 deer about 95% of the time. Dodge county is full of deer!

Excellent: Great deer movement throughout this season with a lot of bucks on their feet. The weather has been good for most of this hunting season, making for some excellent hunts.

Excellent: Lots of deer in general and lots of upper age class bucks.

Good: I actually killed my biggest deer to date, but overall my deer numbers were down and didn’t see or have many mature age-class bucks on camera compared to the previous 10 years on my lease.

Good: Saw a lot deer movement and some nice bucks.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. The weather just had them still moving a lot at night.

Good: 

Good: Got limit.

Good: Killed a nice 9-point.

Good: Saw a lot of does and a few bucks but no shooters. I hunt for the fun of being in the woods and watching the wildlife, although I will certainly harvest a wall hanger buck if the opportunity comes my way. Don’t shoot does because I’m the only person in my family who eats venison, and I believe that more does on the property brings in more bucks.

Good: Killed a couple of does in bow season and saw a lot of deer during the season.

Good: Lot of good quality bucks harvested.

Fair: I didn’t have but one shooter buck this year and the rut was also pretty weak. We have been only shooting 3.5-year-old bucks on both properties. We did have several broken-off bucks, from fighting. This was wide spread over southern Georgia from taking to others that hunt around Dodge.

Fair: While doe sightings were frequent, mature bucks were very scarce. A visit to the processor confirms way too many hunters taking immature deer with very small antlers.

Poor: Deer were undersized and unusually young. No discernible rut.

Poor: All the timber harvesting in the middle of hunting season ruined our year.

Poor: Saw three deer total.

Poor: Too much poaching. We never see a game and fish agent or deputy during the season. Also there are too many coyotes, Most of the remaining deer have left this area.

Dooly Co. E-2, G-2, P-2

Excellent: Quantity and quality of deer. Also was able to spend a lot more time afield.

Good: Saw a good amount of mature deer in person and on camera.

Good: Rut activity was average. Saw a lot of small bucks and one great one.

Dougherty Co. E-1, G-1, F-1

Excellent: Plenty of opportunity.

Good: Killed one 4-year-old 8-point.

Fair: Did not have the time to hunt as much as I usually do.

Douglas Co. E-4, G-2

Excellent: Harvested nice buck and had opportunity to take many more.

Excellent: Saw more big bucks than ever.  I’m 80 years old and been hunting a very long time.

Excellent: I harvested a buck from my hit list and have seen several bucks that have the potential to be quality animals for my hunting area.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer each sit.

Good: I saw plenty of deer.

Good: I was blessed to take two nice 8-point bucks, but on both properties I hunt, we are seeing very few does.

Early Co. E-1, G-3, F-3, P-3

Excellent: Great numbers. Lots of big bucks.

Good: Season rating good because I saw plenty of deer but not as many as past years. Season in Early goes out to early. We miss the second rut. 

Good: Temperatures were way above normal.

Fair: A trickle rut combined with the moons, poor antler year growth and constant bad weather made it very hard to determined a solid hunting schedule.

Fair: Deer are just now starting to rut, but I can not hunt.

Fair: Extreme warm temps seemed to slow deer movement during daytime.

Poor: Just not seeing deer.

Poor: Horrible fall/winter weather and tornado damage to the forest from back in the summer has kept the deer movement to very little and rerouted a lot of deer from normal travel routes.

Poor: Weather.

Echols Co. E-1, F-2, P-1

Fair: Did not see or have on camera any mature bucks. The overall amount of deer seemed down.

Effingham Co. E-1, G-5, P-1

Excellent: Deer population is good, saw a lot of deer, including small bucks. Rut was very active the first two to three weeks of firearm season. Had many photos of mostly nocturnal mature bucks. Harvested my average number of deer this season.

Good: Saw lots but no shooters.

Good: Lots of young bucks, lots of does and one large 8-point active all season.

Good: Fewer mature deer compared to previous years.

Poor: It was too hot and didn’t notice much rutting activity because of the unseasonably warm weather.

Poor: No deer. All timber harvested.

Elbert Co. E-2, G-7, F-9, P-3

Excellent: Saw lots of deer and several really good bucks.

Excellent: I harvested the biggest deer I have ever shot with a bow and with a gun in 2021.

Good: Killed two nice 8-pointers but not the trophy I was hoping for.

Good: Saw lots of deer and several nice bucks.

Good: Saw good many deer, mainly does.

Good: Plenty of deer population.

Good: Saw a number of deer this year, most were yearlings. On the property I hunt two bucks were shot, and on the adjacent property they harvested two bucks and three does.

Fair: Less mature bucks in the area due to over pressure and people shooting 1.5- to 3.5-year-olds.

Fair: Seeing a lot of small bucks and few does. Also had the timber thinned in the middle of the rut, and I am sure that didn’t help!

Fair: Saw many deer early season and after Thanksgiving seems they all just vanished.

Fair: Only saw one deer all year.

Fair: Lack of time.

Fair: Too many coyotes and uncouth hunters.

Fair: I dropped my last paid lease this year and focused on free permission and public lands. I only harvested one (so far), but I had a lot of fun this year getting out there in new and pressured areas.

Fair: Saw fewer deer, doe populations appear to be down. Hog population is up.

Poor: I hunt less because there are less deer to hunt. Too many doe days. 

Poor: Too much poaching. We never see a game-and-fish agent or deputy during the season. Also there are too many coyotes, Most of the remaining deer have left this area.

Emanuel Co. E-4, G-4, F-5, P-3

Excellent: Plenty of deer, good quality bucks, good weather throughout season.

Excellent: I have quite a few mature bucks, does and yearlings on my property.

Excellent: The club had good success on harvesting bucks in spite of the weather (hot and dry). The rut was sporadic as usual. The quality of our herd is getting better as a result of the minerals and protein placed throughout our property. All of our members killed at least one nice buck and most killed their two-buck limit. Our only problem is most of our members will not shoot a doe. We shot 28 bucks up to 204 pounds and only five does.

Good: Lots of good buck movement in early season.

Good: Weather. Not a lot of big bucks sighted.

Good: I don’t do much deer shooting myself, but I do like to get out and sit just to observe and scout for my guest that like to deer hunt. I saw deer almost every outing this season along with a couple nice bucks. The deer on our property are looking healthy as ever.

Good: Saw many deer early in the season. Few nice bucks. Died off late November.

Fair: Hunted deer during gun season on two tracts separated by 25 miles. One was 400+ acres, one was 200+ acres. Saw deer on only a few times on both tracts. Hunting many times and saw no deer and heard no shots. 

Fair: We have 600 acres in north Emanuel County. Usually we have three to four shooter bucks on cam at start of season. Shooter meaning 4.5-plus years old and 125-plus inches of horn. That doesn’t mean my family kills those deer every year, but we know they are at least present. This year one shooter. And that was based on age only. Rut period seemed very short. And the rut didn’t seem very visible this year. Georgia needs to expand horn restrictions statewide and come up with a way to enforce and regulate the two-buck rule. And 10 does? That’s a little excessive.

Fair: Didn’t get to hunt enough.

Fair: Weather seems to have affected hunting this year with a mild and late winter.

Poor: Didn’t kill a deer and only saw a couple this season.

Poor: Large number of does. No bucks.

Evans Co. F-1

Fair: No trophy bucks seen. Plenty of does and yearlings.

Fannin Co. E-2, G-2, F-2

Excellent: Deer everywhere.

Excellent: I was able to harvest two nice bucks, a 7-point that field-dressed 165 and a basic 10 with two stickers that we green-scored 155.

Good: Good season. Saw many mature does but never saw a mature buck.

Good: Lots of does leading to many bucks. However, giant mountain bucks are very elusive. Most bucks are 4 points and under.

Fair: Hunting season interrupted by life events. I was only able to hit the stands twice and saw does, but nothing came within bow range.

Fayette Co. E-1, G-3, F-1, P-1

Many excellent days “climbing a tree to see Him (Luke 19:4)” with bonus of three crossbow deer.

Fair: Did not see as many deer as I would have liked. But I believe this was due to the drought I had at the beginning of food plot planting. My food plots came in thin and late. But with the warm weather and rain we have gotten the past month, they are looking better. But it is a bit too late. There’s always next year.

Poor: Too much construction.

Floyd Co. E-4, G-7, F-4, P-2

Excellent: I saw a lot of bucks. Killed a mature 11-point and my daughter got her first buck, which was an 8-point.

Excellent: Saw plenty of bucks and does.

Excellent: I’m 74 and after two surgeries plus vaccine related health issues I hunted hard, for any age, filled our freezer, and had a great time doing it. Yeah, most excellent!

Good: Saw many deer and some good sized ones.

Good: I saw deer nearly everyday; that kept things interesting.

Good: Still seeing lots of deer on our same farm.

Good: Saw more bucks than in years past. I let a lot of bucks walk but saw fewer does than any other season.

Good: Had a lot of big deer chances but too many mistakes.

Fair: Saw more deer this year compared to last year, but only one shooter.

Fair: Lots of doe on our property and this year I saw a lot of good bucks trailing and young bucks. The one I was looking for, however, when he made his appearance he had broken one of his main beams. Maybe next year.

Fair: In our area, the bucks have been nocturnal since early October.

Fair: Despite harvesting two deer, I only seen a total of eight deer all season long.

Fair: Saw plenty of deer, just not the buck I wanted to take.

Poor: Weather got weird.

Poor: Only saw one deer this entire season that was a mature deer, a doe. Saw no bucks. In past years, I normally see dozens of deer and harvest one buck and two does. (I limit myself to this level.)

Forsyth Co. E-2, G-3, F-2, P-1

Excellent: Mature deer.

Excellent: Arrowed two nice bucks, an 8 and a 9 that is in the low 120s. Saw deer nearly every time out. Hunted Piedmont and Chattahoochee Bend. Neither of those hunts worked out for me, but others in my hunting group had good success. Current management tactics seem to be working well.

Good: Weather.

Good: I bowhunt corn free/no baiting. Corn isn’t necessary to harvest a deer in Georgia. That said, I took two does this season after seeing several quality bucks on camera in late summer/early fall. Then later in the season, they virtually disappeared. Although there are many plausible reasons that will influence buck movement, I suspect that others who bait may have pulled deer away.

Fair: Didn’t see a lot of deer.

Poor: Have four forested area adjacent to 50-plus acres hunted by three colleagues (archery); one buck in three years.

Fulton Co. E-3, G-8, F-1

Excellent: I shot a 20-inch Pope & Young 8-point with my bow and have passed four 120s bucks, saving them for next season.

Excellent: Filled both buck tags and saw a lot of deer.

Excellent: Always the best time of the year.

Good: I killed two 8-point bucks and a doe in south Fulton County.

Good: Saw a lot of deer but not any older bucks to shoot.

Good: I hunt Fulton and Terrell, I think the warmer fall and winter weather and abundance of white oak acorns may have created a little less deer movement than I expected compared to trail cameras I ran before the season indicating it would be a great year.

Good: Son and I both bagged bucks.

Good: Didn’t get to hunt a lot due to work and family. Managed to be there when it mattered and killed my biggest buck ever. Figured out there was a lot of hunting pressure on my spot, but I have secured a less-pressured spot now.

Good: Killed a nice 8-point opening day of bow season.

Good: Saw a decent amount of deer. Quality of deer seen was decent, as well. I would have rated excellent being that I tagged out on bucks for the first time in 20-plus years of hunting, but I feel like there is always room for improvement, and I would like to see the state take a more active role in managing deer based on region and specific herds instead of a statewide approach.

Fair: Deer numbers are down. Thanks to all the publicity Fulton County has been getting lately, there are more trespassers and poachers than ever. Now everybody wants to gain hunting land in Fulton County at all cost. My property owners are constantly being confronted and being asked to hunt their property. It’s nothing like it use to be.

Franklin Co. E-5, G-5, F-1, P-2

Excellent: I harvested a good deer and have seen a lot of good deer.

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer. Was able to manage the harvesting of specific deer to improve the heard. We have been managing this property for five years, and it’s getting better every year.

Good: Saw a decent amount of deer. However, the big buck population (4 years old and up) wasn’t as good as previous years.

Good: Two deer.

Poor: No mature deer. Too many who shoot every 2.5-year-old buck and make the cull excuse because they don’t own it.

Poor: Low numbers of deer.

Gilmer Co. E-3, G-4, F-4, P-1

Excellent: Tagged out.

Excellent: Harvested two mature bucks before end of November.

Good: Killed two bucks (one 8 and one 6) and one good mature doe during muzzleloader season. Always good when you can fill the freezer.

Good: Good-sized bucks.

Good: Killed a nice mountain buck. Deer population seems good.

Fair: Gun season is too long, deer are very pressured.

Fair: I didn’t have any good bucks on camera this year so I didn’t hunt but maybe six days total.

Fair: Have hunted the same property for several years. Deer movement not good this year. No defined rut seen.

Fair: Not enough time in the woods.

Poor: Nothing is going to change until they reduce the number of deer you can kill. I know, I know… “That has nothing to do with it.” Deer hunting will never be good again, who gives a rip.

Glascock Co. E-4, G-1, F-1, P-1

Excellent: I was able to kill a buck that I had passed three times over the last two years. The last four years bucks I have let walk as three and four disappeared, so I was happy to get the buck this year.

Excellent: I had eye surgery but was able to help others with kills.

Excellent: Saw more deer and had more opportunities to get deer.

Good: I saw plenty of deer. Would really like to see more big deer.

Fair: Didn’t see the number of does I’ve been accustomed to seeing the last 10 years or so. Seemed to see mainly 1 1/2-year-old 4- and 6-points. 

Poor: I have not seen any deer from the stand this season.

Glynn Co. G-1, F-1

Good: Saw plenty of deer and had lots of pictures of deer everywhere I placed a camera but only rated good as it’s not as many as years past.

Fair: I was able to get a few deer for the freezer but did not have the opportunity to take a nice buck. My son was able to take his largest buck to date though, so that made the season better.

Gordon Co. E-6, G-5, F-5, P-5

Excellent: Saw lots of deer, killed a great buck.

Excellent: I saw plenty of bucks and does all season. Lot of bigger mature bucks early in the season and young smaller bucks late in the season.

Excellent: We introduced several new hunters to deer hunting. Saw large amounts of deer all season, and killed six mature bucks off the hunting club.

Excellent: Many big bucks visible.

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer, good rut activity, just did not get to hunt as much as I would have liked.

Excellent: I only hunted five times before taking this survey (work kept me busy). I was able to go once with my 5-year-old son and four times by myself. I saw deer on two of the five trips (a total of 8 deer). I harvested a 3.5-year-old buck, a 2.5-year-old buck and a 2.5-year-old doe. I also saw two coyotes but could not get a shot off on either of them.

Good: Didn’t see a lot of deer but was blessed with two bucks and a doe with the bow.

Good: I saw more deer this season and especially more bucks.

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Good: I saw a lot of deer and some nice bucks but no really big bucks.

Fair: To many people selling their property to people who don’t have a clue about deer quality management.

Fair: Seeing fewer deer each year for the past several years!

Fair: Saw several young bucks and plenty of does but just couldn’t get one of the target bucks in daylight hours.

Fair: Did not see the number or quality of deer as seen in 2020.

Fair: Gun season too long, bucks don’t have a chance to make it 4.5 or older.

Poor: Weather, deer numbers.

Poor: Wasn’t able to hunt much.

Poor: No place to hunt without a 100 folks disturbing you while your hunting in public areas.

Poor: No deer.

Grady Co. G-3, F-4, P-1

Good: Seemed like lots of mature daylight bucks, although doe numbers seem lower. I think the buck-to-doe ratio is heavily in favor of bucks here in Grady County.

Good: We saw several good deer.

Good: The rut after Christmas and goes on until the end of the season. The big boys are just now moving on 12/31. I think moving the season back one month should be looked at in the southern counties.

Fair: Deer population is down.

Fair: Not enough cold weather or deer.

Fair: Weather has been a little crazy.

Poor: Deer count way down.

Greene Co. E-8, G-13, F-8, P-5

Excellent: Hunted 18 days, saw 36 deer and harvested two mature bucks.

Excellent: I have had the opportunity to thin out the over populated herd in our area.

Excellent: I’ve hunted most every day of firearms season; saw dozens of bucks, many in the 2.5- to 3.5-year age category. With three days left in the season, I’ve killed one hog and one doe. Good weather, good deer movement, just a good season.

Excellent: I love to be outside and to hunt, so when I can do that, it is excellent! Each season is different, and deer don’t do the same thing every year, so that makes it even more fun. Sitting in the same stand over the same corn pile and shooting decent buck every year isn’t for me. I like “hunt” deer.

Excellent: I have seen more quality bucks this year than ever lots of healthy does it has been a great season just to watch the deer

Excellent: I was able to get a doe during blackpowder, then a 15-point buck on Thanksgiving Day. If it wasn’t for the buck, I would have rated the season lower as I did not see any other buck activity during the season and I hunted more than normal.

Excellent: Saw 107 sightings of deer.

Excellent: Only shot one so far but have seen deer every outing except one.

Good: Seen a lot of deer on my farm this year, and the bucks are looking very good for next year.

Good:  Killed a buck in archery, hunted all season.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, mostly does. Took an 8-point buck.

Good: Saw deer at every sit, 12-15 hunts.

Good: Saw many young deer.

Good: Seen deer every time, killed two nice bucks.

Good: Better than 10 years ago, but not as good as 20-plus years ago.

Good: We saw lots of deer in early season and very little after Thanksgiving—the norm.

Fair: Saw few quality bucks and less than normal does.

Fair: Less deer. Too many doe days Too many hogs. Never had them before.

Fair: Did not kill this year but saw plenty, mostly young, wanted something bigger.

Fair: Deer population was acceptable. Fellow hunters were considerate on public land that I hunt. The land appears to be over hunted in the easy access areas but low pressure in the hard-to-access areas.

Fair: Saw a lot of deer. Not one suitable for mounting.

Fair: Didn’t see many mature bucks this season.

Fair: The deer population continues to decline.

Fair: Low numbers of quality deer. Low numbers overall. Only reason it was fair and not poor was due to killing my main buck and interactions with him.

Poor: Public-land hunter. Land seemed unusually occupied this year. Public-land hunting is very difficult. Add in the extra pressure, and it was tough to walk away with a harvest. I came away empty-handed this season.

Poor: Not much of a sign of the rut this year, only killed one deer.

Poor: No deer due to clearcutting.

Poor: Redlands WMA is the area I always hunt. I hunt a lot and every year I see multiple bucks and doe. This year pressure was higher than usual, but that usually get the deer up and moving. I didn’t see a single decent buck all year. Only saw 2 does! Terrible out there this year! Everyone I know who hunts there had the same or worse experience. Not sure what the issue is, but I know it has been an awfully hot hunting season. Terrible hunting weather the whole season except for a handful of days. The buck sign was just not there and the does are gone. There was a ton of folks breaking the rules, also. I know it happens, but this season was brutal. I don’t understand why there is no law enforcement presence out there ever. Very disappointed. That being said, I love Georgia hunting and would love to see the deer come back to the Redlands.

Gwinnett Co. E-3, G-9, F-1, P-2

Excellent: Killed my target buck.

Excellent: I saw deer on almost every sit. I had the opportunity to kill two shooter trophy bucks, but I was not successful. I still consider that a VERY successful season. I also have multiple good bucks on camera.

Good: Lots of deer, no bucks.

Good: Saw more deer than usual.

Good: Saw several good deer. More poaching than I every seen though.

Good: I didn’t kill anything this year but that was by my choice.

Good: Killed a nice mature 8-point and passed on several other 3.5-year-plus olds.

Poor: Hardly saw deer.

Poor: The weather! Hot, cold, Seattle rain, etc.

Habersham Co. E-1, G-7, F-4, P-2

Good: Shot a 7-pointer. Took my son hunting and saw deer. I just enjoyed being outside.

Good: I saw a few good bucks and was able to take a few does and a smaller buck.

Good: Saw a few bucks.

Good: Saw an increase in deer this year. Second year of feeding continuously all year and I think the deer are starting to once again homestead my property.

Good: Seems the same as always.

Good: I saw a lot of deer on my property riding the tractor but physically I wasn’t able to go but just a few times. Lots of deer pics on trail cameras. We need more doe days here as it’s more populated now as they cleaned my gardens up. Had good population of fawns and not much coyote pics as usual in past years. 

Fair: No where to hunt, not enough doe days.

Fair: I took a really good buck this year, and the rut was super exciting this year, but overall the deer numbers are still lower than in the past. I have seen an immediate response to my coyote trapping efforts. I had more fawns this year by far compared to the past few years and I hope this trend will continue.

Fair: Despite less hunting pressure in my area, very few does were seen. This led to bucks leaving the area during rut.

Fair: Good deer population, had to work too much to get out.

Poor: Deer populating dwindling.

Hall Co. E-8, G-8, F-5, P-3

Excellent: Nice bucks moving in on the property due to all the construction going on.

Excellent: I tagged out for bucks before the rut!

Excellent: I saw a lot of deer, a lot of chasing.

Excellent: I hunted more than 20 days, archery only, and saw deer more than 75% of the time and harvested three.

Excellent: I saw a lot of deer. I also shot the largest buck of my life.

Good: Shot nice 8-point. Did not get to hunt much.

Good: I’ve seen several deer throughout the season and took a decent buck. I could have killed several bucks, but they were not the age buck I hunt for.

Good: Many good deer.

Good: I took one good buck this year but passed on multiple smaller 8-point or larger bucks in other counties we hunt.

Good: Saw several bucks and harvested one deer.

Good: Deer movement has been normal and consistent.

Good: I had a pretty good season. I didn’t get to go as much as I would like. I have killed five so far, a broken 8 and four does.

Fair: Didn’t see as many deer as usual.

Fair: I did shoot a doe opening day of archery, but the developments are keeping the majority of deer nocturnal. Wish I could find another club in East Hall.

Fair: Didn’t see any mature bucks.

Poor: A lot of sickness and deaths have kept me out of the woods this year.

Poor: Saw a few deer.

Poor: Illness.

Hancock Co. E-15, G-41, F-14, P-4

Excellent: Filled buck tag and freezer full of meat.

Excellent: I saw record number of deer on my hunts… sometimes 15 to 25 per hunt.

Excellent: Deer were on the move, seen lots of good deer. I get to hunt a lot, seen deer every hunt.

Excellent: Tons of deer.

Excellent: Deer were plentiful.

Excellent: Love it.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer, including some great-looking young bucks and was fortunate enough to take a real nice mature buck.

Excellent: I saw a small herd of bucks chasing the same doe and hanging around the area for over 15 minutes! I also saw quite a few does at other times and young bucks. I could only hunt a limited amount of time from one deer stand due to recent knee replacement surgery. I did harvest a decent 8-pointer on Nov. 6.

Excellent: Harvested my biggest buck ever.

Excellent: Saw more shooter bucks than previous years. Bigger bodies, bigger racks.

Excellent: Plenty of deer. More bucks than normal.

Good: Saw plenty of deer.

Good: I had many more bucks on trail cam last year. This year those bucks didn’t grow or get shot last year. I have gazillions of those on my property in my Durana clover fields!

Good: There was certainly more deer activity in our area compared to last year. Though I think we’re seeing only closed acreage movement due to the amount of deer feeders being used by various hunting clubs. In my opinion the use of feeders in general has been a poor move forward.

Good: Lots of does and small bucks. Only saw a few good bucks I couldn’t shoot that weren’t on my property.

Good: Saw a lot of deer this year!

Good: I saw a lot of deer and we had a good rut.

Good: Saw a lot of deer, but no quality bucks.

Good: Rut was active with animals going nocturnal fairly quickly post rut.

Good: Lots of deer activity that lasted all season.

