Deer Season Ratings & VOTES Survey Results 2022

In the 20-plus years that GON has been asking readers to rate their deer seasons, the 2022-23 hunting season survey resulted in the highest percentage of hunters giving their season ranking as “Excellent,” the top choice in the survey. Of the 1,292 readers who either filled out a Rate Your Season cover ballot, sent an email or completed an online GON survey through Survey Monkey, 25.1% said they had excellent deer seasons. This is up from 21.4% of hunters who said their 2021 seasons were excellent. 

In addition, a tie for the record low number of hunters who rated their season as “Poor” was seen in the 2022 survey. Just 10.1% of hunters ranked their season as low as they could respond. That same record low number was seen after the 2020 season.

This is a far cry from the 2003-2016 seasons when the percentage of hunters who rated their seasons as poor ranged between 24.2% and 45.8%. 

In addition to the Rate Your Season Survey, GON readers also answered questions on trapping and deer coolers.

The county ratings start on this page and go to page 31. 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 1.300 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 below.

Appling Co. G-1, F-2

Good: Harvested nice 8-point and several does.

Fair: Dry weather, stopped planting food plots. Haven’t had time to hunt.

Atkinson Co. E-1, F-1

Excellent: Good deer movement, fairly cold season. Awesome rut activity.

Fair: Have not had time.

Bacon Co. E-1, G-1, P-1

Good: Didn’t see deer. Feral pigs and coyotes I did see.

Baldwin Co. E-2, G-6, F-4

Excellent: My wife and I harvested two 10-point wall mounters and her biggest to date 8-point. Passed a lot of deer. Doe population coming back.

Excellent: We have a very good deer population with low hunting pressure.

Good: I seemed to see more deer this year where I hunt.

Good: Lots of does.

Good: Good harvest rate on does and bucks. Saw plenty of deer.

Good: Saw bucks but chose not to shoot.

Fair: Only got one deer.

Fair: Saw a decent amount of deer but not any big bucks. After Thanksgiving, no mature does or bucks we’re seen. I think the weather this year had a huge negative effect on deer movement.

Fair: Not seeing the deer population or quality bucks as in the few previous years.

Banks Co. E-1, G-3, P-2

Excellent: Because the deer population is exploding out of control.

Good: Killed my first buck in about seven or eight years.

Good: Saw deer on every hunt and enjoyed the outdoors.

Poor: Hogs keeping deer traffic low on cameras.

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

Excellent: My trail cams are full of deer moving all season long.

Good: For the amount of times that I have been able to go out to hunt, I’ve seen a good amount of deer. Did not see a big one to shoot yet, and other circumstances have caused me not to shoot any does this year.

Fair: Not a lot of deer movement. Warm weather.

Poor: Not seeing deer.

Bartow Co. E-2, G-6, F-5

Excellent: Plenty of deer and they were in good health. White oak acorn crop was fantastic.

Excellent: Saw multiple deer every day of the season.

Good: I saw several deer and was able to harvest two, which is all I wanted to kill.

Good: It has been good other then they didn’t really go into rut unless they did it at night. Only saw one chasing a doe, and that’s it.

Good: Saw a lot of deer and more bucks this year than last year.

Good: I saw more deer than I ever have, just not any mature bucks while on stand.

Fair: Property had been clearcut two years ago, which is not all bad. However, the natural food sources that were once there are now all gone. Deer sightings dropped dramatically.

Fair: Not seeing near the deer population as previous years, suspect the land sales and building encroachment near our lease is some of the problem. Also appeared to be a trickle rut in our area, seemed to start earlier this season but never got in full swing.

Fair: I really haven’t gotten to hunt that much.

Fair: There were a lot of people trespassing on our lease, which after 27 years this maybe the last.

Ben Hill Co. G-5, F-1

Good: Two bucks and two does.

Good: Saw lots of deer, lots of chasing, couldn’t connect with the big boys.

Good: Take out the predator aspect and I would rank it excellent. I’ve never seen bobcats chase deer. On two separate occasions, we witnessed one pursuing a smaller doe and then watched two cats chase two adult does. Several occasions we heard packs of coyotes howling, as well. Predator control on your property is critical to all the wildlife! Saw good numbers of deer. 

Good: Saw a lot of deer, some of which were quality deer. We have attempted to manage our property for greater than 15 years by food plot feeding programs and allow bucks to reach greater than three years. Trying to manage herd by removing mature does and control numbers taken.

