Georgia WMA Turkey Hunting Special 2018

Not only is Feb. 15 the last day to apply for a WMA turkey quota hunt, it’s that time of the year to start blocking off some vacation days in preparation for spring turkey season. This year’s turkey season kicks off on March 24 and will end on May 15. There’s also a special youth weekend March 17-18.

The charts below show a long list of WMAs that offered turkey hunting during the spring of 2017, along with each WMA’s harvest and hunter numbers. WMAs can differ greatly in the turkey hunting opportunity offered. Some WMAs offer quota hunting only, while others are non-quota and open the entire state season. A handful of WMAs offer quota hunting during the first part of the season and then have a general hunting season during the second half of the season. Some areas only offer adult/child hunts. Make sure you refer to the 2017-18 Georgia Hunting Seasons & Regulations booklet before turkey hunting at any WMA.

WMA Quota Hunts: Feb. 15 is the last day for hunters to apply for a 2018 WMA turkey quota hunt—both general hunts and adult/child hunts. You’ll need to apply online at www.gohuntgeorgia.org. Scroll down to “Quota Hunts.”

If you only want to earn a “priority point” so you can use them in a year or two to gain access to the more popular WMAs, you can do that, too.

This year’s general quota-hunt choices are listed on page 36. These are the same choices you’ll see when you go online to apply. Some of these hunts require no priority points, while others require several. For quota-hunt selection odds based on last season’s hunts, go to http://georgiawildlife.com/hunting/quota#odds.

Adult/Child Quota: Twelve WMAs or PFAs will host a youth turkey hunting opportunity in a quota environment. In order to apply for one of these, the youth must have an online username and password when going to the WRD quota-hunt system. Adults must accompany the child on those hunts but can’t do the shooting. Online quota-hunt selection odds are also available for these hunts.

Non-Quota: There is lots of non-quota WMA opportunity where the turkey hunting can be pretty impressive. On page 37, you’ll see a ranking of the Top-20 WMAs where non-quota hunting opportunities took place last year. You can find some real gems amongst this list of WMAs. Interestingly, the 36,000-acre Dixon Memorial boasted the highest hunter-success rate for non-quota WMAs with nearly one in three hunters killing a turkey.

There is lots to think about based on the data on these four pages, but don’t think too long. The season and quota deadline are coming.

“As a reminder, all WMA turkey hunters must use the Game Check system to record their turkey harvest. No longer are turkey hunters required to sign out their birds at a physical check station,” said Kevin Lowrey, wild turkey project coordinator with WRD.