Good: Saw a lot of deer. No shooter bucks but several small bucks will grow to be shooters with the next couple of years.

Good: Good deer, plenty of deer, dealing with hog issues.

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Didn’t see many bucks.

Good: We saw plenty of deer, met our management goals and had great family time.

Good: Saw a ton of deer. Didn’t see very many mature deer and the one we had was killed opening weekend next door.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, both bucks and does.

Good: Had an above-average number of good buck pics this year! The food plots grew well early but soon were hammered by the deer because of our dismal acorn mast this year! Then it didn’t rain for quite awhile! And the greater than normal late-season temperature put most of the deer on a nocturnal pattern. But overall we had a good year!

Good: More land management than hunting these days.

Good: I rated a good season hunting in Hancock County. Lot of deer seen during the first four weeks of gun season, killed a nice 10-pointer trailing a doe on Oct. 24. We started maintaining our food plots these last couple of years and the deer are holding on our property, and we are letting a lot of the does  and 2-year-old 8-pointers walk, and it’s paying off.

Good: Harvested multiple quality bucks off our 500-acre club in Devereux. Many young tall 6- to 8-point bucks will mature to give us pics to watch through spring-summer 2022. Chased a 9-point for the third Season and looks like he’ll make it four seasons!

Good: Saw deer and we harvested four on my property.

Good: Lot of activity early on. Looks like rut was real early. Got one nice buck opening day and didn’t see another good one the rest of the season. Did see a fair amount of does.

Good: Saw a bunch of shooter bucks.

Good: The rut was very active but never saw anything better than 3.5 year olds.

Good: Killed two deer.

Good: I saw plenty of young buck and does. I harvested an old buck, but his rack was not that good. Rack quality is just now where our club wants it.

Good: Saw good deer movement all year but weather was warmer than usual. Had a good number of bucks on camera early but disappeared during late November and December. But overall good season.

Good: Saw a lot of deer but did not see any mature bucks in person or on camera.

Good: I was able to hunt more this year than last mostly due to kids sports not being in the way. I saw deer more on hunts. I also killed a nice 8-point.

Good: Lots of deer. Medium-sized bucks disappeared as the season progressed.

Good: Didn’t see much rut action at all this year so can’t say excellent. Deer quit moving after first week of November. Became basically a waste of time to hunt after. Early season was good though. My son harvested multiple deer, including his first and first buck. My oldest son harvested his first buck. So we got our quota and happy hunters for the year.

Good: Good all around season, freezer is full.

Good: See deer on every sit, passed on a couple of nice bucks. Four club members got nice bucks this year on 450 acres.

Fair: Saw lots of deer beginning of season and passed on a decent buck. Just enjoyed seeing deer. Then came time toward end of season to fill the freezer and deer just disappeared when out hunting. So part of reason for fair rating is my fault waiting. Still have last week of season left to so may get couple of does if lucky.

Fair: Didn’t get to hunt enough.

Fair: No great bucks on property.

Fair: Did not see as many deer as last year.

Fair: Saw lots of does. No bucks. No good bucks killed on our club.

Fair: Saw several bucks, just young

Fair: Saw some bucks. Not as many as usual. No shooters. No acorns to draw in does.

Fair: Did not see many deer. Only took one doe and it was small. Deer cooler closest to us closed down and most were full.

Fair: Killed two biggest bucks this year but not seen the deer numbers of the past.

Poor: Because we went less year.

Poor: I did not hunt as much as I would have liked to.

Poor: Deer population.

Poor: Very few deer seen or killed. Some on camera, nocturnal.

Haralson Co. E-2, G-7, F-2, P-2

Excellent: Extra time to hunt this year. Good weather during rut. Good deer density.

Excellent: I harvested a great buck.

Good: Saw plenty of deer but no big bucks.

Good: Seen a whole lot of deer. Just not many bucks.

Good: Rut was about seven to 10 days later than normal. Good season but could be better, if there was a game warden in our area to stop the night hunting!

Good: Didn’t see that many deer.

Good: We saw many deer, not as many as we did last year, but it was a good season.

Good: Hunted less than usual but still saw deer every time I went.

Good: Sightings we’re pretty steady this year but only does and small bucks.

Fair: Only saw two bucks but dozens of does.

Poor: Every year fewer deer seen! No doe days in early season leads to more yearling bucks taken.

Harris Co. E-5, G-9, F-2, P-3

Excellent: Plenty of deer and due to our intense management plan plenty of trophy-class bucks.

Excellent: Saw deer almost every trip. Harvested a nice buck.

Excellent: Great acorn and forage this year. Rut was decent, but not intense. Lots of deer movement.

Excellent: Saw plenty and also a lot of young bucks.

Excellent: Deer quality and numbers were great on our lease. Kids were able to tag out on a couple nice bucks.

Excellent: Took limit of quality bucks.

Good: I saw a number of does but very few legal bucks.

Good: I was only able to hunt a few times and very limited during the rut but saw some nice bucks that I passed on. Did not shoot a buck again this season.

Good: We had early and late success this season. However, the warm weather seemed to have some impact on the rut cycle this year.

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Good: Killed a buck and a doe. Have had the opportunity to kill a few more deer that I let walk and got some good bucks on camera.

Poor: Hunted more this year than ever before. Hardly any deer seen during day, all pictures at night.

Poor: Wife had back surgery.

Poor: Not seeing many deer this year, and the ones I have seen have been really small. Just not seeing the deer like I used to have around.

Hart Co. E-2, G-8, F-1, P-1

Excellent: Saw lots of deer. 

Excellent: I was able to take a mature buck and also saw the most rut activity I have ever seen in Georgia

Good: I saw deer almost every time I hunted. No big bucks but that is not so important to me any more.

Good: Saw plenty of deer and several bucks.

Good: Very few mature deer, hunters surrounding us shoot every deer they see.

Good: I was able to harvest an 8-point buck and a nice size doe, enough to fill up my freezer. I saw a few small bucks and does that I passed on. The weather this year was up and down from hot to cold, and then it warmed up again making it pleasant to hunt.

Good: Saw plenty of deer this season. But has slowed down as of 12/31/2021.

Good: Deer numbers seem to be coming back after years of being down.

Good: Got one buck during bow season. Saw more deer this year, just not that big.

Poor: During the spring and summer I had really nice 140- to 160-class bucks and many does with fawns. Because of my brain injury from being injured in Iraq by a roadside bomb, I can only hunt with a rifle. By the time season opened for rifle, the weather patterns and food resource I feel hade a huge impact on keeping the deer on my land. I have planted food plots every year, and this year I just didn’t see any deer.

Heard Co.                 E-3, G-6, F-7, P-4

Excellent: Saw multiple deer almost every hunt.

Excellent: A lot of deer.

Excellent: Big-body 9-point buck.

Good: Number of deer.

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Spending time with my friends and my sons. Teaching the traditions and proper sportsman ethics and hunting tactics to the next generations is most important.

Good: Enjoyable time in the woods!

Good: Saw deer on almost every hunt.

Good: Got lots of deer.

Fair: Limits too high.

Fair: Not a lot of deer and saw does on buck-only days.

Fair: Did not see as many deer while hunting or on camera as seen in previous years.

Fair: The weather with it being so hot has slowed down deer movement and the amount of time I spend in the woods.

Fair: Saw very few deer, almost no does, but I did kill a decent buck.

Fair: Property we hunt is still recovering from being clearcut as the 2020 season started with new strategies needed and we had to wait until September to do any food plots due to replanting. Late season has been very good with a lot of action and a few harvests. Bow season through the end of November was slow with only a few sightings of deer during hunting hours.

Poor: Weather, moon, nocturnal.

Poor: Too many coyotes. 

Poor: Saw the least amount of deer ever on property I have hunted on for 22 seasons. Deer went nocturnal almost immediately after firearms season opened and hunting pressure on my land was moderate.

Poor: After the rut, which was prior to Thanksgiving on our property, we rarely saw our mature deer. Feel like with everyone feeding, including us, I believe we are making mature bucks even more nocturnal.

Henry Co. E-2, G-6, F-6, P-2

Excellent: Shot an 8-pointer early season with a new crossbow.

Excellent: Was able to harvest two bucks and a big doe.

Good: Good deer population.

Good: Just hunt on my property and only with a camera now! Got a 8-point, 4-point and three does! 

Good: Did not see very much rut activity if any this year. This year’s weather was horrible. Hot during most of the season. Spent a lot of time watching deer but not very many shooters this year.

Good: Seem to be seeing a lot more bucks, mostly small ones. Very few does.

Good: Saw plenty of wildlife.

Fair: Didn’t see any mature bucks during gun season. Did see one during bow season a couple of times, though.

Fair: Lot of deer sightings but the bigger bucks moved only at night.

Fair: I haven’t taken time to hunt because the neighbor’s dogs run loose on my property.

Fair: Too many people moving here.

Fair: Saw very few bucks.

Fair: I didn’t get to go as much as I could.

Poor: Didn’t get in the stand all year.

Poor: I had a baby in October. Deer season pretty much canceled.

Houston Co. E-1, G-2, F-5

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: I harvested some deer.

Good: Saw deer more times than not, granted some of the same deer. Early bow season was slower, rut was kind of crazy, never saw heavy chasing, etc. Overall one of my better years, but I spent a lot more time in the woods than usual.

Fair: Land to lease or hunt is getting harder to find.

Fair: Lack of bucks. Fewer deer seen.

Fair: Not much rut activity.

Fair: Didn’t see many deer.

Irwin Co. E-1, G-2, P-2

Excellent: Killed a nice 8-point we had on camera the last two years and a mature doe.

Good: Saw more deer this year than ever, including really good bucks. Very few days where I didn’t see any deer. Killed two nice bucks, and as always, enjoyed watching all the others. Hopeful for next year. Once reason it wasn’t an excellent season is because a neighboring hunting club member shot and wounded THE buck I’d been scouting and watching on camera all season. He took a shot that was too far for the gun he was using and lost the deer. Such a waste on a monster.

Good: I only shot one deer but saw a good amount of activity during the rut.

Poor: Saw very few deer this season, 11 out of stand.

Poor: Excessive rainfall. Three food plots in standing water all season.

Jackson Co. E-3, G-15, F-1, P-1

Excellent: I saw deer 75% of the time and harvested a nice buck.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer each hunt, had great rutting action, killed biggest buck ever on property this season.

Excellent: Seen deer most of the time. Passed on many young bucks. Harvested four does.

Good: Didn’t get to hunt as much as would have liked to. Did not see much rutting activity but did take a nice buck.

Good: Successful with bucks but not at all with does. Hunting in the woods exclusively, no edge. Overall still a good season. Very blessed.

Good: 15 years of QDM paying off.

Good: Hunted on private land hadn’t really been in about 5 years due to loss of spouse. Glad to say I still have it. Got a buck and a doe and season isn’t over yet. Looking forward to ending it with a bang. Guess not bad for a 72 year old. By the way I don’t trophy hunt, just hunt.

Good: Had successful hunt.

Good: I saw plenty of deer, but I did not see the number of mature bucks I have in the past.

Good: Seeing more deer than past few years.

Good: I saw deer almost every time I hunted. The rut seemed a little off this year. Maybe I just missed the peak due to my work schedule.

Good: Seen a lot of deer this year.

Good: Our club has a four deer limit per membership. My grandson and I got two each.

Fair: Every deer is shot, nobody lets anything walk.

Poor: Lost lease and could not find another, did not get drawn for quota hunt, disheartened.

Jasper Co.              E-9, G-14, F-8, P-3

Excellent: Saw lots of deer and shot a nice buck.

Excellent: Shot a very nice 10-point buck (my largest to date), have more doe and young bucks in my areas then I can remember in years past.

Excellent: Me and my dad saw 40 to 50 deer this season! Although we did not harvest the buck(s) we were seeking, it was a great season overall, especially since it was our first year owning and managing a piece of property.

Excellent: I was able to take two bucks this season, an 8-point and an 11-point, as well as a nice doe. We had a lot of hogs this season as well, and it was fun to take them out for the landowner.

Excellent: Saw deer about every time that I hunted. The deer in my area have a pretty diverse age structure and they appear to have plenty of food available.

Excellent: Saw several deer throughout the season and was able to harvest a buck and a doe.

Excellent: Deer activity was very good. Hard mast was plentiful and rut activity was abundant. Passed up several nice bucks and harvested two does earlier in the season. Was able to take my two older sons to the stand with me for several sits this season. They really seem to enjoy the experience.

Excellent: Did not harvest a deer this year but saw deer every time we were in the woods.

Excellent: I saw a lot of deer almost every hunt. Some days were better than others.

Good: Standard season. Seems the herd is stable.

Good: Plenty of does but very few bucks seen.

Good: Fifteen years grooming same woods and food plots. Plenty of deer and good potential for trophy.

Good: I’ve seen more bucks this season than I have in past 20 years, including many nice 8, 9 and 10-point bucks. I have not seen any that I was sure would meet our trophy standards.

Good: Saw a lot of good bucks.

Good: Saw plenty of does to fill the freezer, no trophy bucks.

Good: I saw many deer every sit. Most were bucks but the two that I saw I could not get a shot.

Good: Saw a lot of mature deer, however, didn’t see any significant chasing and very short period of pre-rut signs. I saw many mature does with their fawns. Saw fawns that still had spots up until October. Saw several mature bucks, however, did not harvest any this year.

Good: Two bucks harvested.

Fair: No large deer. All spikes and buttons. No does!

Fair: Seeing deer was very hit and miss this year, with extra emphasis on miss. I did manage to get a doe late in the season but all in all a pretty forgettable year.

Fair: Only saw one possible shooter buck, opening day of gun season.

Fair: The coyotes are killing the fawns. This needs to be fixed. Then the 10-doe limit a year is so stupid.

Fair: Early season the deer were few and far between as well as small!

Fair: Didn’t see many bucks. Lot of does.

Fair: Deer are going nocturnal due to feeding. It was inevitable.

Fair: Didn’t see many deer.

Poor: Lot of clearcutting. Deer don’t have to move as much for food.

Poor: I only saw thee does the entire season.

Poor: Found new lease at end of July. Didn’t know the property and it didn’t have any plots and very low deer herd.

Jeff Davis Co.                           G-2, F-1

Good: Saw a lot of deer early season, but warm weather slowed it down later.

Good: Saw a good many deer this year

Jefferson Co.                     E-4, G-9, P-2

Excellent: I only hunted eight days on my land and killed my biggest buck in 45 years of hunting. It was a 9-point. I also killed a nice 6-point. I saw deer including bucks and does almost every time I sat in the stand. I went on a state park hunt and took an 7-point and a 6-point. In all, I only hunted parts of 10 days.

Excellent: First day in stand saw 42 does and nine bucks, no shooters.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer and filled up freezer.

Excellent: Terrific deer movement and quality. Best since I started in 2016.

Good: I saw plenty of deer before Thanksgiving.

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Good: Saw some deer and was able to harvest a few.

Good: Saw deer almost every hunt. Good crop of yearlings, too.

Good: Saw plenty of deer and good bucks. Just didn’t connect with the big one.

Good: Good season, consistent with 2020.

Good: Good deer numbers. Plenty of young deer and yearling bucks. No big boys for me this year, but plenty of pigs to keep my eye in shape!

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Harvested 3 with bow. Saw plenty of good-sized bucks.

Good: I saw a good number of deer and our club took a couple of nice quality bucks.

Poor: Only was able to hunt a couple of times.

Poor: Didn’t hunt as much. Saw mainly young bucks and small does.

Jenkins Co.                               E-1, G-1, F-2

Excellent: I hunted 29 mornings this year and saw more deer than in the past years. The rut was on from the first day for three days, then again in November the second week. Did not take a deer but enjoyed the outdoors. 

Good: Plenty of sightings.

Fair: Only saw three deer.

Jones Co.                         E-5, G-12, F-6

Excellent: I’ve hunted really small properties for the past few years and have great success implementing best management practices to improve habitat and food sources. I’ve killed the biggest buck of my life and have many target bucks that made it through the season. I can’t wait for next year!

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer and herd seems to be in great shape.

Excellent: Killed dominate buck.

Excellent: Killed the best deer I have ever killed and saw a lot of really nice bucks.

Excellent: Killed a big 8-point for the taxidermist and a nice 9 for an antler mount. Plenty of younger bucks for next year. Best rut in many a year. A lot of chasing and grunting for quite a few days.

Good: Harvested two bucks and one doe thus far.

Good: I no longer hunt lease land and have gone back to hunting Piedmont and Cedar Creek where I hunted as a youth. I saw deer this past season but could not get an ethical shot. Eight-pointers were taken near me, so I know the deer are still there. I had a good season and enjoy just being in the woods. I’m 71!

Good: I got to have my son hunt with me as my guest on several occasions. This was my 14th year on this land located near Gray. I had the chance to take some deer at different times but let them walk (smaller bucks). I did get to see a quality buck during our rut. It was one of those situations where you realize how much you hate the word (if). Would have finally had a shot but it would have been a gut shot so I didn’t shoot. That feeling we get in those situations (heart racing and shaking) made the season. If he survives till next year he will really be a good one.

Good: Some decent racks for our area taken. Numbers down but quality up.

Good: Saw plenty of deer! Didn’t shoot a buck but watching one still to this day!

Good: Saw a lot of deer, killed a nice 8-point, one my top-10 buck of my life in Georgia. Saw deer every time I hunted but four hunts.

Good: Because of work I couldn’t hunt as much, but I saw deer every hunt.

Good: I was able to take three deer and saw several.

Good: Haven’t gotten to hunt much. My fault!

Good: Passed on many quality bucks.

Good: Saw a lot of deer, passed up a lot of bucks, killed several does. All I do is bowhunt.

Fair: Didn’t see movement like I did last year.

Fair: Not near as many deer as seasons before.

Fair: Very few deer and almost no bucks.

Fair: Rut was sporadic. Saw very few mature bucks.

Fair: I saw a lot of deer, mostly does and few bucks, not of the quality I would take.

Fair: Saw plenty of young does. Not many bucks. Rut activity was very minimal. Seems to be too many does walking around and the bucks do not have to complete for breeding rights.

Poor: I bowhunted the Piedmont NWR and hunted the Piedmont NWR draw hunt. Hunted one day of the draw hunt and didn’t go back as it wasn’t safe with that many hunters.

Johnson Co. E-1, G-3, F-2, P-1

Good: Number of deer and so many good young bucks.

Fair: We had outside factors that negatively impacted our hunting this year: COVID, timber harvesting and theft of a UTV from our club.

Fair: Seen deer but not the normal amount or like we used to.

Poor: Haven’t seen a good buck in years.

Lamar Co. E-1, G-2, F-4, P-1

Excellent: Saw deer every time I went. Saw plenty of good bucks, just didn’t see the one I was hunting.

Good: Saw deer and was able to harvest one.

Good: Saw more deer from the stand than last year.

Fair: We saw tons of deer activity in the early season but after opening day gun season, it went dead. It hasn’t been like that in a long time. Seems like a lot of southeast hunters had the same experience. My son shot a small buck and doe on youth weekend, but that was all we got for the season.

Fair: I hunt only private property and did not see as many deer as I normally do, but trail cams say they were there. Went nocturnal quick.

Fair: Just does not seem to be as many deer around like five and 10 years ago.

Fair: Had a pretty good season, haven’t been back in the woods since a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. Got tired of having to search for a processor. Then the one I found near me seems to be holding some of the meat. Just got tired of it. Became more of a job and not as much fun. Not to mention what they are charging now.

Poor: Too unpredictable this year.

Lanier Co. E-1

Excellent: Had a rut that lasted the entire month of November. Temps never broke 75 degrees.

Laurens Co. E-4, G-19, F-1

Excellent: Seeing deer on a regular basis. Population seems good.

Excellent: More and healthier deer this year.

Excellent: I didn’t see as many big bucks this year but plenty of decent 2.5-year-olds and quite a few healthy does and yearlings.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer.

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Saw a lot of deer earlier in the season.

Good: Club saw some good bucks and a good doe population.

Good; Had some deer on camera that I wanted to get but other than that I’m happy I got a big 10-point.

Good: Killed one nice buck.

Good: I was able to harvest a doe but saw a fair amount of deer throughout the season.

Good: I saw deer.

Good: Overall it was a really good season. I think the strange weather contributed to sporadic deer movement.

Good: Had plenty of deer in the 3 1/2-year-old group and opportunities to manage our herd. We hunt private land that we have managed for 10 years. We only harvest mature animals and very few does. Unfortunately we only have 700 acres and we experience a lot of hunting pressure around us. Most do not manage their herds and they tend to shoot whatever they want.

Good: Not a lot of animals harvested on our lease. The camp was a great time and learned much more about the property and several experiences during the hunt. Will make some changes/moves to have a better chance at success.

Good: Well, lost hunting club and just too worried to hunt public land with some many people and not knowing where someone is liable to be. Ain’t trying get shot. Did get a couple invites and was able to put two deer in freezer.

Good: Shot two fairly nice bucks.

Good: Hunted my own land, saw a lot of deer. Hunted a particular deer.

Good: Four out of the five family members hunting harvested a nice 8-point. Everyone had multiple opportunities to harvest deer.

Good: Good deer early, but then it turned off dry and made it tough to hunt.

Fair: Didn’t see a lot of bucks.

Lee Co. E-3, G-2, F-1

Excellent: Saw lots of good bucks.

Excellent: My 11-year-old grandson harvested two mature bucks on our farm.

Good: Harvested a doe for the freezer along with my wife, nephew and my niece has harvested three.

Liberty Co. E-3, G-3, P-1

Excellent: Number of deer.

Excellent: I only saw two deer while hunting. Doe came in to food plot. About three minutes later a nice 8-point walked in. I killed the 8. That kill made up for all the days I set out there and did not see anything. Averaged eight hours a day three days a week. Still hunting, but I don’t shoot does this late. Early breeders have half-grown babies now. Come on bucks.

Excellent: Deer everywhere I looked.

Good: Plenty of good encounters and opportunities.

Good: Saw plenty of deer and ran plenty of deer.

Good: Only three this year.

Poor: Sick and could not go.

Lincoln Co. E-2, G-5, F-1, P-1

Excellent: Deer herd is healthy and a decent number of older bucks. First time I’ve encountered fighting bucks.

Good: Not much deer movement.

Good: Saw deer 80% of time on stand. Saw bucks chasing does throughout the season.

Fair: Poor weather every time I was able to hunt. Fighting mosquitoes in November and December.

Poor: Sick most of the season. Coughing too much to sit in stand.

Long Co. E-1, G-2, F-1

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer on most hunts.

Good: Harvested four deer prior to ankle surgery on Dec. 1, which ended my season.

Good: Saw a good number of deer.

Fair: The weather has not been to my liking, too warm.

Lowndes Co. E-1, G-3, F-2

Excellent: Killed two quality bucks this year, including my personal best which scored over 140 inches and 14 points.

Good: Plenty of deer.

Good: Didn’t see as many deer this year.

Fair: Killed a good 9-point first of season, now no deer in daylight, little rain and food plots look poor.

Fair: Did not get to hunt as much as I wanted to.

Lumpkin Co. E-1, G-2, F-4, P-3

Excellent: Plenty of deer sightings. Opportunity to take a good quality buck.

Good: Didn’t see a whole lot of deer but what few deer I did see were good-racked bucks.

Good: Lots of deer activity.

Fair: Deer population seems to be lower.

Fair: Weather was warm… did not get to hunt as much as usual.

Fair: Lots of sign, just not much time to take advantage of it.

Poor: No deer.

Poor: See no deer.

Poor: Very few deer on Chattahoochee National Forest. Less than previous years.

Macon Co. E-8, G-6, F-3, P-2

Excellent: Lots of big mature bucks.