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

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer.

Excellent: Saw deer almost every hunt.

Good: Saw a lot of deer and had opportunity to kill a few.

Good: A good crop of 2- to 3-year-old bucks.

Fair: Mostly seeing deer early a.m. A few small ones at the beginning, then everything at night.

Poor: Deer movement was predawn and after sunset according to trail cameras. Too many hunters hunting and killing anything that moves on surrounding hunting areas.

Bibb Co. G-1, F-1

Good: Lots of deer seen.

Fair: Lots of deer, just no 130-plus to shoot.

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

Excellent: Saw lots of deer (and bears) and got some big bucks on trail cameras. The deer were there. I probably needed to spend more time in the stand.

Excellent: Although I chose not to harvest any deer yet, I have observed many deer on my property, including four very nice 8-pointers. The urge may overcome me next time one shows himself.

Good: Grandson killed deer with archery and rifle this year.

Good: Plenty of deer. Chose not to harvest as I am a member of a managed buck club. Took a doe last week of season for the meat.

Brantley Co. G-1, P-2

Poor: The deer population has been down due to a couple of farmers who possibly have taken more on their crop permits. Farmers have to be able to manage their crops, but night hunting and taking more than required should not be allowed! The GA DNR needs to have more control over the permitting of crops by actually going to the designated area checking for damage done by deer. In our area, there are not as many as there once was and many residents have stopped letting farmers get crop permits on leased land. It has been told by reputable residents of farmers taking over the permitted allowance and sometimes leaving deer carcasses in the fields or pulling them just outside of the field in the brush or creek bottoms. This kind of wastefulness needs to stop! The deer herd in southeast Georgia is falling off more than is reported! Too many farmers killing more and night hunters riding dirt roads! We need more DNR rangers to patrol and catch these folks!

Poor: No deer showing during shooting hours.

Brooks Co. E-1, G-1, F-5, P-1

Excellent: I’ve killed a buck and two does. Seen several this season.

Fair: Too many acorns and too warm during the rut.

Fair: Fewer trophy bucks, weather issues with food plots. Hot most of the season.

Fair: Saw mostly does and yearlings, did not see any quality bucks. Did not have any on camera, a few pretty good 8-points.

Fair: Saw fewer deer than in past seasons.

Poor: No shooters seen! Dog problems.

Bryan Co. G-1

Bulloch Co. G-2, P-1

Good: Saw plenty of deer and nice bucks. Only reason I would not give it an excellent is due to the fact that I have hunters who run dogs on a small piece of private property, and it causes issues. The 250-acre private property minimum for dog permits is not enough acres in my opinion.

Good: I voted good, but it probably should have been excellent considering I will be 85 years old Jan. 18. I hunt with a bow and have since 1965. My present setup is a Bowtech SR6 compound and QAD broadheads. The fine people at Bowtreader Archery keep my bow in tine and ready to go. They are located in Statesboro. I got three and missed one this year. I also had others slip by me as expected. I might add I do not use anything to attract deer. It is my bow, Summit stand and a lot of scouting. I always hunt alone, although not really safe. 

Poor: Saw very few deer.

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

Excellent: Hogs keeping deer traffic low on cameras.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer all season long.

Excellent: This year on opening day of rifle season, I harvested my main target buck. He is also my biggest buck to date. I’ve also been blessed enough to harvest a few does for the freezer.

Excellent: We have harvested some nice deer.

Good: Saw a lot of deer but no mature bucks. Had a few mature ones on camera early but slowed down as the season progressed.

Good: Killed one.

Good: Season too short, needs to be longer. We go visit family for holidays, and when we return we only have one week left.  

Good: Early season was so hot it wasn’t much fun. I saw lots of does and fawns. Only saw one buck all season but didn’t get the chance to hunt the rut.

Good: I saw more frequent deer activity.

Fair: Not seeing good numbers of deer. Seeing good quality due to management practices. I think predator/prey ratio needs balancing, as well as a more restrictive doe harvest.

Fair: Started great with lots of deer, second half the deer have disappeared.

Poor: Not many deer seen.

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

Excellent: My daughter killed her biggest buck ever and my father killed a 142-inch 10-point! We hardly ever went hunting without seeing deer. We let at least 10 different smaller bucks walk, very excited for next year and watching them grow.