Excellent: Even though I didn’t shoot, I saw plenty and passed on a couple that I hope to see next year. It was excellent because my grandson got his first.

Excellent: Daughter killed big buck. Saw deer most of time in stand.

Excellent: Was able to tag out on bucks early and the rut seemed to get started around the end of October and first of November. Saw lots of deer during the season, just about every hunt and I hunted about 45 days straight (retired).

Excellent: Killed my best Georgia deer with a bow and gun.

Excellent: Lots of bucks and does seen. Multiple 110-inch bucks walked. Two does killed.

Excellent: Say a lot of deer.

Good: Took three deer.

Good: I was able to kill a mature buck with my bow on public land.

Good: Deer numbers were good but mature bucks slacking on the property I hunt.

Poor: Didn’t see many deer at all.

Poor: Too many hunters and not enough deer.

Madison Co. E-5, G-8, F-3, P-3

Excellent: Saw a lot of bucks and had several large bucks on camera.

Excellent: Saw a ton of deer and bucks of every age class. I also got one for the wall.

Excellent: I killed an excellent 11-pointer and have seen numerous deer.

Excellent: I bought new property. It has lots of wildlife. We’ve seen deer almost every time, including some missed opportunities at nice bucks. I’ve spent time with my kids in the woods.

Excellent: Me and my son killed both our bucks and saw plenty of deer throughout the season.

Good: Deer movement each time I went hunting.

Good: Good deer movement every time I went into the woods. Several very large photos on game cam.

Good: Saw several good deer through the season and wife killed her biggest buck to date.

Good: I’m a selective archer and had many opportunities.

Good: A lot of deer. Not able to see any really big ones except at night on camera.

Fair: Saw fewer bucks.

Poor: Not seeing any deer during day. Seeing only at night on camera in food plot.

Poor: Saw only one small buck.

Poor: I hunted three times the days I did last year and saw fewer deer. My location isn’t the best for buck travel during the day. I have three different 100-plus bucks on camera consistently at night. I’ve had multiple mornings and afternoons with five or more does. The rut was very subtle. Saw a small 6-point chasing and that was it.

Marion Co. E-4, G-4, F-2, P-2

Excellent: Saw lots of deer and killed two nice bucks.

Excellent: I have a farm in Marion county that I hunt frequently but also hunt with my in-laws at their deer lease in Dooly and Macon counties near the Flint River every chance I get. I saw tons of buck activity this year on all the properties I hunted and bagged two mature 10-points. Acorn crop was bountiful and hunting oaks paid off in spades. Late season it was hard to find does on daylight though and the heat on late December made hunting much more challenging than early season. Thanks for the opportunity to give feedback. 

Excellent: Only hunted less than 10 hours but took a 187-lb. 7-pointer.

Excellent: I passed on over 20 does and took a nice 9-point and a nice 8-point and one doe.

Good: We saw deer but the weather and amount of time in the woods. Overall it was a good year.

Poor: Didn’t see mature deer at any point in the season.

Poor: Low count of doe.

Meriwether Co. E-9, G-21, F-12, P-4

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer and a high percentage of mature bucks.

Excellent: I bucked out early this year with a mature 8-point during pre-rut with a 20-inch spread that weighed 210 pounds. Then shot a solid 8 two weeks later in early November. Have also shot two additional does with the bow for the freezer and population control.

Excellent: Abundance of opportunities to view deer and harvest deer.

Excellent: Killed a 135-class 5 1/2-year-old buck opening weekend, saw a lot of 2 1/2 and younger bucks, hunted through the rut, came back the first of December and hunted two more weeks, saw a lot of young bucks and bunches of doe.

Excellent: I rated my season as excellent due to owning and managing my own small tract for five years and finally seeing good results. Two quality bucks harvested this season.

Excellent: Lots of shooter bucks.

Excellent: Saw plenty of bucks and passed on them until the shooter came by!

Good: Saw lots of good bucks.

Good: We saw a lot of smaller bucks witch is promising for years to come. My brother harvested two nice bucks, 10-point and an 8-point, plus a few does.

Good: I never saw a shooter buck but saw several next year bucks. Deer sightings were off a little but saw a lot more fawns than prior years. Managed two does for the freezer. I am concerned about the proliferation of hogs on our lease. I think it is directly related to the use of corn for baiting. These two events have occurred simultaneously and is not a coincidence.

Good: Had opportunities to kill a decent buck, just never panned out. Already looking forward to next year! Wish it just got colder this year. Ready to hear some turkeys gobbling now.

Good: Killed good one.

Good: Was a good year but not as good as others. Rut seemed less intensive than in past but seemed longer in duration.

Good: Rut was good hunting. Saw lots of deer prior to rut but let does walk while waiting for a decent buck. Saw decent bucks, we both shot one, but not the better bigger bucks recorded on our trail cams. Shooting does at our feeders now, but only those we need for freezer meat.

Good: Plenty of deer.

Good: Saw plenty of deer including some nice bucks, but I’m a little picky. Some very nice bucks on camera. Killed one doe.

Good: Lots of deer.

Good: Lots of nocturnal movement.

Good: Saw a lot of deer, just had a tough time figuring out the rut. My brother harvested a buck opening weekend of firearm’s season that was in full rut. His neck was swollen, tarsal glands black and he stunk so bad you couldn’t smell him from 10 yards away. Had others on same property in rut later November.

Good: Numerous deer were seen as well as harvested. However the temperatures and weather made it difficult at times.

Good: I didn’t get the opportunity to hunt much this season. Saw a lot of deer though.

Good: Seen plenty of 2.5- to 4.5-year-old bucks and could have shot a deer on just about every hunt. Just didn’t see anything I wanted to shoot but let plenty walk so the next few years should be good to kill a few good bucks in the future.

Good: Saw several deer, only shot one. I’m a two-deer-a-season hunter. I’ll shoot another one before the season over.

Fair: Few mature bucks.

Fair: Moved to a different property and saw a lot fewer deer. Did see a few nice bucks but didn’t see the numbers from my previous property.

Fair: Not a lot of deer seen.

Fair: Didn’t see as many big bucks. Maybe too good an acorn crop and cold weather was late getting here.

Fair: Saw deer but nothing that was large enough to kill. Bad weather during the week of my hunt.

Fair: Poachers and trespassers helping themselves to posted property behind locked gates since the only penalty for that is a warning issued by DNR.

Fair: My managed lease of 14 years was sold before the season so I hunted unmanaged land. That’s tough after hunting great property.

Fair: Didn’t have much movement this year.

Poor: Saw very few bucks and the ones I saw were very young.

Poor: Very few bucks and a few does which I didn’t want to shoot.

Poor: Very limited deer movement during the daytime.

Poor: Very little deer movement. No shooter seen.

McDuffie Co. E-4, G-4, F-2, P-1

Excellent: I saw numerous deer on each hunting trip, including several bucks.

Excellent: Saw deer almost every time I went out. Most were non-shooters (button bucks, yearling does, etc), but it’s always a positive when you see deer of and flavor! Freezer is now full.

Excellent: Shot two bucks opening weekend of gun season. My son shot his first deer and I recorded it.

Good: White acorns did not drop like normal.

Good: Killed two nice bucks, 8- and 9-points. Four total. Didn’t see many does this year.

Fair: Saw less deer than last couple years. Still had a fair season harvesting two mature deer for the freezer. Left plenty out there with great potential for future years.

Fair: Didn’t catch up with my target buck.

Poor: I saw some smaller does but only saw one shooter in 10 total sits. Only bucks I saw were spikes.

McIntosh Co. G-3

Good: It was too warm. Deer weren’t moving like usual.

Good: Saw lots of deer and shot a nice 8-point.

Good: Deer numbers are a little higher than average where I hunt.

Miller Co. E-1, G-1, F-2, P-1

Excellent: Biggest buck yet.

Good: I’ve seen quite of few deer and harvested a nice buck.

Fair: Lots of small deer seen this year, but too warm.

Fair: Weather was terrible and the deer are finally beginning to move and it’s the end of season!

Poor: Didn’t see many deer this year, not sure if it was weather or a local population decline. It seemed that not many people in our area saw the numbers we are used to seeing. The rut is also still on in my portion of the county and the season goes out in six days so hopefully we can end on a strong note.

Mitchell Co. E-1, G-3, F-3, P-1

Excellent: Made some improvements, identified some more. My son and I filled our freezers.

Good: Had a good season overall. Didn’t see as much rut activity as usual but saw plenty of deer.

Good: Saw deer about every time I hunted. Does and young bucks are numerous. Older bucks have very little competition to mate and are staying holed up or moving mostly at night. Saw quite a few large, older bucks after dark.

Good: Limited out on bucks.

Good: Saw a lot of deer, but no shooters.

Fair: Deer population seems to be less than last year and the weather was too warm.

Fair: Totally different year. It could be my time in stand didn’t coincide with the deer activity. That being said I was on stand during the same time period as last year. I feel warmer weather was another factor, last year highs in the 50 , this season 70s and 80s.

Poor: First of all, I own my farm and I am 69 years old and archery hunt only. I have owned the farm for 26 years. My 10-year-old grandson killed his first two with a bow this season. It is only 4 miles from Decatur County, which extended their archery season along with Seminole County until the end of January, which I’m sure was great for them. The warm weather has messed up the deer movement and the rut. Besides, the rut is always real late, usually things don’t heat up until after Christmas. I failed to go to a after season meeting last year with the DNR, should of went to voice my opinion.

Montgomery Co. E-1, G-4, F-1

Excellent: I primarily hunted a Montgomery County private land lease. The exception being a small private land suburban permission tract in Toombs County. With two small children and work, the time I have to hunt has dwindled in the past few years. I am predominantly a bowhunter by choice and enjoy having deer close. This year I might have sat 20 to 30 times and can count on one hand the times I saw none or fewer than two deer. It was indeed an excellent year for me.

Good: Plenty of deer and in a QDM county.

Good: Shot a lot of deer this year.

Fair: Very few sightings of mature bucks.

Monroe Co. E-5, G-7, F-12, P-2

Excellent: I harvested two deer. One small buck and one large doe.

Excellent: Shot biggest buck of my life. Plenty of other deer available to help fill freezer.

Excellent: I was mainly teaching my son about hunting. I went only alone a few times this year. He got his first bow-kill on a doe and his first buck with a rifle. Even though I didn’t kill a deer, it was my best year.

Excellent: Hunted this season first time with a crossbow and got two bucks.

Good: Lots of deer seen early, slow after rut.

Good: Not many bucks this year, but the does were everywhere.

Good: I got a nice buck.

Good: Deer movement wasn’t as good as normal years. Did not see as much rutting activity.

Good: Good number of deer.

Good: I went two times and saw a lot of deer. Killed one.

Good: Harvested one buck and two does with archery equipment.

Fair: Saw fewer total deer and fewer 3.5-plus-year bucks than previous year.

Fair: Mild weather with a slow rut would be the biggest reason I rated it as fair. 

Fair: Building around the hunting property is running off the wildlife.

Fair: Have not seen the same amount of deer like in the past few years.

Fair: We had activity early in the season but not so much mid to late season. We didn’t see nearly the numbers of does this season.

Fair: Saw deer, no shooter.

Fair: Weather.

Fair: Didn’t see any quality deer this year. Same few does. Small buck sign. Game cams were limited on pics this year.

Fair: Very few mature bucks seen in person or on camera.

Poor: Rut almost nonexistent.

Poor: Couldn’t get to the woods as often as I would have liked due to illness. COVID and flu.

Morgan Co. E-9, G-10, F-1

Excellent: Saw plenty of quality deer and lots of does. Always nice to get out and enjoy the woods.

Excellent: I was able to fill my freezer. In fact I passed up several later hunts because my freezer was full. Note I only hunt WMA 🙂

Excellent: I got two very nice bucks during the rut.

Excellent: I got two very nice bucks during the rut

Excellent: Plenty of deer.

Excellent: Saw many deer.

Excellent: 10-point and a big doe = meat.

Excellent: Got two nice bucks.

Excellent: I was able to take a 61/2-year-old buck that we had wanted to remove for two years. He only had 8 points, but the mass was impressive. He had a 14-inch G2 on his left side and weighed 220 pounds live weight. He had been missed three times by family members.

Good: Consistent number of animals seen throughout the season. Good number of mature deer.

Good: Lots of deer.

Good: Took nice 8-point first week, then seemed to have early and brief rut.

Good: Saw lots of deer and harvested two does. Let a couple small bucks walk.

Good: Only went once. My son killed his first buck but did not hunt myself.

Good: I saw a lot of deer early, several bucks. Had a bad crop of acorns. Once they were gone, the deer were scarce.

Fair: Poor weather conditions.

Murray Co. E-1, G-2, F-1

Good: Grandson killed two does. I didn’t fire a shot.

Good: Saw lots of deer. Some nice bucks but only 2 1/2- to 31/2-years-old . We only take 4 1/2 and up on our club.

Muscogee Co. G-1

Newton Co. E-6, G-8, F-1, P-2

Excellent: Good hunts.

Excellent: Hunted family farm with healthy managed deer herd Killed good 11-pointer chasing on Oct. 27 an let two other mature bucks walk. Saw lots of deer.

Excellent: Just great all around experience this year from numbers of deer seen to deer taken. Already excited about next year!

Excellent: Deer numbers were extremely good. We harvested several mount-worthy bucks and had plenty of opportunities to take does.

Excellent: Saw deer on every hunt but one and saw plenty of bucks, too.

Good: Saw deer, just not many mature bucks to take.

Good: Saw deer consistently each time in the woods.

Good: Killed one deer so far.

Good: I don’t hunt/kill much but hunt with my three grandsons and they had a great season.

Good: Lots of deer available for harvesting. Saw more bucks this year than in previous years.

Poor: Crazy weather patterns this year.

Poor: Didn’t have a chance to hunt.

Oconee Co. E-4, G-3, F-4

Excellent: Harvested 4 1/2- and 5 1/2-year-old bucks. Saw rutting activity every week from the beginning of gun season until mid December.

Excellent: Quality of bucks.

Excellent: See  a lot of deer. Killed a nice 10-pointer and my grandson harvested his first deer.

Excellent: Lots of game sightings, adequate harvest, Good mast supply for game and  concentrated rut.

Good: Good rut activity from late October to mid November. Less intense as last year but extended longer.

Good: I saw three nice bucks which is pretty typical for this property. I did not catch any phases of the rut at the right time so this season was equal compared to previous seasons.

Good: I was able to harvest a nice 8-pointer on Nov. 16. Saw quite a few bucks and does all the way up to the rut. After the rut, things really died down and saw very little deer activity except on camera well after dark.

Fair: Nothing to do with the season. It’s that I didn’t have any time to hunt and I lost all my hunting places to go hunting at.

Fair: Many does, not so many good bucks.

Fair: Plenty of small bucks and loads of does. No “Trophy 10-point or better” bucks.

Oglethorpe Co. E-9, G-24, F-13, P-3

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer, including mature bucks. I actually tagged out on bucks for the first time in 20 years.

Excellent: Saw enough deer and harvested a nice 8-point buck.

Excellent: Good activity and several quality bucks.

Excellent: Multiple bucks and good deer herd.

Excellent: With a couple of new properties to hunt and the recovery of my lease from 2018 clearcutting, it’s been a great season.

Excellent: Plenty of deer in the area.

Excellent: I retired Oct. 25. Hunting provided time to decompress from the stress of many years of working. I also have a dad (93) passing soon. While on the deer stand, I had wonderful moments to reflect on my father and all he provided. Last, anytime I can enjoy what the Creator provided for us is indeed wonderful. I chose not to harvest a deer this year, although I saw many, probably at least 10 8-pointers alone. I had higher standards this year. My goal was to take a personal best and that is becoming a harder to achieve goal, but fun trying.

Good: Saw more deer than usual and son killed a doe.

Good: Lots of hunting pressure toward immature bucks. Need to go to one buck per year and shorten gun season.

Good: Got a nice 8-point.

Good: Lots of big deer seen.

Good: Plenty of deer, with some good size bucks.

Good: This was a good deer season, I saw just as many deer as I’ve always seen in previous years. Only exception was I had lots of good bucks, I’d classify as shooters, but we never saw them while hunting. It was just wrong place at the wrong time, because we had lots of daytime photos of them and chasing does, too. Just wasn’t sitting in the right place. We did see lots of rut activity that included grunting and chasing after does, but they were all small bucks from yearlings to 1.5 year olds.

Good: I saw deer most times I hunted. Trail cameras showed some nice deer that I didn’t see.

Good: Saw deer ever time the first of the season and then have not seen anything.

Good: Saw plenty of does almost every time in the woods. The amount of bucks was lower then previous years.

Good: Saw plenty of deer and had good success.

Good: We took out what we needed.

Good: Deer movement was excellent from rifle season through about Thanksgiving. During this time period there were very few hunts that I didn’t see deer. Once December hit and the weather set off unseasonably warm, deer movement greatly decreased. It was a tale of two halves of the season for me, with the former being much more enjoyable. Looking forward to next season already.

Good: Saw plenty of does but only a few bucks, one big enough to shoot and I did.

Good: Lots of does and bucks but the bucks’ antlers are not as large as in the past.

Good: Saw several deer but no shooter bucks.

Good: Good for numbers of deer but only fair for trophies.

Fair: No big bucks in my club. Too many hogs.

Fair: We lost a 30-year lease, 1,300 acres in Oglethorpe County this year. The land is being sold and a large solar farm is going to be built there!

Fair: My attitude in the whole COVID deal.

Fair: Saw some bucks, not but a couple does.

Fair: Too many doe days and tags. The herd won’t support 10 doe tags.

Fair: Didn’t see much deer that were big enough to shoot.

Fair: Saw a reasonable amount of wildlife that appeared to be healthy.

Fair: I hunt roughly 200 private acres. For the past 10 years, I have 8 acres in food plots that I managed, soil test, lime, fertilizer, etc. I’m also on a three-year burn cycle with the Forestry Commission the last 10 years. Just not seeing the quality of deer that I would think would be there.

Fair: I was in the woods one day so far this year because of work. I am hunting all of next week.

Fair: Saw deer most hunts, just didn’t hunt much this season due to work.

Poor: Didn’t see any shooter bucks all season. No big bucks on cameras either.

Poor: Not seeing nearly the number of deer. No major property changes nor changes in the surrounding area.

Poor: Last season we had multiple mature deer on our lease. We also had ample doe and fawns. This year we were lucky to see any mature bucks (3 year old or older), plus we also saw fewer fawns and does. We are very meticulous about maintaining habitats and food sources. I’m not saying there is any special or unique explanation for this. Could just be our luck, but this seemed to be our experience. Also the last sit of December saw four separate bucks, all with one side antler already shed.

Paulding Co. E-5, G-6, F-6, P-4

Excellent: I have access to a well-managed herd.

Excellent: Although I only harvested a doe, I saw more deer, more bucks and more rut activity than I’ve seen in the 30-plus years I’ve hunted Paulding County. I had numerous encounters with bucks bowhunting and two of the bucks were very likely P&Y. I wasn’t able to hunt nearly as much as I’d like to but my daughter was with me on her very first hunt when I harvested the doe. That’s the only reason I’m not disappointed with the season or questioning those marginal shots I didn’t take on the two nice bucks.

Excellent: Killed my first deer.

Excellent: Tagged out on bucks three days into the season. Went on several “bonus buck” WMA hunts all season and had a lot of success. Saw deer every single sit and witnessed a lot of rut action in all aspects. Killed a couple of late-season does for meat.

Excellent: I got a real good buck and two does and helped my friend get a really good buck from my stand, together.

Good: Saw plenty of does and young bucks.

Good: 17-inch spread.

Good: I did not harvest a deer, however, I still had a great time in the woods trying.

Good: Good hunting dates and availability, just didn’t get anything.

Good: Have seen a lot of does and couple of 2 1/2-year-old bucks. I mainly bowhunt Paulding Forest with my son, who harvested a nice 8-point.

Fair: Didn’t get to hunt as much as I would have liked.

Fair: Bad acorn crop this year.

Fair: Not many deer seen overall but did see a shooter.

Fair: Too much competition.

Poor: Didn’t get many days out in the woods as my wife gave birth to our son in early December.

Poor: Lack of buck activity.

Poor: Terrible weather!

Poor: None harvested.

Peach Co. E-1, F-1

Excellent: I’m retired so I put in the time during the off season to provide high quality food sources.

Fair: Not a lot of a mature buck activity. Our deer herds were significantly smaller and we had more fawn than prior years. Still had a blast.

Pickens Co. E-1, G-4, F-1, P-1

Excellent: Killed my biggest buck to date with a bow. Also got a public-land bull elk in Colorado.

Good: Not many nice bucks.

Good: Saw more deer than usual. No big bucks but deer total was great this year. Able to see deer chasing during rut, also.

Good: Saw deer almost every time I hunted.

Good: I saw does and bucks every day.

Fair: First of season good, end of season poor. There seems to be less deer than last year.

Poor: Hogs now. Lots of bears and coyotes.

Pike Co. E-3, G-7, F-4, P-1

Excellent: Saw more shooter bucks than previous years and I’m a bowhunter only. Harvested several mature does for the family and neighbors.

Excellent: Well I’m 79. I got two does with a crossbow, one with a muzzleloader, finished with a real nice 8-point during the rut.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer and got my second largest buck.

Good: Got a nice buck and two does and could have had more if I wanted. I would have rated excellent if there had been much of a rut, just didn’t seem too pronounced this year. Saw chasing one day this year.

Good: I’ve killed three deer but haven’t gotten to hunt as much as I would’ve liked.

Fair: Did not get to hunt as much.

Fair: You don’t see deer like you used to. Two many doe days.

Poor: Very few deer and what was there was small.

Polk Co. E-1, G-4, F-4, P-2

Excellent: Saw more deer than any year before and harvested my best buck yet in Georgia.

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Good: Saw many deer. Did not harvest any.

Good: We have a healthy population of deer that regularly and routinely visit our property. The most productive time with high number of daytime deer sightings occurred late October through November. December was mostly warm which I believe had a negative impact on deer sightings during the time I was able to hunt in December.

Fair: Not much activity.

Fair: A little better deer last season. More numbers this year but better quality last year.

Fair: Deer herd seems to be on the downside as far as numbers!

Poor: Saw very few bucks. Most of the deer have changed patterns because of feeders.

Poor: No shots fired.

Pulaski Co. G-5, F-1

Good: Saw deer most days hunted.

Good: One good buck, three does. Hogs are a nuisance.

Good: Saw good numbers of deer, many 2- to 3-year-old bucks, mature bucks very scarce.

Fair: Weather too warm.

Putnam Co. E-12, G-6, F-11, P-5

Excellent: Lots of quality hunts in terms of numbers and good bucks, as well.

Excellent: I saw deer every time I went in the woods and got my buck the only time I got in the blind. My friends and family got all the deer they wanted, also.

Excellent: Lots of deer.

Excellent: We have been managing our property for a mature, healthy heard for the last three years. We have seen great improvements over the last two years. Our biggest concern is we border Cedar Creek and the “free” deer that hunters are allowed to harvest their impacts all adjacent property owners and should not be allowed. That land is within the state of Georgia and should not be allowed to have looser guidelines than those set by the state.

Excellent: Saw a ton of deer and had three opportunities at mature bucks at 30 yards or less. Only capitalized on one, but having the opportunity on three really good bucks is a good season in my book.

Excellent: At 71, I can still hunt, take a doe and clean it myself. Learned a lot of tricks online on how to clean one. Passed plenty of deer.

Excellent: Killed two mature bucks. Saw deer every hunt. Great hunting experience this year. 

Excellent: Plenty of deer seen, passed up multiple good bucks, ended up killing five deer, including a 130-inch, 192-lb. 10-point.

Excellent: Best in years, great success on WMAs and state park hunts, eight deer in the deep freezers!

Excellent: Saw lots of deer.

Excellent: 9-point, 180-lbs., 10-points, 200-lbs. What can I say? Saw decent number of young bucks and does. The best thing was the weather first two weeks of November. Just right!

Excellent: I was able to harvest my first deer with my uncle. Seeing the year-long effort that goes into the deer season was eye opening.

Good: I’ve hunted in Putnam County for 30 years. Our lease has been in our family for about 47 years now. I am seeing more deer now than I ever have. I like to think that our efforts of trapping, predator hunting and feeding the deer are the direct results of all the deer being seen. We have also killed the best bucks to date in the last five years for sure. I think all hunters are doing a better job at letting little ones go to grow. 

Good: I had several 3 1/2-year-old to 4 1/2-year-old bucks to choose from on my land and saw a large number of deer on every hunt.

Good: I was able to take a good buck in late October, but I had several other good bucks just vanish. After the first week of November, daylight activity went away completely. I went seven weeks without even images of deer moving during the day—buck or doe. Fair: Lot of small deer less than 100 pounds live weight.

Fair: Main reason is the land I hunt on had been sprayed with some vegetation suppressant in October. All the browse, brush, briars, honeysuckle, etc is dead. The food plots were hammered early due to spraying, hence not much food available. Acorns were scarce. As long as the feeders had corn in them, there were deer. Mostly does and fawns. Two or three shooter bucks were on my cameras, all at night.

Fair: Didn’t see much buck activity.

Fair: Too much hunting pressure around property but did see plenty of does. Not many bucks.

Fair: Poor buck quality.

Fair: Weather was hot and deer seen per sit was lower on public land.

Fair: After the rut very few deer sightings, warm weather, lack of deer sign, etc.

Fair: Warm weather and not seeing the bucks I am usually seeing.

Fair: Weather was always working against me.

Fair: I didn’t get out as much as I’d liked to, and my food plots didn’t do well.

Poor: Some deer on trail-cams mostly at night. Very few sightings in daylight.

Poor: I saw nothing larger than a 6-pointer. The deer were on camera but rarely showed themselves in daylight to myself and fellow club members.

Poor: I hunt public land with bow and acorn crop was poor in the areas I hunt.

Poor: We only have six days to harvest a doe on government land and they have a shortened season at the same time which kind of makes it hard for the normal people who aren’t able to join the high-priced hunting clubs.

Poor: I’m 62 years old on a limited income and having access to good areas to hunt is getting harder and more expensive every year. It seems even leasing has been bitten by the money bug. I grew up hunting on land that owners gave us permission to hunt and when those areas became unavailable we resorted to leasing and those prices continue to rise to the point where I barely get to hunt anymore. Only real option is somewhere like B.F. Grant that I love to hunt on but with the vigorous cultivation of the forests there they had to cut down on the number of quota allowances. Unfortunately I agree with them because I’ve never liked hunting with someone in my hip pocket. So public land is left, but my great nephew was met at the gate of one of these places where we used to hunt and someone (not a warden or law enforcement) was there and told him he wasn’t going to allow him to go onto that area. So there’s why I say my season was poor, and has been getting that way for years now because we enforce the wrong things. Someone should arrest the person not allowing my great nephew to hunt on open national forest, but I don’t believe it will ever happen. 

Quitman Co. E-2

Excellent: We saw LOTS of deer and have a great population.

Rabun Co. G-1, P-3

Good: Saw some big bucks in person and saw a ton more on camera. Big buck sign everywhere I went in Chattahoochee National Forest.

Poor: My wife and I hunted most of year and just very, very few deer. She hunted 17 times straight without seeing one deer. Could you look at reducing the number of deer taken in mountain counties from 12 to five?

Poor: Hunted on the average one to two days a week from archery until the end and never saw any deer while in my stand. Only one doe driving in.

Poor: Saw very few deer in the woods.

Randolph Co. E-3, G-8, F-3, P-3

Excellent: A buck and does have been harvested Thanksgiving and there still more time to go after another buck.

Excellent: We have three member and manage 300 acres. This season members took three large, healthy, mature bucks and our guests harvested four large, healthy does. Probably the most deer any of us have seen in the last six years.

Excellent: I harvested my heaviest buck in 61 years of hunting at 217 pounds full body weight and saw one of the biggest bucks I’ve ever seen in the deer woods tending a doe but was unable to close the deal, but it sure was heart thumping to watch.

Good: Saw fair amount of deer, killed 8- and 10-pointer.

Good: I have seen deer on most hunts. Not seeing mature bucks but seeing good number of 2- to 3-year-old deer.

Good: I had a successful hunt for deer and pigs.

Good: We saw plenty of nice young bucks with future potential.

Fair: Bad/warm weather. Fewer than usual deer seen.

Fair: Season weather was hot.

Fair: Good bucks, but not great bucks, on to 2022.

Poor: Too many hunters harvesting too young of deer. Go to the local processor and see a lot of 2-year-old deer and this is a quality deer county. DNR needs to sit there and give all a ticket.

Poor: Only saw small bucks and way too many hogs.

Poor: Not a productive season so far. Been to warm.

Richmond Co. E-1, G-2, P-2

Good: All of my hunting is done on public land and it was difficult at times to find places away from other hunters.

Poor: Haven’t seen the first deer from the stand.

Poor: Worse year ever for numbers and quality. Even my deer cams showed a huge decrease in numbers and movement.

Rockdale Co. E-1, G-3, F-1

Excellent: Harvested two nice bucks and two does across 10 days in late October so the freezer is full! Saw two additional mature bucks after buck tags were filled. Multiple other mature bucks harvested on our Rockdale County lease.

Good: Saw deer most outings.

Good: Bagged two does early with crossbow.

Good: Didn’t get to hunt a lot but saw deer when I did.

Fair: Seeing mostly spikes.

Schley Co. E-3, G-2, F-3, P-1

Excellent: Didn’t harvest a deer but had plenty of opportunities trying to manage our club trying not to harvest a buck unless he’s 5 1/2 or older. Got some great bucks to watch grow this coming year.

Excellent: We saw lots of deer on most hunts.

Excellent: Deer numbers are up from last year. Plenty of bucks. Good weather most weekends.

Good: Saw more bucks than in previous years. Buck-to-doe ratio seemed more consistent.

Fair: I didn’t get much time to hunt because of work and what little time I did the weather was too warm.

Fair: Didn’t see many mature deer this year. Also very warm compared to other years I’ve hunted.

Poor: Deer were nocturnal most of the season. Poaching across property line.

Screven Co. E-3, G-5, F-5, P-2

Excellent: Saw a lot of nice bucks and does.

Excellent: I got to watch lots of deer in the 10 to 12 sits I was able to do. Saw a handful of nice bucks, one of which I regret not harvesting, but maybe I’ll see him next season. Was able to fill the freezer with no trouble and got to take my 3-year-old twin boys on their first hunt the day after their birthday and they got to see me shoot a doe for the freezer!

Good: I hunted private land more this year and WMAs less than prior years. WMAs are getting more hunters crowded together due to more and more road closings. I’m over 70 and can’t drag a deer out like I used to. WMAs have lost their appeal to me. I don’ care if the roads are bad, just allow access.

Good: Quality deer in hunting area.

Good: Plenty of deer even with a select cut.

Fair: Mature buck numbers seemed to be down.

Fair: Too many hogs. Saw fewer deer.

Fair: Killed one small 5-point buck.

Fair: Began OK but dried up badly after the rut.

Poor: Few deer.

Poor: Didn’t get much hunting time.

Seminole Co. G-1

Good: Rut is just starting and we only have one week left in season here in southwest Georgia.

Spalding Co. E-4, G-5, F-1, P-2

Excellent: Saw lots of deer.

Excellent: Saw lots of bucks and filled my freezer.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer, both does and bucks. Harvested four deer.

Excellent: Killed three nice deer for the freezer.

Good: A lot of deer activity.

Good: I killed a great buck early but fewer deer this season than most years.

Good: Saw a good many deer.

Good: Saw good amount of deer with good buck/doe ratio. Did not see the monster I am hunting for, but I did not get out as much this year.

Fair: Movement was slow with very little rut indication. Scraping, rubs, seeking and chasing were all much slower this year. I run almost 20 cameras on my 190 acres. Most of these are cell types that get no human visits from August until January. This gives me some pretty good insight to what happens after dark.

Poor: Very few deer seen and very little activity on cameras.

Stephens Co. E-2, F-4, P-3

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer all season. The white oaks produced well in places, and the deer had a strong rut.

Excellent: Saw lots of activity and had good luck.

Fair: Saw a few bucks, very little does.

Fair: Not enough doe days.

Fair: Did not harvest a deer this year.

Fair: Didn’t see as many deer this year, mostly younger bucks. Our neighboring property also shoot whatever they see basically. Killed 11 deer in one weekend.

Poor: Not enough doe days.

Poor: Only saw does and several spikes.

Poor: I have had to lease private land due to not having doe days on forestry land. I found that someone had been trespassing for the last few years and killed everything that walked by. I urge you to lower the number of does that can be taken per season and up the number of days. Went out four times on forestry land and counted numerous does each day, best day being 13 does. For the sixth year in a row I have not harvested a deer. I have bought a sportsman’s license every year and will soon stop hunting due to regulations. It is confusing to think a property owner has several doe days and doesn’t have to purchase a license, yet the everyday guy who depends on public land is forced to buy a license in order to stay legal and essentially help fund wildlife management yet we get ZERO days!

Stewart Co. E-1, G-5, F-4, P-5

Excellent: Saw lots of deer and some pretty good ones at that.

Good: I haven’t shot a deer this year, just let too many walk. Fair: Did not see a lot of deer.

Good: Saw less deer this year than the previous. More than 10 years on my lease but the weather was nice and the camaraderie was no less than great as always. My buddy harvested his biggest buck ever and a friend of mine that is new to hunting and also over 50 years of age took his first deer and it was a nice buck. Best part was my 29-year-old son joined me hunting for the first time in over 10 years. College, work, surgeries and a girlfriend had previously commanded all his spare time. He didn’t see a deer in three days but he shot a hog, had a great time and is already looking forward to next year.

Good: Got a nice, mature buck.

Good: Saw some good older bucks,and more younger bucks with promise than I’ve seen in a while.

Fair: Didn’t see a bunch of daytime movement.

Fair: Average number of deer and not many big bucks.

Poor: Didn’t see much.

Poor: Only two deer taken from my lease this year.

Poor: Always working all over the country.

Poor: Did not see very many shooters and the rut was kind of slow.

Sumter Co. E-3, G-7, F-2, P-3

Excellent: Saw lots of deer.

Excellent: I saw the greatest amount of mature bucks than I’ve ever seen in the last 12 seasons.

Excellent: I harvested two good-sized does and a nice 8-point. 

Good: Saw more bucks this year. Doe ratio was down extremely though.

Good: Didn’t see a lot of bucks.

Good: Good population of deer. Saw deer every time I sat in the stand. Passed many small bucks. Waiting on a big one.

Good: Good many deer in the area.

Good: Killed one 135-plus-class buck and saw a lot of deer.

Fair: Hot weather and increased hunting pressure from out-of-state hunters made hunting less enjoyable.

Fair: Spent more time trying to catch poachers than hunting. GA DNR is understaffed!

Poor: I just didn’t see many deer this season.

Poor: No kills.

Poor: Too warm and windy; didn’t see a shooter buck all year.

Talbot Co. E-9, G-23, F-7, P-7

Excellent: Hunted three days, got three deer.

Excellent: Lots of deer and acorns, tagged out on QDM bucks by mid November.

Excellent: One for the wall and Georgia woods, what’s better?

Excellent: I’ve shot four deer, three does and one big buck with an odd third beam which no one in the camp has ever seen before he was a nice 9-point.

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer, plenty of bucks and killed a mature buck.

Excellent: Shot my top-two target bucks and both were 5.5 years old! Also got all 10 of my does with a bow! My sightings averaged higher than usual at eight deer per hunt. We feed supplemental protein almost year-round and are really starting to see some major improvements in antler size since we started a decade ago.

Excellent: Tons of deer and killed my largest bow-kill.

Excellent: Killed my two biggest ever bucks this season. Saw several other shooter bucks. Tons of rut activity. Easily the best season I’ve ever had.

Excellent: Got my first buck ever on my new lease on opening day. Then my buddy and I both took the first week in November off work for what we estimated the rut would be and the first day of the trip I shot my first wall hanger and was tagged out on bucks by Nov. 5. I never saw a buck with 4 or better on one side on my Butts County property, so I wasn’t expecting it in the Talbot trophy county, but boy was I wrong. My buddy took several does and I helped my buddy track, find and field-dress a good buck in Henry County. Overall it was my best year hunting to date.

Good: Saw good number of deer.

Good: Saw deer almost every sit, mostly does and young bucks. Was able to tag a nice 8-pointer during muzzleloader season.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, lots of does plenty of bucks. Shot a nice buck and let some nice ones walk. Looking to next year.

Good: Buck and doe population seems good and ratio seems good. Quality of bucks seems down.

Good: Family killed a few nice bucks and does. Saw a lot of deer. Think the coyote trapping has really helped.

Good: Saw a lot of deer 3 years of age or older. Got to see some deer I’ve watched grow up from spots.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, got a nice 8-point buck and a doe.

Good: Saw plenty and killed plenty of deer but did not get any of the shooters on our property.

Good: Much like previous years, didn’t get a buck, but I’m only looking for 4.5 year old or older.

Good: In many ways it was an odd season. Saw a lot of deer early and then during the rut it seemed to just die. Then later saw a lot of deer.

Good: Saw a lot of deer and multiple shooters in the area I hunted.

Good: Saw a lot of deer this season

Good: Saw multiple deer and harvested a doe in blackpower season. No big boys though.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Friends killed deer.

Fair: Decent numbers but low quality animals.

Fair: Saw lots of deer. Not many bucks.

Fair: A strange year. Appears to have been a weak crop of white oaks, which changed the pattern of our deer. Our club had a good second week of November. We killed five bucks and there six of us hunting that week. A little activity during Thanksgiving. After that it went quiet. The club has seen three deer in the month of December.

Fair: Pretty typical for our area. Hunting pressure is intense.

Fair: QDM has taken the fun out of deer hunting. Antler restrictions, number of points, minimum width, etc.

Fair: The deer limit is too high! Far less deer seen this year as in the past! Needs to go back to five deer total allowed! Three does, one quality buck and one buck doesn’t matter.

Poor: I saw deer but really no mature bucks. I think it was an abundance of food, cover and no cold weather for any length of time.

Poor: We have been supplemental feeding for two years and we haven’t seen any benefit to it. Just not seeing mature bucks.

Poor: Wild pigs are taking over the area around Woodland. They’re invasive and cost me nothing but time and money that I prefer spending on quality deer hunting. Georgia deer hunting in general doesn’t compare to my Kansas hunting, both in quality and numbers. We have far too much season and way too liberal of bag limits here!

Poor: Talbot is overhunted! Grown men get their jollies shooting up all the bucks at 3.5 years old. Come on man, let them grow up for Pete’s sake. This legal baiting has turned Talbot into a shooting gallery at the fair. No real hunters left, just choose and shoot.

Poor: Saw very few mature deer this year.

Poor: First year in a club there. With a few days left in the season, only one deer harvested among four hunters in the club.

Taliaferro Co. E-5, G-11, F-3, P-2

Excellent: Saw more deer and bigger bucks.

Excellent: I took my largest buck to date. It was 11 points, approximately 145-class.

Excellent: Deer numbers up all through the season.

Excellent: Great deer season! While no buck taken, many 2 1/2-year-old bucks seen and with great neighbor cooperation we may see a great one next season!

Excellent: Great early deer movement. Tagged out on bucks for first time.

Good: Took a quality buck and a mature doe this season.

Good: I saw plenty of deer, both bucks and does.

Good: Saw plenty of deer.

Good: Many nice bucks on camera and from the stand but no shooters while hunting per our club rules.

Good: I saw pretty good deer activity. My son and I killed decent deer.

Good: I saw a lot of young bucks this year but chose not to harvest any. Even though our property borders a brown-and-down club.

Good: Have had limited opportunities to hunt this year but have enjoyed every moment. I lost my passion for deer hunting a number of years ago and am just getting it back through a close friendship. I hope my passion will continue to grow and I will have more opportunities in the woods to hunt both deer and turkey. Being outdoors is the main motivator and fellowship with friends.

Good: Early to mid season was great as we saw many deer all times of daylight. I harvested a really nice 9-pointer the weekend of Thanksgiving. After that weekend, we haven’t seen many deer or signs of daylight movement. So late season has been rough and we run seven feeders on 180 acres with four food plots.

Good: Saw a bunch of does but couldn’t ever get any of the bucks we had on camera to make an appearance in the daylight.

Fair: Hogs are destroying everything and there is endless corn for expansion.

Fair: Lots of deer sightings. No peak of the rut chasing seen. Ongoing logging operations didn’t help. Good times outdoors with friends and family!

Fair: Not as many bucks sighted. Granted, it was clearcut in September. Only about 10 acres untouched.

Poor: Didn’t see many quality bucks. Doe population seemed to be down from previous years, as well. Seen more hogs than deer unfortunately.

Tattnall Co. E-2, G-2, F-1

Excellent: Have seen good bucks since opening day and overall seen a bunch of deer.

Excellent: Good year with bow, black powder and rifle. Saw and passed lots of deer and was able to participate in a meat ministry where our small group gave away meat to thee different needs (2 group homes and one with cancer). One place that I hunt has hogs and I enjoyed taking a couple w/ my .44 magnum handgun, too. So I took animals with bow, blackpowder, rifle and my handgun. Also, I was drawn for the Ossabaw Island primitive weapons hunt and was successful with multiple hogs and my limit of deer that included a very nice 6-point buck. I was truly blessed. I turned 60 in October and still love my time in the woods. God has blessed me!

Good: Lots of deer.

Fair: Hard to find property to lease.

Taylor Co. E-4, G-10, F-4, P-2

Excellent: I was tagged out on bucks before Oct. 15. I was able to fill all 10 of my doe tags. My 8-year-old son killed his first two deer, both bucks. My wife killed her first buck in eight years, a very nice 8-point.

Excellent: We have been on a program to supplement feed our deer protein pellets and our deer are slick and weights are up. Our herd is healthy.

Excellent: Saw multiple deer each hunt. Lots of bucks pushing each other around during the rut.

Excellent: We saw plenty of deer all season and me and my brother both harvested very nice mature bucks.

Good: Saw a fair amount of deer. Only one shooter buck. Got all the deer we wanted by the end of November.

Good: My deer season was good vs. excellent due to the number of trophy bucks I didn’t see or catch on trail camera. I saw plenty of young bucks and does. Taylor County is known for trophy deer, but I think they need a countywide management—deer taken need 4 or more points on one side and at least a 16-inch spread.

Good: Good deer numbers on the private property I hunt. Was good but I did not see the quality of bucks that I have seen in past years.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Several decent bucks but decided to let them live another year.

Good: Saw plenty of deer They were healthy. Plenty of opportunities to harvest.

Good: First part of season was good but after Thanksgiving, they were not seen!

Good: Saw lots of deer and friends killed some nice ones.

Good: I own my the property, plenty of food plots and water. Nice bucks back from last year.

Good: Saw more quality deer this year.

Fair: Got one doe but wanted one more but the weather took care of that so one is better than zero.

Fair: I hunt in the north part of the county by the Flint and we are not seeing as many deer as we have in the past.

Fair: We lease from a timber company and all our property was clearcut along with all the property around us.

Poor: I lost my hunting spot and didn’t have a place to hunt except my backyard.

Telfair Co. G-3, F-4, P-2

Good: I didn’t get a deer this season, I did spot a good amount of deer signs and a few good-sized does and two young bucks. I was also able to see quite a few turkeys, both toms and hens. Most of all I got the chance to share these sights with two of my grandsons. It gave me the opportunity to teach them there is more to hunting than just shooting a deer, turkey or black bear.

Good: Saw a lot of game.

Fair: Did not see that many quality bucks as last two years.

Fair: Rut seemed non-existent, guessing due to heat. Most deer seemed nocturnal all season.

Fair: Seen a decent amount of deer, just looking for more mature bucks.

Poor: Although I had the chance to take a number of does, I did not see any decent bucks this season. The rut appeared to be non-existent in the area that I hunt. This could be due to the large number of wild hogs that have moved onto the property in recent years.

Terrell Co. E-1, G-6, F-5, P-1

Good: Saw lots of does and young 6-point bucks that I let walk.

Good: Plenty of doe activity during rut and numerous bucks sighted in the stand and on camera. Although no trophy bucks were seen, season was very active. Activity has decreased now that the rut is over.

Good: I didn’t get to hunt very much, but I did kill a mature 7-point and two does. 

Good: Everytime I hunted I saw does and bucks and even saw them when I wasn’t hunting.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, not many mature bucks this year though unfortunately, which is unusual. Hot season I think had a lot to do with it.

Fair: Hot weather suppressed daylight movement.

Fair: I spent a large amount of time hunting this deer season and so far have not seen any mature bucks. The rut was almost nonexistent when I was hunting, and the weather has been warm for extended stretches. I have seen some younger bucks with potential so the season hasn’t been bad.

Fair: Haven’t been able to hunt much. Only sat five times. Herd is healthy. Saw deer every sit.

Fair: Weather was unstable, which affected the rut times in my area.

Fair: We saw a good bit of upcoming bucks. Not a strong rut. Weather was warm.

Poor: All bucks of any size left my area this year. Not seeing anything worth shooting.

Thomas Co. E-2, G-2

Excellent: I filled both of my buck tags by November with two good 8-points. I also harvested a good doe.

Good: Seen a lot of deer just small.

Good: Spent plenty of great time with son and friends. Saw plenty of deer, harvested a few, but neighbors shot everything that will likely make next season not good.

Tift Co. E-1, G-1

Excellent: I harvested the biggest deer of my life.

Good: Two nice sized does and reasonable opportunities for a buck.

Toombs Co. E-1, G-7

Excellent: Got to see a lick of deer. Did a little cull shooting.

Good: Harvested a couple nice does.

Good: Deer were plentiful.

Good: Fair amount of deer seen. Frequent chances to harvest a buck and multiple chances to harvest a mature buck.

Good: I have seen a large number of deer this season. Not the size I was looking for but have seen several bucks that will good bucks next year.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, several nice bucks and a lot of fawns/yearlings.

Towns Co. G-1, F-3, P-1

Fair: Not many doe days.

Fair: Never saw a buck that I consider big enough to shoot.

Fair: Saw some smaller bucks and does.

Poor: Lack of early successful habitat on Chattahoochee National Forest.

Treutlen Co. E-2, G-4, F-1

Good: I didn’t get to hunt like I normally would this year! Work kept me extremely busy. Hope to get back at it next season! Love GON.

Fair: With the warm weather and full moon, didn’t hunt too much.

Troup Co. E-4, G-5, F-7, P-4

Excellent: Little pressure, great mix of diversity in the land make-up (clearcut, pine thickets, large hardwood bottoms, several creeks, etc.), selective in what I shoot, great year-round feeding program allows for numerous deer and turkeys to stay on my property. Several fawns this year that look healthy, lots of bucks of various size and the does to boot. I see a great rut every year.

Excellent: Saw deer every time I went, and I went a good bit. Tagged out on bucks after not taking a shot last season.

Excellent: Every time out in the woods had good activity! We at our farm practice QDM rule, so majority of the time it wasn’t a deer that we wanted to harvest! But again plenty of future deer

Excellent: Killed two quality bucks, one scored in the 150-class. QDM is really, really paying off here.