Excellent: Tagged out on two great bucks and saw several shooters that hopefully make it to the 2023 season.

Excellent: Killed a mature buck.

Good: Lots of deer seen, few mature bucks.

Fair: Many deer seen, not really much action.

Fair: Didn’t see as many deer as previous seasons.

Poor: Only have seen a few deer. No quality bucks. Only a couple of mature does.

Calhoun Co. G-3

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Very few real good bucks. However, my daughter did get a real nice 10-point.

Good: Short hunting season. Just purchased property.

Camden Co. G-3, F-2

Good: I killed two bucks and a bonus buck and two does.

Good: I have harvested three deer.

Good: Lots of deer sighted.

Fair: Not as many bucks were seen in daylight.

Fair: Northwest Camden County is a tough hunt every year due to big remote swamps that hide deer during the day but are nearly impenetrable to the hunter. The rut is late October here, and there was a noticeable uptick in buck movement from about Oct. 11-22. The Oct. 22-31 time is typically your lock-down period and actual rut here, so bucks locked down waiting for their chosen doe to come into estrus no longer show up regularly on trail cameras.

Candler Co. E-1, G-2

Excellent: Saw more bucks than does this year.

Good: Got a freezer full of venison but no big bucks. Had a couple of shooters on camera but all at night. Most deer movement was nocturnal. Food plots were poor due to our drought. We have been wondering if supplemental feeding is making them more nocturnal? Is there any research on this?

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

Excellent: Helped two grandkids get their first deer.

Excellent: We killed a big buck we were after the last two years.

Good: Saw deer every time out and was able to take two.

Good: Plenty of deer and ample opportunity to hunt.

Fair: Neighbors shoot whatever is brown.

Fair: Seems like deer numbers are down in my area. A lot of building going on so could be the reason. Getting harder to find good land anymore.

Poor: Very few deer seen. Population seems low.

Poor: I saw two deer the first two weeks of the season and haven’t seen a deer since.

Catoosa Co. E-1

Excellent: Tagged out on mature bucks early in the season. Killed a bonus buck on a quota hunt.

Charlton Co. P-1

Poor: Some timber companies have destroyed wildlife habitat.

Chatham Co. G-1

Good: The deer season was so good here because every inch of woods is getting cut down. LOL. I believe we need to do something about the nonstop building going on before the deer really don’t have a place to live. 

Chattahoochee Co. G-3, F-1

Good: Harvested plenty and saw a bunch more.

Good: Have seen a bunch of deer, with several different bucks.

Fair: Only shot one deer, a buck. Saw two other bucks but had no shot. Did not see any does while I was hunting.

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

Excellent: Harvested two healthy bucks.

Excellent: Saw deer almost every time on the stand.

Good: I took an OK 8-point. He was not a giant but was the best I had trail-cam pic of. His neck was swollen and hocks black and had several rubs in the area. I’m older now and don’t/can’t hunt hard anymore, but I keep going as best as I can.

Fair: Weather got cool, then warm, then cold, then warm again. Never got in a good pattern. Rut was off, as well. Didn’t see the activity like 2021.

Fair: Saw a lot of deer, mainly does and a few young bucks. Didn’t see any 3-year-old bucks. Would like to see 4 points or more for the state or 15-inch spread.

Poor: Never saw a thing. Did find some bear scat, but that’s it.

Cherokee Co. E-9, G-5, F-4

Excellent: Good deer movement.

Excellent: Got to see a whole lot of wildlife and made a lot of memories with my dad.

Excellent: Got to hunt all year with my son, that’s the best.

Excellent: Spent at least three days a week on the stand. Saw deer every time but two from opening day of archery on. Lots of videos. Private land, unfortunately too many slob hunters on public land, scared to archery hunt on them once gun season starts.

Excellent: Each time I went in the woods I always saw plenty of deer activity.

Excellent: Very productive and enjoyable, plenty of venison and still seeing plenty on the hoof. Should be a great season next year from the number of does and bucks of all ages left in the woods.

Excellent: I saw lots of deer and shot a nice 8-pointer. I took my granddaughter on her very first deer hunt ever, and she shot a nice 9-pointer. I did see a bobcat during the day on our club. I also hunted Paulding Forest and Pine Log WMAs and shot one buck on one and two bucks on the other.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer, several different age groups and plenty of healthy yearlings.

Excellent: Tons of deer and good buck activity.