Excellent: Harvested two nice bucks and a doe! Saw a lot of deer.

Good: I haven’t had much time to hunt but have done well.

Good: Deer movement was good, buck quality was good. Saw more hogs and hog damage then previous year.

Good: Lots of deer movement.

Good: I haven’t harvested any deer this season, but we have had a couple good mature bucks killed on our lease. Seen a lot of deer, just no shooters.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Didn’t actually kill one. But learned a lot.

Good: Our hunting club killed a couple nice bucks, but we mostly saw smaller bucks.

Fair: Haven’t seen any deer.

Fair: I didn’t hunt a whole lot this season due to work and other things. But when I did get a chance to go, I just didn’t see a whole lot of deer compared to past years. However, I did hunt mainly public land this season.

Poor: Because I broke my hip I was unable to hunt.

Poor: More and healthier deer this year.

Poor: Too much development around me has run the deer off.

Poor: Poor buck sightings.

Turner Co. E-6, G-4, F-7, P-2

Excellent: Three hunts. Two deer harvested.

Excellent: Lot of deer and a lot of mature bucks sightings 3-plus-year olds. I think the neighborhood I’m hunting a lot of the hunters have grown into letting 3-year-old deer walk and doe management. Lot of daylight activity of mature bucks this year and a great number of healthy does/yearlings.

Excellent: Killed a good buck. Had a lot of activity this year.

Excellent: Harvested a 136-inch buck and two does, passed on dozens of bucks.

Excellent: It is a blessing from God to be able to enjoy His creation and share it with family and friends. I haven’t taken a deer in four seasons but always seem to see plenty.

Good: The times I was able to hunt I had good morning movement of deer for most of the season. Afternoons were not good but that was mostly I think due to lack of food plots.

Good: Saw several good deer, saw most of the deer I’d watched grow through the summer.

Good: Deer seem to move from the beginning to the end of season. We had some good early deer killed and some late December deer killed.

Good: Took two bucks early in the season, three days apart.

Fair: Less deer movement than usual. Not a hard rut in our area. Weather and temp not seasonably normal.

Fair: Poor weather, poor deer movement.

Fair: Only saw a few deer. None were quality.

Fair: Not as many mature bucks showing up. Overall population seems to have taken a step back even with limited harvest.

Fair: Not too many big bucks in the area.

Poor: I didn’t get to hunt but three times. Work, work, work.

Fair: Killed some does but buck sightings were very low even on public land.

Poor: Did not see many bucks, despite big effort.

Twiggs Co. E-1, G-3, F-5, P-2

Excellent: Killed biggest deer of my life and had many shooters using the property.

Excellent: I was able to kill a buck I was after for two years. I killed him Oct. 30 at 8 a.m. after hunting him 15 days straight.

Good: Because everyone that hunted a little got a deer. Good season!

Good: I saw plenty of deer early season through Thanksgiving. Put two does in the freezer and let several small bucks walk.

Fair: So I have not taken a deer. I set my limits high and I mostly use a handgun. Not shooting young deer.

Fair: First time in my life not seeing very many does. Also almost no babies. Not sure why but definitely not good. Saw three nice bucks.

Fair: Did not see many deer.

Fair: Due to age and leg problems, I enjoy hunt camp fellowship.

Poor: Still surveying from clear-cutting last year.

Poor: I skipped this season.

Union Co. E-1, G-4, F-4, P-1

Excellent: Saw lots of deer, killed an 8-point.

Good: Deer numbers in my area are same as last four years.

Good: Killed one, also son killed one.

Good: I was fortune and saw multiple deer from the stand. I harvested two does. I have one 6-point buck with antlers broken off, multiple little bucks running around, but I did not see any really big bucks that I would shoot. I hunt on just over 100 acres.

Fair: Unable to hunt doe in Chattahoochee NF.

Fair: Saw few deer, some small bucks, did not harvest any because of young bucks. I think we still need to shorten the season, it is too long. 

Fair: Bucks are too small, and they won’t let them grow.

Poor: Unable to hunt this year due to eye surgery. The deer herd in my area appears to be on the increase but still way below the standards of other areas in the state. Not sure why. Suspect poaching and the rare opportunity of taking old and barren does may be contributing factors. Would like to see consistent rules of hunting throughout to state, but to be honest, I think the state should have much less control of my hunting rights.

Upson Co. E-5, G-13, F-7, P-2

Excellent: Seen lots of deer both bucks and does.

Excellent: Despite the forever changing weather conditions during the season, I was able to harvest several deer. I saw deer just about every time I was in the stand!

Excellent: Excellent for seeing deer. Many bucks in the 100- to 115-inch range. No big ones. The problem we have is too many deer.

Excellent: I killed a 10-pointer, my husband killed an 11-pointer and our son killed a 9-pointer and 12 hours later a huge 10-pointer. I saw a lot of young bucks the beginning of the season but no does until January.

Excellent: Two deer and eight pigs at Ossabaw. Three deer in Upson (Two bow and one gun). Multiple quality bucks seen.

Good: Lots of deer sightings. More bucks than last year.

Good: Killed my first buck! Also, starting around mid September, we saw quite a bit more movement than in years past. Even as recently as last week (Dec. 24-30), we still saw the same small group of does, along with a few new young bucks. Quite a few does taken within our group, overall. Really good season, comparatively speaking.

Good: Season started off strong. By the time November came around it slowed down, barely exists now.

Good: Double knee replacement this year, limited hunting times.

Good: I didn’t harvest a deer this year, first time in a long time, but it was due to family and personal issues along with too much work. I only got down to the camp a couple of times this year. With that said, when I did it was great to get out in the God created Georgia woods and spend time with great people at camp.

Good: Saw lots of deer, passed on lots of deer, killed numerous deer.

Good: Too hot, saw some decent deer in the 120- 130-class range but nothing really nice in the 140-plus. My last two seasons were better than this season but still a good season.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Wish I saw more bucks  but I know a lot of factors go into that.

Good: Saw several small bucks passed on them, got one 7-point. Deer have to be of a size big enough to pay to get cut up. Also passed on several grown does.

Fair: Timber cutting and the weather.

Fair: The guy that raises cows on the land we hunt shoots deer during the summer. He gets a permit, says they are eating a lot of his corn. Shouldn’t be allowed.

Fair: Saw deer but nothing big enough to shoot.

Fair: Too much pressure on deer by locals and family hunting.

Fair: Our lease had a lot of timber cutting lasting until the first of December, which could have resulted in a less noticeable rut. Typically it hits there on our club the first week of November with the last week of October showing a lot a daylight activity for bucks on scrapes. This year I didn’t have much luck with any bucks in daylight on any scrapes. All in all I saw deer almost every hunt that I went on. However, I saw hardly no rut activity and I listed my season as fair for multiple factors: no local land close to home, no rut activity and overall harvest of less deer. I was able to harvest two deer so far, one buck and one doe. Last year I had harvested five by this time of year. Some of that is due to me not being able to hunt close to home. 

Fair: I won’t hunt when all of the deer coolers are full.

Fair: Took one deer.

Poor: Only two bucks seen during rut, one spike and one small 7-point.

Poor: Weather was too warm. Wish could deer hunt January and February since weather is cooler then.

Walker Co. E-5, G-4, F-5, P-1

Excellent: Plenty deer. Lots of 4- to 6-pointers. Looking forward to next few years.

Excellent: My season was a normal one. I fill the freezers and enjoy venison the rest of the year. I also rated it this way because it’s a blessing to be able to enjoy God’s creations and the woods are always a great place to do so!

Excellent: Killed my largest buck ever on Nov. 27 and the biggest ever taken from my family’s farm, which we have owned since 1987. He was one of two wall-hangers that we had on camera since summer that used the farm weekly from then until the end of the peak rut in late fall. Saw many different age class bucks and does from the firearms opener through the end of November.

Good: Saw some deer. Harvested one deer.

Good: Deer sightings were down from years past. However, I was still able to harvest a buck and a doe.

Good: Saw plenty deer, just not the right one.

Good: Had to find new area to hunt this year. Was introduced to a couple areas that are overlooked. Have seen deer at least 80% of the time I’ve been out.

Good: I saw lots of deer. I bowhunt so just because I am seeing them doesn’t mean I’m killing them. Saw a lot of good bucks, as well, and on top of that I was able to kill a nice one so all in all not a bad year #publiclandonly #milesdeep.

Fair: More food in the woods, deer didn’t seem to move as much.

Fair: Too many doe days.

Poor: Not seeing enough deer.

Walton Co. E-2, G-8, F-8, P-4

Excellent: We have an excellent deer herd in Walton County. I hunt for mat for other people primarily. I get to keep hunting knowing that the game will be properly used.

Excellent: I got a 5-year-old buck and a 4-year-old. My son also killed a 4-year-old 10-pointer.

Good: Plenty of deer, little pressure.

Good: People need to let small bucks walk. Will improve countywide harvest size. Also not enough does harvested over the years.

Good: Just got to go a few times and always saw deer. No harvests this time but always good to see deer

Good: Saw a lot of deer early in the season.

Good: I saw deer during most hunts. I shot a nice buck who came to a bleat call. The scrapes and rubs were plentiful. Lots of mast. Almost too much. Hard to target. Kill every coyote you see! I shot a black one.

Fair: Pre-season, I had three wall hangers on the trail cameras, one of which was fairly regular. As season opened, I had decent activity from both bucks and does. I personally saw the largest of the target bucks from the trail cameras but did not take a shot as I had a guest with me hunting a different stand and wanted him to take the shot since he has never killed something of size before. Unfortunately, he never saw this deer due to leaves on the trees. My season quickly went downhill from here. A new neighbor moved in two properties down and used their land like a race track for UTVs and soon the neighbor on the property between our two parcels joined in on the constant UTV fun and my hunting after 9:30 a.m. was consistently over. Activity from the cameras appeared to be a neutral season, but my neighborly experience continually robbed me of this experience.

Fair: Rut activity way down. Plenty of does, not many mature bucks.

Fair: No mature bucks.

Fair: Few shooter bucks, 120-plus.

Fair: Few buck shooters.

Fair: Did not hunt as often.

Fair: Didn’t see as many deer as usual.

Fair: Weather did not cooperate, either too hot or rainy when had time off to hunt.

Poor: Very few daytime sightings.

Ware Co. G-3, P-2

Good: Saw lot deer but not a lot shooter bucks.

Good: Great season. Saw some good deer.

Poor: No bucks around, it’s been too hot, as well.

Poor: Coyotes killing deer.

Warren Co. E-4, G-10, F-4, P-6

Excellent: Saw deer on almost every hunt.

Excellent: Killed two mature bucks, tagged out by Nov. 1.

Excellent: Fawn and doe numbers were high, 50% of members took a trophy buck and even urban archery hunting in Cobb County was just as active.

Excellent: Saw deer on almost every hunt. Took mature 8-pointer.

Good: Every deer season is great, but this year I saw fewer does than ever.

Good: Saw a deer all the way through the season. Passed plenty of bucks that should be great within a season or two. Was also able to provide meat for my family.

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Good: Saw less deer but did good. Hunted BF Grant and did well. Also Fulton and saw several. Only concerns were more coyotes and possible blue tongue. Also removed a dead deer in Douglas County from neighbor’s yard. Something wrong with it. It was only dead two days, no stench but back bone was visible through the hide. It was so skinny that the hind quarters were thin and the 9-pointer was probably 50 pounds under weight. No visible wounds, just real sickly looking.

Good: Saw lots of good potential bucks this year but been waiting on Big Louie. Seen lots of deer all season but the big bucks disappeared.

Good: Shot nice 10-point buck last day of muzzleloader season.

Good: Private land and we manage for 140-plus bucks. Saw many 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-year-old bucks in the 8- to 10-point range but were just not the buck we wanted. Have managed for does this year and taken the right amount. Hoping next year will pay off with management plan.

Good: Killed three does, all with a bow.

Fair: There are not many deer on the tracts we hunt. Availability of hunting land is scarce.

Fair: Not many deer this year.

Fair: Way too many doe days, deer population is all time low.

Poor: Fewer deer sightings.

Poor: Didn’t see very many deer.

Poor: Few bucks seen this year.

Poor: I saw no bucks.

Poor: Where I hunted I usually see plenty of deer, this year no one in our club saw very many.

Washington Co. E-10, G-13, F-8, P-4

Excellent: Lots of deer seen, including several mature bucks.

Excellent: Sheer numbers. Our group harvested multiple deer per hunter with sightings more than 80% of the time.

Excellent: I saw a lot of deer and rut activity.

Excellent: I’m a deer processor and more deer this year.

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer. Killed nice 9-point.

Good: It’s was a good season. Saw lots of deer. Lots of young bucks but zero mature deer.

Good: We saw plenty of deer most every time we sat.

Good: Was satisfied with this season.

Good: Seeing animals regularly, however, not as many trophy bucks out during the daylight hours, our cameras are catching quite a few at night. Pigs are also a problem, destroy feeders and food plots.

Good: Saw plenty deer. Passed up several bucks. Had a nice 8 with a gun. Saw main buck bo hunting for 30 seconds. Only time to see him in daylight.

Good: Good deer numbers with good quality.

Good: Had a good season, saw about an average number of deer. I passed on all of them, didn’t see any mature bucks.

Good: Seen and shot lots of does, but the big bucks haven’t been seen.

Good: Two does, one nice 8-pointer! Saw deer almost every day I hunted.

Good: Below average deer sightings from normal.

Good: Saw more deer than the last few years.

Good: Got a nice 8-point, lots of small bucks but hogs running deer off.

Fair: Warm weather. Not as many deer seen as last year.

Fair: I didn’t hunt but about five outings. I saw deer but nothing of size to shoot or too late in the evening to shoot. I am also concerned that the deer processor will be full if I take a deer to the cooler. I have heard MANY stories of such.

Fair: We have had the timber company cutting for almost the entire season, thus it has made hunting difficult and sightings are much lower this year for us. Early season before cutting started we had one good buck taken and only two does.

Fair: Due to lack of cold weather. Drought early, food plots under preformed.

Fair: Hardly any sightings of deer.

Fair: Only saw one good buck but plenty of small bucks. Too many does being killed in our area.

Fair: I saw little big buck rutting activity, only small bucks.

Poor: Few bucks and small bucks.

Poor: Almost no deer seen. 

Poor: Just not seeing daytime bucks. Even the big does were coming out at dark.

Wayne Co. E-1, G-4, F-4, P-3

Good: Saw plenty of does. Bucks are not seen as much during hunting hours. Also timber company is clearing land around my hunting area.

Good: Saw deer on every sit in the woods—around 25 trips. Killed a 18-inch wide 8-point with muzzleloader opening weekend and one pig. Seen at least 10 other bucks. Only problem is it seems like our deer never get over 100 inches. We only killed two 8-points on 400 acres. Had this land for 23 years.

Good: Saw deer, shot deer.

Fair: Deer numbers down from previous years.

Fair: Not a lot of deer seen.

Fair: Have not seen many deer this year while hunting.

Poor: Seen lots of activity and had good luck.

Poor: Never saw a deer on our property. Corn, attractants but nothing ever seen.

Webster Co. E-3, G-6, F-1, P-1

Excellent: Saw more deer this season than I have seen in previous seasons. Hogs and deer were harvested.

Excellent: Lots of healthy animals spotted.

Good: I wanted to take two does and I did, good season.

Good: Saw a fairly normal amount of deer and filled both buck tags with good deer.

Good: Shot a buck. Season was warmer than normal it seemed to me.

Fair: Bad management from neighbors caused heavy pressure on the deer.

Poor: No daytime deer sightings. Too many coyotes. Too many corn feeders. No one shooting does.

Wheeler Co. E-1, F-4, G-7, P-1

Excellent: Saw lots of deer. Several nice bucks.

Good: The hunting and number of deer seen were excellent. The only downside to my season was health issues that prevented me from hunting any during the rut.

Good: A lot of deer activity. Season started with warm weather but it got better.

Good: Saw more deer than last year but still not as good as previous years.

Good: Based on deer sightings.

Good: Saw more deer this year than in the past three years.

Fair: More and more people shooting everything.

Fair: Not seeing many deer. It has been a very warm season.

Poor: No big deer of size to take.

White Co. G-6, F-2, P-2

Excellent: Saw lots of healthy deer during my season.

Good: Tagged out on bucks. 

Good: Because of the amount of different wildlife species seen while in the woods. The deer, turkey, raccoon, squirrel and bird species witnessed this year was phenomenal.

Good: Saw normal amount of deer for area, good size. Killed one good buck.

Fair: Killed a buck but didn’t see much this year.

Fair: Only hunted seven days. Saw a nice 3-year-old at 10 feet! Four or five young bucks and zero does!

Poor: To much baiting in the area. I am a deer hunter, not a deer harvester.

Poor: I hunted on three WMAs this season, and I only saw one doe in October.

Whitfield Co. G-4, F-1, P-2

Good: Saw an average of one deer per hour in the stand this year. I didn’t shoot any, but my brother took a buck on the same tract. The herd numbers are growing.

Good: Seeing a lot of deer and young bucks.

Good: Deer everywhere.

Fair: Didn’t get out much.

Poor: Didn’t hunt much and when I did, I didn’t see any deer.

Poor: Predators.

Wilcox Co. E-1, G-1, F-7

Excellent: I see lots of deer, does and bucks. I also took a mature buck, I don’t shoot young bucks.

Good: Good number of quality bucks on property.

Fair: Didn’t see as many deer as have seen in previous years.

Fair: New property leased late summer and food plots put in late without much (any) rain for three weeks. Did shoot a decent older 10-point.

Fair: Weird year, deer sightings down, mature buck sighting definitely down.

Fair: Less daily average activity, especially during the rut. Seem to have a late increase just before season close.

Fair: Not as many deer, especially big bucks. Weather was not very conducive to deer hunting.

Fair: Permit system has wiped out our deer herd.

Wilkes Co. E-5, G-16, F-13, P-4

Excellent: Harvested a nice 8-pointer about mid season and saw many more bucks and does.

Excellent: Saw many bucks. A lot of young spikes

Excellent: Saw more big bucks.

Excellent: My son and I both got our No. 1 bucks. My sons was his biggest ever.

Excellent: Timber company we lease from conducted selective pine thinning on our lease property recently. We believe this contributed to one of our best deer seasons ever. Need more timber harvesting in general to increase browse and cover for deer.

Good: I was blessed with filling both of my buck tags this year, but overall deer sightings were down, both in the field and on trail cameras.

Good: My deer season this year was good. I did not get to hunt much, but the time I did get to go was during the rut. This is the least I have gotten to hunt in my 60 years I’ve been hunting.

Good: Plenty of healthy does and young bucks. More than average larger bucks, 8- 9-points.

Good: I saw plenty of deer and harvested two bucks.

Good: Saw deer almost every time I went hunting. My son killed his first deer, this was the best moment of deer season.

Good: Saw lots of deer, both bucks and does, just didn’t see the big buck, otherwise it was excellent.

Good: I am starting to see more deer. I wish doe limit would be lowered.

Good: Saw a lot of deer but nothing really big enough.

Good: Plenty of deer and great weather.

Good: Saw average number of deer compared to previous season.

Good: I saw a good amount deer movement each time that I hunted. I also saw quite a few young 6- and 8-point bucks.

Fair: We manage our property for trophy bucks. Saw only one possible shooter while hunting. Saw a lot of does and very young bucks. Too warm.

Fair: Not seeing many mature does.

Fair: Too many deer get killed in county and there is a very big hog problem.

Fair: Didn’t see near as many all together this season.

Fair: Season was too warm and not long enough.

Fair: Deer population is on the decrease but have more big bucks moving during both ruts to find does!

Fair: A lot of deer but too many out of state hunters.

Fair: Lots of does and not very many mature bucks.

Fair: Saw quality deer on one of my two hunts. However, never had opportunity to harvest.

Fair: Didn’t find the deer in this county to ever be in rut.

Fair: Saw a lot of deer but no shooter.

Fair: Bucks on camera before season and almost strictly nocturnal once season started.

Poor: Owner clearcut property, probably about to sell.

Poor: Deer numbers on our lease were extremely low.

Poor: Saw only small does and bucks. No takers.

Poor: Never saw any decent bucks.

Wilkinson Co. E-2, G-7, F-6

Excellent: Killed an 8-point buck and opportunities at does.

Excellent: Saw deer almost every time I hunted and watched some nice bucks during the season, but I chose not to harvest a buck unless it was very nice—saw them on trail cameras only.  I do have two does in the freezer. The best part of the season was having two visitors here that had never deer hunted and both harvested a deer!

Good: We saw a lot of good 2- to 3-year-old bucks.

Good: Had a good season, saw several deer and killed a good buck.

Good: I have seen no rut activity in Wilkinson. I have several deer, but no good buck.

Good: Good acorn crop and moderate. Good rut activity observed.

Good: Plenty of deer.

Good: Saw deer almost every trip to the stand.

Good: First time hunting at a club. Saw a lot of deer, just didn’t get an opportunity on a big one.

Fair: Trophy bucks were mainly nocturnal.

Fair: Not many deer during the day. Lots at night on the trail cameras.

Fair: Even though I was not able to spend as much time in the woods as desired when I was able to, I did not see many deer.

Fair: Did not see many deer all season long.

Worth Co. E-1, G-11, F-7, P-1

Excellent: Quality and quantity of 150-plus B&C bucks.

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Saw bucks throughout season more in early season.

Good: Great success. Lots of deer sightings.

Good: I saw a lot of deer, some quality bucks. Enjoyed seeing a wide variety of game, as well.

Good: Lot of activity early season and during rut. Late season has been very slow with little to no activity.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, not many huge-racked bucks but saw a lot of ones that are up and coming.

Good: Saw quite a few deer this year but not nearly as many as the last few years. I’ve blamed it on a bumper acorn crop and warm weather. Still had a great year.

Good: I’ve seen a lot of deer but not a lot of older bucks. We had a good rut peak around Nov. 22-26 in southern Worth County. Been slow ever since with warmer weather. Killed two does in early November but looking like the second year of tag soup on the bucks. I bowhunt only and shooting a buck over 3.5-years-old is a challenge. I’ve passed on around 15 younger bucks in bow range and seen three or four shooter bucks but no shots.

Good: Good numbers, good success.

Good: I saw decent numbers of deer. Eight or nine good bucks.

Fair: Didn’t get too hunt as much as I usually do. Weather was poor most of the season. Full moon during our rut didn’t help.

Fair: Unseasonably warm hunting season.

Fair: I’ve had two major back surgeries in a 9-month period. Was unable to hunt last year for the first time in over 40 years. I can’t climb and have to sit in ground blind and was unprepared. So my fair season was due to my inability to hunt the way I wanted to. Looking forward to next year!

Fair: Didn’t see as many deer while actually hunting. But, I did start using feeders this year, and I haven’t had as much time to hunt. I know the deer are there because I have tons of pictures. My lack of seeing them while I was hunting is probably more because of limited time in the stand.

Fair: Saw lots of deer early in the season, then things tapered off. We don’t shoot does or small bucks as we’re trying to manage for trophies Shot one 8-point this year.

Poor: Deer movement ceased at beginning of rut and never resumed. Very slow season.

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Question 2: How much deer hunting are you doing now compared to five years ago?

This question was drafted up after the high number of complaints about deer processors being full for much of the last two seasons. We wondered if folks hunting more was a part of the reason why coolers were shut down during some weeks. 

Interestingly, the same number of hunters stated they hunted either more or less, making that a wash. Half the hunters said they hunt about the same. We guess the jury is still out on exactly what factor, or factors, has deer coolers full the last several years.

• Deer hunt more, moved closer to where my club is located. Reduce drive from two hours to 20 minutes.

• Hunt less, getting older but the fire still burns brightly. Mobility issues, as well.

• Deer hunt more, I hunted every chance I got even if it wasn’t but the last hour before dark.

• Lost my hunting lease at GPC two years ago. They were worried about security with the way things are now so I have to hunt on my daughter’s land and the pickings are slim.

• I still go out the first two days and then rest one. Two on, one off.

• Hunting about five mornings a weeks and three to four evenings per week.

• Bow, gun most weekends until Thanksgiving.

• I did not deer hunt five years ago.

• I hunt three or four days per week from early October until mid December.

• I hunt every chance I get.

• Deer hunted less, lost my hunting club that I’ve hunted for over 30 years due to it being sold.

• I’m getting older and getting up early isn’t on my menu!

• First year deer hunting.

• I hunt a little more. I no longer work out of town and my job allows for me to take off more often and I am more knowledgeable of deer movements, patterns and habitat. I’ve done much more prep work and invested more money in the off season, and it’s paying off.

• I spent more time with my spouse celebrating Christmas together!

• Hunt less, my daughters are pre-teens.

• Hunt more, I have more vacation time available.

• Hunted less this year. I have kids involved in extra-curricular activities which has taken some of the time usually devoted to hunting.

• Hunt less, I’m older.

• I hunt almost every weekend.

• Hunt less, career change, ability to hunt throughout the season has changed. Must plan days off to primarily hunt the rut or the first two weeks of November.

• Hunt more to teach my kids.

• Hunted the same, getting on up in age but still love it. I’m 81 years of age.

• Started deer hunting three years ago.

• I took a break from hunting for a few years. I started hunting again in 2016.

• Hunt more, son is getting older.

• Deer hunt less, starting to feel my age and just not as gung-ho about hitting the woods every opportunity I got.

• Probably hunt a little less, but not for lack of drive and desire. Lost permission due to land sales on some of the properties I could hunt so I try to keep the pressure off our places we do still have for when the timing is right.

• Hunt less, I have a different occupation now which only lets me hunt on weekends.

• Hunt more, retired and it’s my new job!

• Hunt more, I have my own farm now and it’s just five minutes from my home and can go when I get ready very easily and also have my own electrical business so I can go a lot now.

• Deer hunt more, kids have graduated high school, allowing more time on stand.

• Hunt same, work full time, can only hunt weekend.

• Hunt less, several surgeries over the past several years have kept me out of the woods more than I would like.

• I’m retired now. Five years ago I was working.

• Deer hunt more, part of a small club.

• Deer hunt less, family, job and commitment have shorten my ability to hunt.

• Deer hunt more, five years ago my two boys were two and six, so I didn’t have as much time available to hunt.

• I generally average one to three hunts per week all through the season.

• Wish I could do more but elk hunting has taken priority.

• Bad year due to health issues.

• Hunt less, as my kids get older, they are involved in more sports and other activities, especially in the fall.

• The way my work schedule is I get to hunt more.

• Retirement allows more opportunities to hunt the rut during the week.

• Hunt less, LIFE!

• With archery, primitive weapons and modern firearm seasons combined, I usually hunt an average of 25 to 30 days per season.

• Hunt less, three children will do that. I take them as much as they want to go, but I’m limited to the spots I can take them.

• Hunt less, getting too expensive. Less areas to hunt.

• Hunt less, have kids now.

• Hunt less due to temporary circumstances.

• Hunt less, not as young as I used to be.

• Hunt less, just due to kids in sports.

• Hunt less, getting harder to find places to hunt.

• I live close to where I hunt and am hunting three to five times a week.

• Hunting about the same but hunting smarter. No mornings until rut kicked in. Works best for our property.

• Deer hunt less. Quail hunting guide, don’t have time to.

• I did not get out as much this year due to health issue in the family and my wife made me take her to Vermont to see the leaves (but it was nice).

• Hunt the same. It comes down to weather and wind direction. I used to hunt in rain and in any wind, but I now stick to high pressure days and only hunt certain wind. I offset the possible loss of weekend days to weather/wind by taking more vacation days to hunt. This is all an effort to see bigger bucks, and it seemed to work this season since I got a clean look at a 4.5-year-old trophy buck.

• Deer hunt more, retired so I have more time to go.

• When you get a wife and kids, the hunting cuts way back.

• Deer hunt less, five years ago we went south to hunt a lot. Now after divorce I got custody of kids so I don’t go overnight trips, so just hunt our land behind home anymore.

• Hunt same, probably had around 50 hunts.

• Deer hunt less, don’t ever get old!

• Hunt less, try to hunt the cold fronts with northerly type winds. Don’t have the free time I used to have.

• Deer hunt less, haven’t had time.

• Quit deer hunting for 15 years and started back in 2020 when I retired.

• I hunt about 500 hours a season.

• Having a young family takes up a lot of time that would have been spent hunting five years ago.

• I’ve hunted less due to the death of my wife three years ago and two recent deaths of family members. Losing my wife was tough on me.

• Hunt less, life is too busy.

• Hunt less, spending more time with grandbabies, waiting on them to get old enough to take.

• Moved from Florida to Georgia so have more access to my farm.

• Due to work and family obligations my past few seasons have limited my time in the woods, unfortunately.

• Hunt about the same, hunt cooler weather, week of Thanksgiving and week of Christmas until New Years.

• Hunt about the same, used to hunt public land five years ago but finally lucked up and got a piece of private land to hunt.

• I am getting up in age (70), little harder for me to walk as much.

• Hunted less just this year. I didn’t harvest a deer this year, first time in a long time, but it was due to family and personal issues along with too much work.

• Hunt less because of lack of deer processing availability.

• Hunt less, back issues.

• Losing my hunting lease.

• Working cuts down on hunting time.

• I’m retired now so I have more time to hunt.

• Hunted twice this year and killed one doe compared to 2016 with 22 hunts and three kills. 

• Hunt less, my grandkids enjoy now what a blessing it is to see them enjoy God’s wonderful creation.

• Retired, have more time to invest hunting.

• Hunted less, had more honey doos around the house this year.

• Deer hunt more. The remote “work from home” changes has allowed more flexibility.

• Hunt less, mostly due to being older at 75.

• Getting older and weather plays more of a role in whether to hunt or not.

• Deer hunt less, not as young as I was and had some health issues so not able to go at it as hard as I use to.

• Hunt less, lost interest.

• Hunt less, have four kids now, had two before.

• About the same, hunting longer as I get older.

• Wish I could hunt like I used to but work prevents that.

• Would hunt more if we had more either-sex days in Whitfield County.

• I retired in 2020 and now hunt most all of gun season.

• Hunt the same, even at 73.

• Hunted less due to medical problems but did the best that I could.

• My kids hunt more than I do these days.

• Retired now so I hunt a lot more.

• Getting older and thinking of slowing down on days in the woods.

• Retired 10 years ago and usually hunt 85% of the seasons!

• Hunt less, travel and other obligations. Fishing more.

• Hunt more, at a point in life where I have more hunting time.

• Just started back deer hunting after about 15 years.

• Hunt less, COVID-19, trying to stay safe.

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Question 3: Who would you vote for among these four candidates expected to run for Georgia governor in the 2022 election?

• We need to take a more holistic view of who we elect to our government, not just looking at one or two issues.

• Gov. Kemp is one of us. He is a working man who loves the outdoors. He has done a great job dealing with COVID and keeping our economy going.

• Jones, seems like a good person and I believe he would be good for Georgia.

• Kemp, steady leadership.

• Don’t really like any of the candidates.

• Kemp, we need a governor who understands that all Georgians contribute to this state. He’s not supported by Trump, and I believe that gets him re-elected. People are tired of the political garbage and need someone concerned about state and country.

• No concerns with current governor views or policies with outdoors.

• Minimize any government involvement. I really don’t see the benefit of some suit in an office telling me what to do. The current rules throughout the state are inconsistent and overbearing.

• Perdue, I am very conservative.

• Vernon Jones demands voter audits in all counties of Georgia when no one else does.

• Republican for the win.

• Kemp, don’t turn Georgia into California.

• I would have to check out the candidates’ views on the things that matters most too me and that will benefit my kids and grandchildren well into the future. Until I weigh all the facts, I’ll have to go with none of the above.

• Purdue is the only other viable candidate and I do not think personally that he is going to do the job that Kemp has. I don’t know about Vernon Jones, although I appreciate that he has been honest. Again, I believe that Kemp is the very best choice out of the four.

• Tired of politics. I will be looking for an independent candidate.

• Being bi-partisan, it’s too early to know yet as I’ll give all a chance to hear them out—debates, speeches, etc. Kemp has done a decent job, so it’s his to keep unless I think another candidate will be better based on hearing the all out.

• Abrams, most likely to be aware of the natural environment conducive to continued hunting and fishing quality and access in Georgia and less likely to bury it under solar panels and warehouse facilities.

• Kemp has not done what he said he would do.

• Kemp has done a lot for hunters in Georgia and been a good leader through the pandemic. He has gotten a lot of bad press that is undeserved, in my opinion, for things he could not control. I will vote for him again.

• Stacey Abrams, my choice makes it obvious that I may not be your typical GON subscriber.

• Kemp, he has done a lot for the state.

• Kemp is a gun owner and a hunter.

• I like Kemp’s boldness and willingness to stand up for Georgia.

• Kemp but I’m going to look into Vernon Jones a little more though.

• Kandiss Taylor would be my vote, but if I had to choose, I guess Kemp.

• Vernon Jones, met him personally, he said he is committed to take Georgia back.

• Kemp has done a good job.

• Kemp, have no problem with his record.

• I think Kemp is doing a good job.

• Brian Kemp messed up when he didn’t recount the votes like President Trump asked. Then after the election, decided to change things.

• None, Kandiss Taylor.

• Not sure, would be between Kemp and Perdue.

• Abrams but Kemp has been pretty good governor, but Democrats seem to do more for working people.

• Anyone who wants our outdoor lifestyle to continue as-is in Georgia will need to unite behind, and vote for, the eventual Republican nominee, whoever that may be, even if that person wasn’t someone’s first choice.

• Kemp has a higher commitment to outdoors. 

• I don’t put my hope in any politician. I’m a small government, constitutional conservative. Brian Kemp has done a fine job for Georgia even apart from the challenges of the pandemic. 

• Perdue, time for a change.

• Not real crazy about Kemp but probably has best chance as GOP candidate. I still think Stacey has got it in the bag.

• Get politics out of this survey. Not appropriate here.

• I will vote for whoever wins the republican primary.

• Kemp handled the COVID extremely well I believe. At some point life has to go back to normal like it was when we had the flu. Kemp will get us back there.

• While I understand the need to identify tendencies and preferences within your demographic, I believe that many of your readers would prefer not for this successful magazine to turn more political. I personally don’t see the relevance in what political candidate someone will vote for. That person is free to make their own choice so why is it important to you, a third party? I enjoy GON because of the outdoor content alone. Occasionally, a legislative issue may arise that needs some light shone to the outdoor community and you all have provided a perfect platform for that dissemination of information. 

• Kemp seemed weak during the 2020 election cycle, but I will stick with him because he signed the election law overhauling legislation that is supposed to clean up future elections in Georgia and did so in spite of national pressure and fake news about the bill being voter suppressive. 

• Not happy or impressed with Kemp but given the selection of people listed I would probably have to vote for him again.

• Whoever I vote for must uphold the 2nd Amendment and fight for the rights of outdoorsmen.

• We need to continue to support Brian as our governor. A strong proponent of the outdoors and our 2nd Amendment rights.

• David Perdue is in line with my values.

• While Bryan made some decisions that I disagreed with, I believe he has done a pretty good job overall, especially during these trying times. However, I would like to see more of a statewide commitment to preserving more public land for hunting and fishing.

• I will vote for the Republican candidate. At this point I’m not sure if any of the republicans are doing enough to bring out the nay-sayers that didn’t vote and cost us a state. Kemp needs to get our Arms Bill passed.

• I love GON. I do appreciate that the magazine does not try to hide people’s religious beliefs and does not edit out our Savior! I do think, however, that GON should be very careful about getting involved in politics.

• Brian Kemp is a bowhunter.

• Brian has done an excellent job for Georgia through the pandemic and as a promoter of a business attractive climate in our state.

• Voice for gun owners as well as sportsman need to be as loud as ever on the state front as well as the federal front.

• I will vote for Brian Kemp if he well pass the Preservation Act before November.

• Toss up between Kemp and Purdue. I would love for GON to compare and contrast these two candidates.

• Kemp, I vote for the individual. Not the party, race or gender as so many do.

• Kemp, I am concerned about gun laws changing. I use my rights as a law-abiding citizen to have guns as a sport and home defense. I hope we vote the person into office to protect those rights for future generations to enjoy.

• Perdue appears to have more experience and longer time in government service.

• One of our hunt club members lives across the street from Vernon Jones and can’t say enough good things about him.

• Kemp and David Purdue are the protectors of Georgia wildlife.

• Stacey Abrams, environmentally conscious candidate, will keep public hunting opportunities available.

• Kemp, pro-hunter, pro-gun, like what he did for our COVID response (opening up the state early), despite all the media criticism.

• Kemp, cares about Georgia, hunters and he uses common sense principles.

• Need to do more research on these people before I can tell who I’m going to support in the race. LET’S GO BRANDON!

• Kemp is best governor for us.

• Kemp, we need politicians that will unite us; not divide us while seeking self-preservation.

• Kemp would be good for hunters.

• Doug Collins.

• Kemp, only choice as far as I can see.

• Kemp, got to keep the state great.

• Kemp got a bad reputation from Trump. I don’t think it’s fair. I am very concerned this cycle in  fighting is going to distract from the real Foe; a Progressive Liberal ideology that is destroying our country. Thank you for asking.

• What does the election have to do with deer season?

• Kemp or Perdue, they have better policies for rural Georgia.

• As long as a Republican wins that’s all that matters #trump.

• Perdue, could possibly vote for Vernon Jones but need to learn a little more about him. 

• Kemp, possibly David Perdue.

• Gov. Kemp has done a fine job as chief administrator of Georgia, as a Republican, in spite of all of Trump’s public opposition. 

• Kemp, he has done a great job protecting out hunting and gun rights!

• Perdue was a good senator so maybe he will make a good governor.

• Perdue is the best for the job out of the candidates.

• Kemp, he puts Georgians first and is not afraid to stand up for our best interests.

• I thought Kemp has done a great job in all areas. No Georgia governor has faced the challenges he has.

• Kemp has done an excellent job while facing tremendous issues, especially the COVID pandemic.

• Perdue or Kemp. Biggest 2A supporter would get my vote.

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Question 4: On a scale of 1-5 how concerned are you about Chronic Wasting Disease getting to Georgia (1 being the least concerned and 5 being the most concerned)?

The reality of CWD finding its way into Georgia got a little more realistic a few weeks ago as a deer in Alabama showed up positive with the fatal deer disease (page 14). Even prior to that news, we were curious just how concerned Georgia deer hunters were about it getting to our state. In all fairness, the news of Alabama’s one positive case came out toward the end of our survey deadline, so the percentages you see to the right could now be a little heavier weighed to the right side. 

• I do not like baiting deer, and I’m afraid it will speed up CWD if or when it reaches Georgia.

• Now worried much about CWD as long as people aren’t transporting deer from up North into the state. DNR should randomly take samples of deer from around the state and check for the disease.

• Just a matter of time at the current rate. I sure won’t want to eat a deer if CWD arrives in Georgia.

• CWD is a detrimental problem for deer everywhere. Hopefully we can avoid the worst of it but likely some out-of-state hunter will bring it in here.

• Don’t know what CWD is.

• We don’t need CWD in Georgia!

• Like anything else, CWD can spread like wildfire.

• Haven’t read anything about CWD coming to Georgia.

• We border Tennessee in my area. I hear Tennessee has a rapidly developing CWD problem. What are the two states doing, if anything?

• CWD is serious.

• I was in Arkansas where CWD is awful and got to talk to some hunters there. It’s so bad to have to send off your meat and they know the chances are good they have CWD.

• I recently read an article about a guy transporting a full carcass from Texas into Georgia. Behavior like that is disturbing.

• We got to do everything possible to keep CWD out of Georgia. If it comes here, people will become afraid to eat venison, which would be very detrimental to the future of hunting. 

• CWD is a thought on every sportsman’s mind.

• I have not seen CWD where we hunt in Hart County but a little concerned.

• We don’t need CWD coming to Georgia.

• As for the question relating to CWD, my biggest concern is the fact baiting is now legal in our state, and groups of deer eating at the same bait site are more likely to spread the disease faster, thus creating a more widespread outbreak.

• Due to the lack of CWD outbreak in Georgia, I imagine a lot of hunters, like myself, know little science behind the spread and symptoms of the disease. This lack of knowledge has lead me to be naive in my response to said question. CWD as I understand can be detrimental to a deer herd, and I hope that we never experience a severe outbreak.

• I am really concerned about CWD reaching Georgia just as the deer hunting on my family’s farm seems to be entering its prime.  I wish that the state would take proactive measures to protect our deer herd.  Outlawing baiting and feeders is a possible safety measure. Not sure what the law is in Georgia regarding captive herds, but maybe something could be done in this department, too.  We do not bait or use feeders on our farm for several reasons and one of these is to prevent the spread of diseases. We do have neighbors to the south and west that run feeders.

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Misc. Comments

 Believe Facebook has help draw people from farther distance to hunt.

• People need to learn to manage deer and shoot more does for meat and let the small bucks grow to maturity. Everyone wants to kill a “big” buck (that someone else let walk), but they don’t want to let one grow for someone else.

• I bought a few acres and enjoys planting food plots, cover crops and monitoring deer movement with trail cameras. Also have two sons, one daughter in law and two grandsons hunting.

• Feral hogs are a major problem to Georgia’s native wildlife.

• Hot weather bad for hunting in December.

• I wish license years was like it used to be where everybody’s ran out on same date so I’d know when I got to buy a new one. Also wish Northern Zone was still like it was in the 90s.

• Extend archery season to Jan. 31 statewide.

• I would like to see more articles for property owners so they could be educated on submitting their land to hunting leases so better population control and more areas could occur.

• I enjoy hunting/fishing every day. Hope that future generations will do the same. God Bless America and 2022, Go Dawgs!

• Between the coyotes and brown-is-down boys, the population is dwindling. Ten does is ridiculous.

• Still would like to see a shortened deer season and lower limits on number of deer harvested per hunter per season.

• I’m not a fan of doe days, but biologists know more than me about that subject.

• Deer season needs to start later and run later into January.

• We need to hire more law-enforcements people to the counties where there is not enough. There are people who are harvesting anywhere from four to six bucks a season and not reporting them and putting them on Facebook and nothing being said. This is a problem due to the lack of wardens. 

• Getting later gun season dates for the southern part of the state, say week of Thanksgiving and run to end of January so we can hunt the best weather.

• Too many people are moving to Georgia. It will likely have a negative impact on hunting in the near future. New houses taking up hunting land.

• Open deer season two to three weeks later and run it three weeks longer. The leafs just fell off the trees

• Water quality destruction due to biosludge. It is not being addressed by politicians. Health issues from Clark Hill fisheries and Savannah River water consumption will emerge, as well as ground water contamination.

• Deer season is too long. Should close early December and have bonus week after Christmas, like it did years ago.

• We need to get turkey populations back up and reduce the amount of deer that can be harvested.

• I think there should definitely be less doe days in Franklin County and the whole north region.

• More emphasis needs to be put on predator elimination, especially those that prey on turkeys.

• I feel the DNR does a good job with hunting and fishing in Georgia and appreciate the support to hunters and fishermen by GON.

• Boosting turkey number statewide is main concern as that is my number one passion.

• Need more doe days in Dawson County. Our property is loaded with deer and we can’t manage it properly with six days of the season.

• Would like to see less doe tags.

• Georgia is rich in outdoor activities and has a bright future with all of our help

• I enjoy our long deer season and our two-buck limit.

• I’m ready for turkey season. We are covered up with them on our land in Washington County. I wish the regulations would have been left as they were.

• I think they should  lower  does bagged to eight a year in north, Georgia.

• Georgia legislation should reduce tag limits to two bucks and two does.

• All hunters need to stand together and stop arguing among ourselves! If we do not stay united, hunting will be over in Georgia in years to come. So many people have moved to Georgia that if we don’t stand together, we will lose it.

• Need to eradicate wild hogs. They seem to try to control my farm, but we keep killing them, about 200 hogs per year.

• I think turkey harvest and this season’s dates will help restore the numbers. I still think predation on young deer and turkeys is having a major effect.

• Wish we had the two-week break back in December.

• None of the above, unfortunately choices are either too left or too right from the political and ideological spectrum. And each party should consider that the negative ads they throw at each other only further creates doubt about the actual PAC or candidate pointing fingers. A centrist, independent candidate would be what we need, not the same old players.

• Please do anything and everything you can to keep GON alive! Please reach out to the sportsmen of this great state of Georgia and tell us what you need to make this thing work. I would die if GON went away. Thanks brother

• Deer limits need to be lowered. Five deer is plenty for anyone. Most deer are not getting reported in my opinion due to the closure of processors closing down in our area. Saw a lot of deer with quarters cut off and the rest thrown in a ditch.

• Development is totally out of control in Butts County. Small municipalities are caving to the tax dollars being brought in by warehouses/distribution centers and have done NOTHING to control it.

• Nothing.  I am satisfied with my hunting/fishing experience in Georgia.

• Would love to see more bear and coyote hunts in the yellow zone.

• I’d like to see the season start later in parts of the state that has later ruts so that we could benefit from the second rut. I’ve had mature bucks I’ve never seen coming to camera spots late January and early February because of the younger does coming into their first cycle.

• Evasive species coyotes, hogs, liberals.

• More time and money returned to stocking fish and improving the deer herd in Georgia. More programs for kids!

• Open turkey season earlier.

• Love the bonus hunts.

• The guys that I hunt with don’t understand that if there is doe problem in Fannin Co. and you have shortened our doe days to three, why have it so late when most does have been bred? Instead of shooting one doe, you are shooting one to three deer. We have a good number of does on the property. We would like to be able to harvest does opening of rifle weekend. Two days are two days.

• Hunt the same. I deer hunt nonstop. I started bowhunting just so I could start hunting earlier.

• Tired of dog clubs running dogs all over my land and going in there to get them out without permission. Dog hunting is not a moral way to hunt. Stresses the deer herd.

• More DNR enforcement of non hunters effects on hunters while trying to hunt, curbing poaching, improper carcass disposal enforcement and checking in of harvested game.

• I’d like for muzzleloader season moved to January, the last two weeks of the season.  Back the season up a week to accommodate the change.

• Please redo the dove season splits to have more weekend hunts.

• I think too many young deer are being killed. The antler restriction should be one buck with three scoreable points on one side and the second deer should be four scoreable points on one side.

• Less year and all camera pictures at night.

• Hunt less, all camera pictures at night.

• GON does a great job of telling the “local story.”  As a hunter in Worth County for 37 years, I have witnessed the success of local hunters collectively managing for superior whitetails. Might be interesting having Duncan Dobie update his Worth County story, which appears in his Georgia’s Greatest Whitetails book. Happy and healthy New Years to all the fine GON staff.

• ELIMINATE CORN FEEDERS. 1. It has been scientifically proven by MSU research and others that it increases predation on turkeys, decreases daylight movement of deer and creates toxins that can be fatal to wildlife. It is also not necessary. I am on 40 acres and saw 77 deer one weekend on just food plots. The neighbors saw ZERO deer on their corn feeder. I do like the advantages I have over other deer hunters, however, the damage done to turkey populations is too severe to ignore. For those that say food plots are more expensive this is also false. I live out of state, don’t own a tractor, and have 6 acres of food plots. With travel, seed, lime and fertilizer, I have less than $1,500 invested each year. It’s crazy to frequently travel and keep feeders full, disturb the property to maintain feeders and pay for record high prices for corn to see less deer than your neighbors and poison turkeys. Eliminate corn feeders.

• I would like a later start to deer season—late September for archery and late October for gun season

• I wish there was more control of people throwing out deer carcasses in rural areas. This turns many people against hunters in my area with all the waste on side of roads. Also statewide limit on size of bucks you could kill!

• The spreading of feral pigs needs more state attention in reducing their numbers.

• Outlaw baiting of any kind. If you can’t kill a deer without baiting, you need to quit hunting.

• Would love to see Georgia go to a quality-buck state to try and get the deer to grow one size bigger. Everyone shooting little bucks prohibits them from growing into a good 100-plus-inch deer.

• Manage the crop damage permits better.  Landowners should not allow them every year. Nightvision and silencers are too much.   Spotlight and rifle should only be allowed.  Scare them out, not kill them all

• We are not taking anything on the property in Candler County this year because the numbers are so low. Just sitting in trees

• Where have all the turkeys gone?

• One buck for non-resident and maybe shorten gun season some.

• Sad that I own my property that I manage all wildlife on it for 20 years, and I still have to get an out-of-state license because I am from Florida.

• I sure would like to get in touch with someone who can help me find a good population of bowfin fish near me in northwest Georgia, [email protected].

• Our small game season! I’m primarily a coon and squirrel hunter with occasional rabbit hunting. I run dogs and if I try to go hunt public ground, a lot of the gates are locked. I would also love to see an article about coon hunters not disturbing deer population and maybe some late or early season small-game quota hunts.

• I was able to kill two bucks my first season bowhunting.

• Like to see this dual reporting of kills on the app and the license eliminated.

• I am pleased with hunting in Georgia and the DNR. I do hunt private land. I only have one request since I only kill one buck a year if he is a good one and maybe one doe. I wish Georgia had a cheaper license, but I know others who would violate the rules, making it hard to enforce.

• Happy to be a Georgia hunter.

• They need to consider delaying bow opener to the first of October.

• I’d like to see statewide antler restrictions placed.

• Need to do away with the early season dove hunts.

• Georgia DNR is doing an outstanding job in controlling our resources with all the tools that are available to them.

• Love that they moved dove season later, but the early season is still too hot for south Georgia. Birds are too small, too. We’re missing a lot of good hunting in October and November.

• When will the state make waterfowl management a higher priority in the annual budget? Waterfowl hunting in the state has largely suffered for over a decade because of redirected funds and reduced priority.  WMA management for waterfowl has almost been nonexistent more years than not since the great recession. It’s time to move that up the list.

• Lower season limit to five deer, one buck and four does in places people are killing too many. We will hunt again next year, save some.

• Thanks for your magazine. I have enjoyed it over the years

• I wish that politicians worked for the people’s will and dropped this foolish notion that socialism is the way to go. I wonder if God was running for governor of our state against the Devil could He win? It’s shameful.

• Wish the season was a little longer here to possibly include the secondary rut.

• The cost to hunt in Georgia for out-of-state residents is absolutely ridiculous. I belong to a hunt camp we lease year-round. I make at least a dozen or more trips up here per year and spend a large amount of money which goes to small businesses and helps the local economy. I don’t mind paying to hunt in Georgia because I love spending time up here, but it’d be nice to see the hunting fees for out-of-state hunters be a bit more reasonable.

• DNR is wrong about turkeys. I’ve seen over 75 in fields ranging from 20 to 40 acres multiple times this season.

• Would like to see statewide antler restriction enforced like Hancock County has.

• I think the bag limit on does needs to be cut in half, five does is more than enough. But let farmers have nuisance tags to get extra off their farms.

• Good land hard to find.

• Would like to see more community engagement hunters/nonhunters. Would like to see tougher penalties for those who disrespect our environment.

• We need the DNR to start trapping hogs and coyotes during the off season and open up public ground to trapping and just post signs for the general public so they would be aware of it.

• Truck-Buck having one zone is crazy. No competition between north and south Georgia.

• Coyotes are still presenting challenges to the deer population.

• Love to see a fall turkey season.

• I run eight cameras and also have deer feeders. Feeder has not help to take mature bucks.

• They are all politicians who have no clue what it’s like to work every day just to survive.

• Love GON!

• Cost of gear  and the limited availability of ammo.

• Municipalities voting to restrict or eliminate all forms of hunting.

• I would support moving back the opening dates by two weeks—archery and gun—and extending it by two weeks. Too hot early on.

• Georgia deer season starts way too early. The season needs two weeks added to the end. Most good weather and cold temps to get the deer moving doesn’t arrive until mid/late January.

• I really enjoy the long deer season here in Georgia.  I gives me so much time to be in the woods to enjoy hunting even if we do not get any deer.

• Besides weekends hunting with my son, I have gone during the week myself later in the season to try and get a couple of does.

• Let the hunters dictate the changes, not politicians.

• Start and end deer season later in the year. Start bow season at Halloween, rifle season at Thanksgiving and let us hunt into February. Nobody cares to hunt in the heat, let us hunt in the cold months.

• Coastal fishing limits and alligator tags should be increased.

• Think GON does a good job about everything.

• Place more emphasis for private land improvement and predator trapping.

• I would like to see more QDM counties. Also more laws protecting young bucks from aged hunters.

• Hunt about the same, from the start of archery to end of general gun I average 90 full days in a stand.

• Would like to see more DNR rangers throughout the state to help curb night hunting and other illegal activities.

• Bag limits need to be reduced.

• We have got to manage our resources better.  Not urban, not suburban, but in between.  All these small-tract hunters killing more deer than we can support, then moving on to another tract.

• Wish Georgia would change to a one-buck limit like Kentucky. This would help the age structure of bucks. So many people still kill a smaller buck because they have that extra tag in their pocket. One buck makes you be disciplined. If you choose to shoot a small one your done. Kill does for meat.

• We need to figure out the problem with our turkey population and fix it.

• Deer hunt less, costs of leases has gone up so much, I had to find something smaller. Can’t hunt as much on a small tract without alerting the deer.

• Good deer season, wanting more does on the property. We will keep implementing improvements to grow the deer herd and improve habitat for them.

• Make John’s Mountain WMA better! And get rid of all the doe days please so that place can be great again.

• Less doe tags, but doe days whenever.  For the mountain areas, each hunter should only have one doe tag, but be able to use it anytime.

• Like to see later opening day for gun season and extend season until Feb. 1.November 1-February 1.

• Need more deer processors. I could only find two within 45-minute drive, and both were full. One told me (south Fulton) that they had people calling from Manchester and Thomaston wanting to bring deer.

• I appreciate y’all’s work. Keep it up.

• We need more buck-only dates. I believe we are killing too many does and button bucks. We lowered the number of does to be taken on our property in Baldwin County a couple years ago and have seen a drastic increase in the total deer population since.

• We’ve got to rid the pigs in Georgia by any means necessary. We’ve got to go to a one-buck and two-doe limit and cut the firearms season to two weeks max.

• Unlimited doe days and kill all coyotes.

• Doe days need to be first 2 weeks of season and from week of Thanksgiving on, not during time of rut.

• Pretty well satisfied. Maybe more articles on northwest part of the state.

• Been hunting over 30 years and never seen it this bad trying to find a decent processor.

• I am 75 years old and cannot get around as good as I used to, and Georgia is not very friendly to older hunters or disabled hunters.

• Too old to climb with a climber in hot weather. Haven’t hunted near as much as last year. Didn’t hunt at all in archery season but have managed to keep my archery skills string alive (40 years). I took two with a bow this year, both in December!

• We are fortunate to have a lengthy season and liberal harvest opportunities.

• I’m 100% supportive of any hunting regulation changes deemed necessary to insure the future of Georgia turkey hunting for our children and grandchildren. However, I believe it was a mistake by our DNR leaders to further broaden the division between public and private land hunters by now having different turkey season opening dates based on the type of land hunted. Even if there needs to be a “break” in the middle of the season on public lands, turkey season should still start on the same date statewide, regardless of the type of land hunted. I’m primarily a private land hunter myself, but I still hope this situation will be quickly rectified in order to be fair to all turkey hunters throughout our state.

• The WMA sign-in hunts allow you to fill all your tags during a single hunt. Too many deer are being taken.

• I also, (unscientifically) attribute lower deer sightings while hunting to baiting. We’re seeing a lot more nocturnal activity on trail cams and less daytime movement both in the field and on cameras. This is with no added pressure than previous years, and I’ve hunted the same tract for 36 years.

• I’m thankful for the locally focused content of GON. As someone who grew up in the 80s and poured over stacks of old GON magazines as a kid, you’re like an old friend. Y’all have a loyal customer base that I believe would gladly invest more in the GON brand to keep to going and successful. I hope y’all actively focus on new ways to monetize the brand (without selling out on quality, content or spirit; of course). I don’t want to see GON to go the way of other outdoor publications. I don’t know if you’ve recently done a survey like this focused on different outdoors focused content that they would like to see, but that could be helpful.

• Timber management companies raising lease rates without improvement of land leased. The lack of communication with lease holders and or the lack of a partnership, we are the eyes and ears and stewards of the land, try forming a relationship instead of trying to grab the most money for a rapidly declining product.

• In Habersham specifically, I think the reduced antlerless days are a positive. Overall deer activity has been the best on my property this year than it has in the last five. Allowing continuous feeding (baiting, I hate that word.) for what was once the “Northern Zone” is paying good dividends in my opinion. Thanks for all you guys do!

• Great job this year, keep up the good work! Thanks for a magazine that will be with me and my family for a lifetime.

• Being able to hunt over bait has been a positive game changer for me. Having cameras on the feeders year-round has allowed me to make decisions about which deer I want to harvest way before I get into the stand. With the current regulations I don’t have to worry about neighbors putting out a feeder just over the property line to keep me from being able to hunt my property. Property on both sides of mine have been sold several times in the last decade and the current owners are not in favor of me hunting my property and “killing their pet deer.”

• We have a very low deer population in Georgia, so there is very little chance for CWD being a factor.

• Gas taxes in the state of Georgia and what happens if more liberals are voted into office?

• Please lets either lower the buck limit to one buck only or shorten the rifle season. Georgia could have world-class deer hunting if we could cut down on the number of immature bucks killed each year. Shoot does to eat and let the bucks reach maturity.

• Would like to see Georgia have three buck tags, one anything and two quality bucks.

• Baiting is out of control. Corn everywhere and corn bags all over the roads.

• Cut doe tags in half in north Georgia.

• I would like to do away with the time changes across the country. Not sure if this is appropriate for this forum, but when the time goes back an hour in the fall, it takes away a lot of my time to hunt in the afternoon, after work. I would support any group initiating an effort to go away from this time change we have every year in later fall and winter.

• Please think about scaling back rifle season. We have one of the most liberal gun seasons in the lower 48, and it’s during both primary rut and secondary rut.

• I have used the same deer processor for 18 years, and they had to close this season two weeks into bow season due to lack of workers. I would like to see more deer processors in or around the Gwinnett County area, as there a lot of deer hunting done around here.

• Enjoying outdoors.

• Dove season starts too early in south Georgia.

• Not fond of the extended bow season in Columbia County or any county for that matter.

• The population of deer continues to decrease. Georgia should reduce the amount of deer that can be harvested and change doe days to before Thanksgiving. Buck only from mid-November or so through end of season.

• Need to extend season. Do not open in September, too hot.

• This is GON related. Please consider adding the classified section on the website to the app. If it was accessible on the app, there would be a lot more traffic on the app which would allow folks a better opportunity to buy and sell on GON.

• Very pleased with GON!

• My neighbor and I are property owners, and we are trying to enhance our properties and manage wildlife. We need more conservation support from staffing shortages.

• We need to increase our out-of-state fees.  Single elk tag out West can cost $950 or more. We have valuable commodity in our state in whitetail hunting. Those out of state should pay a higher premium for our resources.

• I would appreciate a fall turkey season in addition to the spring season.

• The age for free licenses should still be 65 across the board!

• In Georgia we have lots of deer and we can legally take plenty. DNR is doing a great job.

• We need a shorter firearms season.

• I need to work less and hunt more.

• Deer season needs to be shorter. We are not helping with getting young hunters in our woods, everything is geared only about deer hunting.

• Antler restrictions!

• Will Chattahoochee National Forest open up doe days for next season?

• Would like to be able to access national forest land that’s surrounded by private property. If we pay for it, there should be a way to access it, some sort of right of way.

• Please extend season until the end of January.

• Increased fines for trespass.

• Reducing bear population in north Georgia will help the deer population rebound. Continue with no doe days.

• Where’s the ammo!?

• Season to last through January.

• Keep up the great work!

• I’d like to see a little bit more active deer management as mentioned previously. I’d also like to see the state continue to increase the amount of public land and access/opportunity/management of all our public lands. Improve forest management specifically for wildlife, which would include planting, thinning, etc.

• I hunt two to three days a week or more throughout the season.

• State needs to pursue more lands for public hunting and fishing.

• Reduce the number of deer available to each hunter to eight.

• I feel like the legal doe harvest is too high at 10 per person. We do regulate that on our leases to only two per membership, but I would like to see it reduced personally.

• I usually hunt every chance I get. Multiple times a week and I spread myself around the 30,000 acres on Redlands WMA, so I know it’s not me. Didn’t even see as many road-kills as usual.

• It would be nice to see a longer archery season and shorter rifle.

• I think we need to have all counties trophy counties for five years on and five years off to help grow bigger bucks.

• We’ve got to do something about the coyote problem. I normally get one or two every year, but this year I killed five and saw a lot more. That’s not good.

• I never see any rangers. Do we not have enough money to pay for rangers? I never even see them on Management Areas. Poachers could poach deer on WMAs and never be caught. Are we that poor?

• If we believe we are in battle against activists to preserve our traditions, then we must educate ourselves and then educate them why conservation is important. And do it based on biological facts and data rather than spite. The fact is we as the hunting and fishing community have more in common with these activists than with any other group, it’s up to us to educate them on why our passion is so much deeper than the kill or catch. Find common ground with them to fight for common goals; deforestation of our hunting opportunities and pollution of our lakes and streams.

• Season dates need to change in my opinion. Too long.

• What was the problem with all of the processors in our area in Hancock County? They were very often full and not accepting any deer. Also at least three closed completely three or more weeks before the end of the season.

• We need law enforcement presence badly in the Redlands WMA. Foreigners have been out there driving deer and building structures all over the place and dumping trash and carcasses on the roadside. What a shame.

• Love coming to Georgia to hunt, always have. Will be retiring in several years and moving somewhere in the Georgia.

• Hunt much more now that we have our own lease.

• More primitive-weapon days.

• All the land being developed and not enough habitat for wildlife, especially in Hall County.

• Adjust season dates in southern regions.

• Our deer and turkey population is down in Grady County.

• I would like to see the limits of deer taken deceased and more counties with antler restrictions.

• Decrease the total amount of does to five or six instead of 10.

• Thanks for a great magazine, look forward to it each month.

• I would like to see all counties go to QDM to produce better hunting for the entire state

• Hunting land is getting more and more difficult to find. I wish the state had acquired more land in past decades to open for hunters and other outdoor activities.

• We need more doe days in Murray County.

• To Stephens County hunters, the number of folks who are usually seen on forestry land has decreased drastically over the last five or six years due to the doe regulation. The last time we had days, I went out and found a large group of does and had their movement figured out. The two days we had were windy and pouring rain, and they never came by. Every day that weather cooperated you would see them between 9:00-9:20. I am saddened to see that instead of helping both hunters and deer by lowering limits, you have chosen to cut the days for those you depend on for funding through licenses.

• More selective with my hunts now with cell cams.

• Access to ammo and keeping our waters clean.

• We need more interest from younger people to take up deer hunting or hunting in general. We need all deer hunters to be more ethical. I’ve enjoyed GON for many years and I hope y’all can continue to spread more great stories and news about the great outdoor adventures. Thanks

• Start hunting season later in year to avoid heat, snakes and ticks. I do like the additional two weeks for bow late season in Columbia County.

• I’d like to have a later waterfowl season. Maybe have a longer break between the Thanksgiving season and the main season. We could also do away with early teal season. I don’t know anyone who makes the effort to hunt them.

• The deer hunting season should be moved to start later in the year and end later in January.

• We need to have a more comprehensive statewide approach to QDM. Also, this is a fantastic magazine. Do not hesitate to increase the pricing if necessary to continue publishing.

• Would like to see gun season start a little later and end a little earlier. Of course, being a bow-hunter I’m a little biased.

• Extend bow season throughout the state until Jan. 31. End gun season Jan. 1.

• There needs to be closer regulation on farmers being issued permits to kill does!  Poaching fines need to be set at a much higher rate! Georgia should adopt some practices like Texas, Maine and other states protecting deer instead of letting people slaughter them just because they are a deer! There are way too many doe tags for Georgia! Eventually you will wipe out the entire deer population once the deer tags are filled and farmers turned loose!

• Turkey season year-round. More bucks allowed. Maybe shut down every couple years for a season. Replenish population.

• I feel the new turkey regulations were an easy out for WRD as it hinders hunters via bag limits and dates but does nothing in regard to what is declining turkeys: predation (incentivize trapping, make it “social media cool” to trap, pay into a bounty program to fund it. Sign me up for 1k). Unfair chase innovations (regulate the use of cell cams and patterning toms, strutter decoys, tss at 100 yards). Habitat loss (almighty dollar says this is unstoppable probably). My wish would be to see a turkey stamp like Arkansas has implemented plus a hefty increase to out-of-state turkey tags. Don’t pay social media groups to promote raping Georgia turkeys and land while cutting our resident season and bags under the notion of “overhunting” Listen MORE to those who live and breathe Georgia wildlife conservation versus the weekend warriors and Instagram hunters who want a cheap and easy kill pic. For what its worth I’m 35 and do not do any social media as I believe it is the biggest cancer to our sport (bad press, narcissism, promotes the wrong reasons to go afield). Happy 2022, and I hope my comments are read and I apologize if they seem brash, but it’s tough watching our turkey regulations confuse every “real” turkey conservationist I know.

• Stock Pine Log WMA with deer.

• Not enough does are being killed and too many 1.5- to 2.5-year-old bucks being killed. More antler restrictions need to be in place statewide unless a child is hunting (16 years old and younger). I would like to see more intense QDM and hunters take only 8 pts/14-inch inside spread or better or cull bucks of a mature age. The one buck with 4 points on one side does not work. I would not be opposed to one buck per season and keep the doe limit high eight to 10.  I would like to also see more accountability to those who are not following any of the state’s deer regulations. We have the deer population and the genetics to let the deer get to 3.5 years of age.

• Habitat not predators is what’s wrong with the turkey population. Don’t see any benefit to making Oconee National Forest season different from regular turkey season.

• Who needs 10 does? The limit should be lowered in most areas.

• Baiting is a big mistake. Not in North Georgia. It ruins the real hunt and turns deer to nocturnal.

• I hunt in Kentucky every year. The bucks there have much bigger racks, and the rut activity is awesome. Maybe Georgia should adopt Kentucky’s deer hunting regulations.

• We need better bear control in north Georgia and a daily limit on deer.

• Deer season is maybe too long and limit too high. Starting early September is hot and any wounded deer is probably lost meat if not recovered promptly.  Extended archery in Columbia County probably not necessary.

• Better rabbit areas would be nice.  Difficult to find areas even on WMAs.

• At the rate of inflation hunting and fishing are two of the best activities we still have in Georgia.

• We need more opportunities for public free hunting areas. There are plenty of youth hunts, do we need all of them?

• Would like to see season extended and end on MLK holiday every year.

• Turkey poult recruitment.

• Due to regulation restraints on doe days for public land in north Georgia.

• The complete state should go to 4 on one side (trophy management).

• Please put people in position that are more concerned about wildlife and access for outdoorsmen.

• Having property close to my home and a more flexible job schedule, I can hunt a lot more.

• Would like to see DNR make the middle Georgia bear hunt into a quota hunt so you could take your time and be selective. Then they could get the required number of shows wanted and boars.

• Should change season to less rifle.

• Hogs can be totally avoided if you don’t put out corn ever on your hunting land. They stick to the guys with feeders.

• Georgia WMA stink, plain and simple. They need to quit tagging deer for you and close half of them for three to four years, then close the other half. If a person had to use there own tag, they would not shoot the first little thing with horns.

• I would love to see the season come in later and end later in the area of the state I hunt in southwest Georgia. The season does include an extended archery season  until the Jan. 31 but that doesn’t help hunters who don’t use archery equipment.

• I think all lake limits on largemouth bass should be 12 inches.

• I wish they would remove the antler restrictions on the harvesting of bucks.

• I would like to see the latest biological statistics on our bass and striper populations in specific lakes (Lanier, Oconee, Sinclair, Hartwell…) and projections on their future.  Lanier, for example, the striper population seems to be coming back strong.

• More coyotes culled and too much baiting.

• Wish Georgia had a post primitive-weapon season after gun season.

• Keep up the good work enjoy every issue.

• Enjoy the kids and grandkids getting a chance to harvest and learn to survive on the wild bounty more than I ever enjoyed harvesting myself.

• GaDNR is doing a good job.

• December duck and dove hunting season opened up on Sunday and not a Saturday! Effective in losing seven days of hunting on already restricted seasons. Who came up with this anti-hunting regulation? It appears that the DNR/WRD is only interested in selling a license for any thing they imagine and more needless obscure regulations so law enforcement can write more tickets!

• I personally disagree with and do not care for the coyote culling issues. I despise the furry animals as much as anyone else, but research has proven that coyote culling does not work. Predator control for game and livestock is one thing, but we’ll never be rid of them. Unnecessary killing only increases their numbers as they seek to rebuild their pack. I wouldn’t mind seeing the cons of culling as well as the pros in future issues of GON.

• Would love to see extended archery season through the state.

• Good move on behalf of new turkey regulations.

• A lot of corn is put out in Georgia. I realize that with deer at such a high population level that they need supplemented feed. I’m told that corn sold as deer corn has a bacteria in it and that bacteria doesn’t harm deer but can make turkey sick. I’m worried that we are concentrating the deer too much with corn and that when CWD gets here, it will spread like wildfire. I’m very happy to see many of the landowners surrounding me putting in food crops. I realize they are expensive and a lot of work, but I feel they are the key to a healthy deer herd and they benefit all wildlife.

• The coyote and hog problem are of great concern. We have tons of hogs and shoot all we can, but does not put a dent in the population.

• I think we definitely need more doe days in Habersham County. Surrounding counties did raise them but not us. Why?

• Make the gun season come in after the rut!

• Please consider lobbying for managing the quality of deer being taken from public land. If it’s brown it’s down is just not cool.

• Sharp decline in animals seen in person and game cam footage concerns me about this years hunt. Hope it’s not a trend.

• Lowering harvest record back to five deer—two bucks, three does.

• I would like to see deer reintroduced onto some of the mountain communities and mountain WMAs. It seems the bear population is higher in the northern counties. I would also like to see doe days reduced or stopped after the rut.

• Put more real estate in magazine.

• Welcome to Georgia owned and operated by The GA DNR.

• Stop baiting in Northern Zone.

• Like a football game, too many folks who never played know more than coaches, and too many outdoors folks know how to manage wildlife and fish species better than the professionals. They go totally on personal experience or lack thereof.

• Maybe DNR and GON can help push trapping a little more to help with the nest predators with easy dog-proof traps that would lead to a better bird population. Y’all do a great job and enjoy the info you put out as usual!

• Having more land to hunt and fish.

• I don’t care for baiting for deer. My belief is it has impacted other species, most notably the turkey population. It draws predators to specific areas, and mold that can grow on corn can be deadly to turkeys.

• I think GON should have an article for north Georgia trout fishermen. I know some of them are partying but please recommend they clean up their trash.

• Would like to see south Georgia gun season go to end of January.

• Would like to see more counties with QDM type regulations. We have great potential if we let bucks grow. 

• Keep reading all the folks bashing Florida hunters. There are bad apples everywhere you go but not all are bad. The farmers and landowners are setting some of these crazy lease rates and should shoulder some of the responsibility. Stay safe!

• Harder to find property to hunt.

• More education on quality deer management. Some of the reasons I hear my neighbors shooting small bucks is complete ignorance in understanding how quality deer management and trophy hunting work.

• Maybe consider adjusting the season. Lately the weather has been awful for deer hunting because of warmth and rain which I think affects the rut time and length. Maybe change to suit cooler temperatures but also not shorten the small-game season because I love to rabbit hunt but very difficult to go during deer season.

• Saltwater fishing regs need to be reviewed, some of the limits are a joke.

• Would love to see the deer limits dropped from 12 back to five with the option of buying more doe tags if wanted.

• If data supports it, I’d like to see a drop in the tags from 10/2 doe/buck to 5/2. I’d also like to see muzzleloader replace the December rifle season.

• Shorten firearms season or implement other initiatives to increase overall age structure of bucks. All 2.5-year-old bucks are the walking dead in our area of Oglethorpe County. Would like to encounter more mature bucks while hunting.

• That the state of Georgia support the second amendment, as well as hunting and fishing for generations following us.

• Doe deer limit still too high. Should be four does and two bucks.

• Ease predator restrictions, including birds of prey. Predators should be killed year-round.  There is no fur market anymore. There is very little trapping and predator hunting going on statewide. Birds of prey are totally out of control and wreaking havoc on turkeys and quail. Why would a season ever be closed on bobcats, raccoons and opossums? All of which do considerable damage to deer fawns, turkey poults, turkey nests and some grown turkeys and deer.

• Issues with trespassing and the lack of response or concern by law enforcement,  local county. Game warden says this is a local issue unless they are hunting. I cannot enjoy my hunt for dealing with 4-wheelers.

• Love being retired, have grandkids to introduce to hunting.

• What does GON have planned to embrace the current tech advancements and really build a huge brand beyond the magazines and Truck-Buck Shoot-Out/Outdoor Blast show? As a sales and marketing professional I have always seen so much potential for GON. Any opportunity or interest in really building the brand?

• I no longer will vote for any “for the greater good” laws, rules, ordinance,  policies etc. that restricts, lessens, prohibits, any more freedoms when it comes to Georgia hunting and fishing rights. Politicians and representatives absolutely never give back any freedoms they restrict when it comes to hunting, fishing or anything else for that matter. I truly believe the ultimate goal is to end hunting and fishing rights in the United States and I will not ever give one more inch. This includes the acquisition of Georgia state lands to be designated “national parks”. There has been enough take from the people of Georgia heritage and way of life.

• I believe that hunting on private land in Morgan County is about to be gone due to development. If you do not own the property you hunt on, it will soon be sold and homes or warehouses built on it.

• Outlaw baiting statewide and let people learn to hunt again!

• A longer archery season for all counties would help slow down deer and car accidents.

• I personally think if Georgia wants better quality of bucks, we need three buck tags, two of any size and one quality. There are too many small-racked bucks that are 2 1/2-year-old or older breeding the does. People wonder why they only see small messed-up racks while hunting and not a nice shooter. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if it was three bucks and five does for our tags. And the forestry division should stop cutting all the trees down just to have a nasty overgrown cutover. Some logging is good, but they go too far with it.

• It seems since the passing of the law to hunt over bait, deer patterns have changed drastically. Where I hunt it’s as though the deer are moving from one feeder to the next like a buffet line. We do not hunt over a feeder, but they are on our property. If you don’t have a feeder on your land, the deer will move the neighbor’s land where feeders are.

• WMA are over crowded.

• I use and appreciate the firing ranges at WMAs. Improvements are being made at Charlie Elliott without user input, to my knowledge. I worry that these ranges will get too staff heavy and complicated to operate and will be vulnerable to closure during lean budget years, or during administrations not as favorable to shooters.

• Nothing else to add. I love this magazine and the state of Georgia. Great work you guys are doing.

• What’s the DNR going to do to increase the small-game hunting in Georgia?

• Wardens have to much unchecked power.

• I would like to see rifle season shorter and more archery season. Also one buck limit.

• Thank you for your publication. Sorry about AON. I spend a lot of time in Alabama fishing. I use your publication to help stay on top of the issues affecting the Georgia outdoorsman.

• I am deeply concerned about the coyote situation. I believe they are taking a terrible toll on our deer, quail and turkey poults.

• Too many dog hunting days, needs to be reduced.

• I think GADNR is doing a good job managing wildlife resources. I’d appreciate it if the ridiculous ammunition shortage would get resolved soon.

• Savannah needs more and better piers, land-based saltwater fishing access.

• Keep doing the terrific job of keeping Georgia informed on current legislation and statewide hunting issues.

• Pleasure boaters and jet skiers need to be required to buy some form of license just like fisherman. Their big wake, ski and pleasure boats do far more damage to shorelines than my bass boat.

• I would like to see more control efforts on coyotes from sportsman as well as from DNR.

• I would like to see a break in deer season for small-game hunting.

• Hall County needs to slow down on rezoning land for housing and focus on green space for the deer and other animals being forced out of there habitat.

• Please repeal all laws that legalized baiting. 

• Keep trapping and banging on the yotes!

• I would like to see bow season open a bit later. Many does are still with fawns, and I refuse to harvest a doe still tending a fawn.

• Delay archery season by one month due to heat.

• Thanks for all y’all do.

• Need less antlerless tags, no person needs 12 deer a year.

• More archery-only WMAs and open WMAs that are closed majority of season open to archery.

• Still don’t like the extended season for deer. Cuts into our time small-game hunting. Would like to see a couple weeks added back.

• Georgia needs to make out-of-state hunters pay more money. Georgia is the cheapest state to get an out-of-state license. They pay top dollar for land and it’s hard to find land to lease. On top of that, 99% of them blast every deer they see.

• Too many coyotes in Lumpkin County.

• For a while all the processing plants were filled. I don’t believe hunters are picking up their meat. Also believe a lot of people bought AR-15s and just want to kill and don’t even have a hunting license.

• I think the number of does harvested should be reduced to no more than three per hunter.

• I am glad to see the WMA planting food plots for doves, deer and turkeys.

• Would like to see more antler restrictions and less doe tags. Exemption for children under 16 or first deer.

• More public bow-only dates on Rum Creek now that Berry Creek is so small. Maybe all season after the two gun hunts.

• I think turkey season needs to be shortened and the limit should be reduced due to low turkey numbers. I feel like this would give the turkeys a chance to replenish. I also think that Georgia should look into making more of the state a trophy state due to the numbers of P&Y and B&C bucks taken. I believe the state has proven that the genetics are present, but a better management system in place could give a boost.

• It has been great seeing the quality of deer increase since I was very involved with deer hunting. QDM works if hunters will give it a chance. The future of hunting looks great in Georgia.

• I would love to see a minimum spread requirement enacted for Hancock County. Seeing lots of legal young basket rack bucks, but the mature deer numbers seem to be decreasing each year.

• I saw a tremendous number of deer that were killed on the road. Many more than I have ever seen in one season.

• About the same, I usually take off from work from late October until Thanksgiving every year. This year I switched to bow only to motivate me to get in the woods more.

• Deer hunt less, getting old, so it doesn’t mean as much. Our club still gets together for a week, but it is mostly social and hunting is a side bar.

• Discovered western hunting, spent much more time and effort doing that now. Deer hunting here is still fun but out West is a different experience.

• My main concern is that urban sprawl from Atlanta has increasingly changed the “rural” counties to places where hunting is limited with regard to spaces to hunt and with local governments limiting how people can hunt all in the name of “public safety.”

• The drastic reduction in deer processors will have a long-term affect on deer hunting in the state. It’s becoming difficult to find a cooler with space from late October until after Thanksgiving. During early November, it’s virtually impossible to find a processor within 50 miles. I hunt Spalding County. For years, I’ve regretted that there were no Hunters for the Hungry participating coolers in the south Atlanta metro counties. I can only use one deer per season and it is usually given away. I would hunt more, take more and have more time in the woods if I could easily donate to HFH. GON would do well to work with this, or similar, organization to increase the numbers of donation facilities, especially just south of Atlanta. Counties just south of Atlanta could provide large numbers of deer if there were a good option to drop them off.

• Size limit on all lakes on crappie 10 inches or bigger.

• We need more game wardens! They are still stretched thin across the state.

• Why do northern states have mallard limits of four and Georgia only two. Federal regs should be for all states.

• Why are you allowing out of state hunts in Georgia for bear? Allowing hunters to use guides and dogs. Why are you not allowing the residents of Georgia the same opportunity? What is the state’s plan on protecting the turkey population?

• The state game and fish biologists should consider lowering the deer harvest back to five, three does and two bucks, one of the bucks should be QDM. Thanks for the opportunity to voice my views. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

• Availability of ammunition for hunting, both shotgun and rifle.

• I’m hearing our season and our limits will be considerably restricted in the future. I certainly hope not.

• Am really going to miss the early turkey hunting time in March this year. I hope it turns into more poults, as you all have suggested.

• The survey that won’t be run? What is the percentage of deer hunters who took at least one deer by baiting with corn? What is the percentage of hunters who pay to have the processor field-dress their deer?

• Love hunting Georgia. Wish the non-resident fees weren’t as high as they were but still worth it.

• Rural land lost because of inheritance tax.

• Great magazine keep up the great reads!

• Turkey I have seen a lot more during deer season this time. I hope they are headed in the right direction.

• I think they should start season later so it could run longer then January. I also think Georgia should have two turkey seasons.

• Would like more landowners to open their land to hunting. Also think that they should reduce the number of does that can be harvested to four for a total of six deer all together.

• Longer deer season in southwest Georgia.

• New extended archery season finally available in Paulding. Very happy to have this opportunity!

• Can the two-buck limit be changed to a three-buck limit?

• Need to allow baiting for bear if it is legal for deer. Way too many bears in Lumpkin and Dawson counties. Turkey population continues to plummet. Lose of habitat is hurting all animals, not just the turkey and deer.

• I don’t like the changes to turkey season. In Gordon County, we have a lot of turkeys, as many as ever, but we do a lot for them by trapping a lot and shooting every coyote we see and don’t do late burns like I seen down south so much.

• WMAs should allow for more hunting, not enough areas to hunt.

• 4-points-on-one-side rule should be statewide except for children 16 and under and seniors 65 and older.

• I turkey hunt and if I have any comment we need to take gobbler limit to one to try to help turkey population.

• We are doing too much buck shaming and not trying hard enough to recruit new hunters.

• Don’t like the farmers permit to shoot deer at night.

• Keep up the good work.

• Turkey population declines in Georgia as a result of deer feeders and bait. Hunters not realizing that they have been suckered into the socialist movement of our government in making “easier is better” with the deer baiting laws. This is what we are teaching our young people today, which is sad.

• I think the whole state should go to QDM rules or 8-point or better.

• I would like all WMAs to be open all season to all hunters, not just on special dates. Also to improve food plots and access on Joe Kurz and West Point WMAs.

• Cell cams make it easy to see what is and isn’t there.

• Wish I could hunt more, just too busy with building a company.

• Wild pigs are a problem in Hancock County. We eat some but need a way to dispose of the carcass legally or donate the meat of the ones we don’t eat.

• I think the game and fish commissions are doing a good job meeting the needs and future of hunting  and fishing.

• The number of does you can harvest should be lowered to five. There should also be stricter management rules on the size of both bucks that you can harvest, not just on one of them.

• It’s always too hot for bow season.

• I would like to see hunting without permission become a mandatory fingerprintable offense. This would require officers to arrest poachers for hunting without permission.  The statutory minimum fine by Georgia law is $500. Many counties are not abiding by the law and giving out much lower fines. A $100 fine is ridiculous when many of us spend thousands a year on our hunting property and someone can walk in and hunt on your land and pay no more of a fine than it cost to fill a tank of gas.

• Turkey are plentiful in Randolph County. Game management is our goal and has been for 14 years here.

• I enjoy the articles.

• Thanks for GON for the articles and editorials.

• I don’t understand why WMA and PFA managers are not post certified when they are the ones on the areas everyday and know what’s going on!

• I agree with the turkey regulation changes for 2022.

• Travel schedule limited my hunting this fall.

• I wish the WMAs in middle Georgia had more opportunities for rifle/shotgun hunts. They are mainly bow-only for deer and a lot like me don’t own a bow or also like me don’t like bowhunting. It would good to have some shotgun/bow only periods or at least muzzleloader with bowhunts.

• I hunt fairly often and hard from opening weekend through mid November, then I am done.

• Small government = more freedom

• GON does a great job every month.

• Need to get rid of coyotes.

• DNR needs to expand state land purchases and WMAs to continue to increase hunting access as the state population grows. It’s getting much harder and way more expensive to find a deer lease anywhere in Georgia.

• In my older age, I have become an afternoon hunter.

• Declining turkey population.

• All is good.

• Should be laws protecting landowners from being liable/sued from guest/lease holders.

• Move the Cedar Creek specialty hunt up one week. This puts it away from Thanksgiving holidays and also nearer the rut. 

• I think the new turkey regulations are a great move.

• Keep GON to hunting and fishing. I like to separate my interests from the political stuff that permeates every aspect of our lives. I look to GON to escape. Unless the political discussion is directly related to hunting and fishing, leave it be!

• Turkey populations are drastically dropping in my area.

• Due to our weather pattern, I would like to see the season extended. Our weather in Terrell County is too inconsistent and generally warm which causes the deer to rut later into the end of January/first of February. Even if it were an extended bow season.

• Have the season start later and rifle season end in February.

• I still do not like baiting, but I feel like I am being forced to do so. If I want to see any deer on my lease, I have to bait. I’m spending $50 or more every week on corn, and as soon as I quit, the deer  head to the neighboring property and their corn piles.

• Love processors who support Feeding the Hungry, i.e. Georgia’s Best, great folks and do great processing.

• I don’t miss a weekend. Early Friday to Sunday midday.

• Need to up the limit on bucks to three like Alabama. Bucks make up a higher percentage of the population now due to trophy management.

• There should be a statewide antler restriction on all bucks taken. Same as in Macon County for every county. There are way too many young deer being harvested.

• Why did we go to only two turkeys a season?

• The doe tags need to be decreased and make it quality buck statewide. Lessen the gun hunting days making it more archery only hunting.

• Fishing seems to be getting worse in some lakes. The size of fish has gone way down in the last few years. I know other states are putting size limits on fish to allow time for eggs to be laid and the number of bigger fish to increase without being stocked.

• I love GON. My whole family does.

• I don’t agree with the majority of changes DNR made to our turkey season.

• I think the harvest number of deer is way too high. It should be cut at least in half. Too many hunters shooting deer just to shoot them.

• Reduce the limit on deer from 12 back to two bucks and three does. Also end the season on Dec. 31.

• Need to close deer season at the end of December so us who rabbit hunt can have at least two months to hunt without conflicting with deer season. I’m an avid deer hunter myself. I’m not bashing deer hunters. I just love running my rabbit dogs, as well.

• Delay Rum Creek and Flint River WMA specialty hunts by one week. This helps the weather kill the bugs and helps keep the heat away.

• Thanks for all y’all do.

• Hunt more, work a rotating schedule, lots of time off.

• I’d like to get quicker responses on WMA hunts. It’s something I learned about this year when it was too late to apply.

• I need help finding a new hunting club. Make a forum for ONLY leases. I think this would help us all.

• Being a non-resident the only thing that I feel could be given a bit of thought is a restructuring of the short term non-resident hunting license fees. I buy the annual license and hunt 20-plus days a year, but my son only hunts a few days over Thanksgiving, and it comes to over $200. I understand that there would be abuses if the fees were lowered, but maybe even allowing additional non-consecutive days to be added to the $150 base license or reducing the cost of the short-term license for full-time students and military would get these young men and ladies into the woods rather than on the couch.

• I hope the turkey population increases. I think the new season dates and the reduced limit are a step in the right direction.

• Dove season needs to come in in September and run solid through January.

• I am glad Georgia has an easy-to-use Game Check and GON keeps us informed of what other counties are doing in their harvest, like fishing and gators, even getting the younger generation active.

• Would love to see deer season shortened by a few weeks. Would like limit moved back to six or eight.

• Quit shooting young bucks! Duh!

• Farmers should not be able to slaughter deer. Wardens should monitor.

• Thanks for what GON does for Georgia!

• Large landowners/leasees with few hunters should be allowed to harvest more bucks to maintain an older age herd.

Too few management rules. Too many small bucks killed.

• Not enough policing in our coastal fisheries. Also DNR needs to get more involved with hog eradication and streamside management. Too much logging right up to our river banks. Georgia’s wood duck habitat has been destroyed, especially in Screven County.

• Reduce the number of turkeys that can be shot.

• Love hunting in Georgia for the last 30 years.

• Wish buck and doe days were the same no different in amount of days to harvest.

• Too many hunters from out of state are buying/leasing properties leaving residents without good leases. Residents should be first.

• Season needs to start later and end at the end of January.

• Would like to see the whole state go trophy.

• DNR Law Enforcement — make fines greater. Let’s stop stupid, make it hurt. 

• Trapping. I believe trapping needs to be implemented on WMA land statewide.  Close the WMA for two weeks in February or either the first two weeks in March and have the DNR or closeby college groups in wildlife classes where available run a trap line to help with predator control for deer, turkey and quail.

• Deer season should run to the end of January. Take a three- to four-week break after Thanksgiving.

• We need to do a better job of letting the public know how hunters benefit the economy and our benefit to wildlife… not just that we “kill stuff.”

• I wish the disabled hunting license was easier to qualify for. Being in a wheelchair I should qualify for one.

• Cut down rifle season and doe days.

• I would like to see the age of senior hunts be lowered to 62 years old. I am 60 years old now, and I had heart surgery this year. I’m not considered disabled, but I’m definitely limited to doing less physical hunts than in the past years. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to do much hunting by the time I get to 65. I’m not the only one who feels this way. A lot of my friends feel the same way. I think that the WMA hunts would have more participation if the age would be lowered.

• Chattahoochee National Forest deer season should be as long as private land deer season.

• Think the deer limit should be four to six does and two bucks. Ten does is just too many when all permit hunting wipes out mostly does.

• I would like to see more counties with QDM and antler restrictions.

• Corn, corn, corn… bad idea and hunting is worse since we started. Too many side by sides on county and state roads. They need to be stopped. Out-of-state license needs to be higher. Lots of folks from Florida don’t care what they shoot.

• I’d like to see Warren County with an extended archery season.

• Urban sprawl and the continued deteriorating habitat must be addressed at some point. We are seeing the implications of this in the turkey population first.

• Delayed season opener and reduced bag limits for turkeys is excellent! Daylight dove opener is great. Snapper season needs to be extended. Something needs to be done about coyotes from a government level (state or federal).

• I very much appreciate the DNR for reducing our turkey season and bag limit. It was way overdue in my opinion.

• I hope the trout stocking gets back to normal now that the Burton Hatchery is back in business.

• Private hunting land seems to have completely gone away. Either someone hunts it already or it’s already leased. It seems we’re running out of private land for the amount of hunters in my opinion. I’d be more than happy to luck up on 40 to 50 acres to hunt, but it’s almost impossible.

• I hunted mostly Upson County due to losing my land close to my house. So due to the four-hour round trip to my club in Upson, I was forced to utilize some public land near me. I was able to take a nice buck off West Point WMA on a bonus hunt. He ended up grossing 119 2/8. 

• As a senior hunter, I think WMAs should have more access roads open for us. Bad knees make it harder to walk long distances carrying a rifle and deer stand.

• Need to take a look at the current permit system.

• I would love to see a 15-inch 8-point rule statewide and possibly a shorter gun season.

• Missed three to four weekends over entire season.

• Once again Georgia was faced with closed deer coolers and fewer deer coolers. There were three long-time coolers that closed because they could not find help and those that were open filled too quick and turned folks away leaving I’m sure many hunters with dead deer that they didn’t know what to do with that could have ended up on the side of road. I continue to think DNR needs to rethink its doe policy. Doe days should not start at the beginning to the peak of the rut, another factor that fills coolers up too fast.

• Something must be done to improve availability of ammunition.

• Kill more coyotes.

• More coyote kills or traps.

• Need more doe days in counties like Pickens, Gilmer and north.

• Please decrease tag limits. One buck, two or three does, 12 is ridiculous and killing the deer herd of Georgia, literally.

• We started trapping last year focusing on raccoons and coyotes. The fawn recruitment and turkey hatch this year was the best we have seen in 15 years.

• I would like to hear more about striper/ hybrid fishing in Lake Sinclair.

• I have been deer hunting since 1980, and this is the first year I have ever had to call around and drive four counties over to have a deer processed. I have killed at least one deer ever year since 1983. Can someone explain the reason why so many deer coolers were full this year? More deer hunters? More deer killed? Did the doe day delay cause a massive deer kill the first week of doe days? I would love to see an article explaining why so many deer coolers could not accept deer this year and some tips to help when you kill a deer and cannot find a processor. Thanks very much for such a fine publication!

• Need a GON new edition hat mailed to me.

• My main concern this year is conservation. It seems like each year more and more land is being sold off to build more and more town homes. I see many more deer running into the roads and causing accidents while at the same time I noticed much more forested land being torn down.

• I wish they would consider more either-sex days for northern counties. Our bordering country is either sex all season except the first week and we have six or seven days. We are getting overpopulated with does in Whitfield County.

• Going through family trouble. It has limited my time hunting.

• Wish we had extended archery season in the QDM counties to help us continue to manage our deer harvest.

• I am very concerned about the lack of deer processors statewide. I am also concerned about the lack of wild hog processors.

• The wild hog population in Oglethorpe County continues to increase. Shooting them seems to do little in terms of quantity of hogs. Hogs are very destructive.

• Keep lobbying to have the state buy more land to designate as WMAs. The more the better. It increases deer and turkey habitat and at the same time helps with the climate issue.

 I think the way hunting is managed in Georgia is working just fine. I have no complaints, just hope more young people continue to get into hunting. 

• The turkey population is decreasing quickly. We have always had five to six flocks on our 1,450 lease. However, we are down to two flocks. It seems to be a combination of loss of habitat and predators that are hurting the population the most. We killed two coyotes this spring trying to take down turkey decoys during hunts. I feel the gobbler harvest reduction and delayed season will have very little impact. I think we need to halt turkey hunting for a complete year (meaning no turkey hunting for spring 2023) and see if it helps the population rebound. In my opinion the turkey population is heading in the same direction as the quail. I wish GON would get involved more and push the state of Georgia to protect the turkey population so my grandkids (whom are not here yet) will be able to hunt turkeys.

• More on working on helping to promote the restoration of our quail habitat. See copy of 1-12-22 of “Farmer and Consumers Market Bulletin.” We should all get behind local farm landowners to see what good quail practices could be. Very profitable by just planting the edges 20 to 30 feet would do in a season or two.

• I would like to see more WMA dove shoots on weekdays.

• I think that anybody who needs 12 tags has enough kids to support that they can kill some on their kids’ tags. If we don’t go back to five, never gonna get any better. Also we need to make most of state doe days all the time so depending on peoples’ work schedules, they get chance to hunt either sex. Also most of south Georgia has been timber harvested and is almost all pines. Deer don’t survive on pine needles, so who knows. What we do may not matter.

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