Good: Great early to mid-season movement. Late season really slowed down.

Good: Quality and numbers.

Good: Saw a lot more deer activity than last season.

Good: Overall deer sightings seem to be up. Quality bucks still few and far between.

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Fair: Haven’t seen as much deer activity in the woods this year as normal.

Fair: Still can’t find another lease after ours sold.

Fair: Decent amount of deer. Did not harvest any this year but not due to population. Other factors prevented hunting.

Fair: The rut was crazy this year. The rut was not visible as usual.

Clarke Co. G-4

Good: Shot one deer. Hunted 10 to 12 times. I am 65 years old, and one deer is good for me.

Good: It was good because I did see a lot of deer and had a few nice bucks on camera. It wasn’t excellent because I wasn’t able to kill a nice buck.

Good: Witnessed a fair amount of rutting activity. Deer numbers were healthy on the tract I hunted.

Good: Even though I personally did not harvest one this year (all on me), I was able to start taking my 13-year-old nephew! We always saw deer. Nothing less than eight each sit. He harvested his very first deer on our second sit and with a bow at 10 yards! My nephew Harrison is now hooked! Improvement? It is all on the hunter. We hunt two small tracts, 15 and 20 acres. I hunt with bow 95%. Take care of the property you hunt.  

Clay Co. G-3, F-1

Good: Saw plenty of deer and was able to take kids hunting.

Good: Out-of-state, non-residents want to get their money’s worth and shoot any horned deer. Cost of meat in store is making venison a much more affordable alternative.

Good: Plenty of deer and good buck/doe ratio.

Fair: The rut was a couple of weeks early, and I wasn’t there.

Clinch Co. G-2

Good: Saw plenty of deer, I am just too picky. I was looking for a couple of target bucks, and they never showed.

Good: Lots of sightings. Harvested one really big buck.

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

Fair: I am a suburban bowhunter. I never found any real trophy bucks on my trail cams this year. Maybe more hunters in the area are killing them before they get 3+ years old.

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

Excellent: I got my two bucks before Thanksgiving, and one doe after Thanksgiving. Have not done this in five years.

Excellent: Seen plenty of deer, both doe and buck, all look healthy and slick coated.

Excellent: I killed a mature buck and saw tons of young bucks and does.

Excellent: I shot a huge 8-point opening day of rifle season, which was very cold weather. There was warm weather so not great hunting after that until the recent Christmas cold snap. But during the cold snap, I encountered several big bucks. The morning of Dec. 26 was one of my best hunts ever! I duck hunted at daylight for 30 minutes, then crawled into a deer stand and a parade of big bucks proceeded to stroll by. Six 3-plus-year-olds in a bachelor group. Another 19 deer were spotted throughout the morning. It was incredible.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Killed a buck and a doe. I still wish they would change the opening day in south Georgia to doe days, also. What difference does it make if you kill 10 does from day one or day three? With the rules the way they are, a lot of small bucks get killed opening day because these people have to kill something on opening day, I guess.

Fair: Too many hogs on property pushing deer out.

Colquitt Co. E-5, G-4, F-2

Excellent: Saw lots of deer.

Excellent: I saw deer on every hunt. I also harvested a large buck and passed up several others.

Excellent: I harvested a wallhanger. How can it get any better?

Excellent: Seen deer and shot a 147-inch buck.

Excellent: Saw nice young bucks 90% of time on stand. Killed mature buck on Nov. 13.

Good: Saw deer all year.

Good: Killed mature 8-point, have nice herd of various-aged deer.

Good: Plenty of deer. Decent amount of mature bucks but not as big as they can be.

Good: Saw lots of deer movement.

Fair: The season starts too early, and the weather was warm.

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

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer!

Good: I’ve seen several deer this year. The number of quality-sized bucks was lower due to timber harvest on adjoining property. No surprise there. It will get better as succession kicks in and forage plants get established.

Cook Co. E-3, G-3

Excellent: I have seen a lot of deer this season. I’ve seen several young bucks and two nice mature bucks but couldn’t get a shot at either one of them. I have seen does every time I have been hunting this year, and I have put meat in the freezer.

Excellent: Killed two great bucks, seen deer just about every sit.

Excellent: Killed a nice buck in velvet the second day of bow season and got another nice buck with my bow out of the same blind the week before Thanksgiving, and my 5-year old son got his first buck, a small 8-point.

Good: Not as many big does but deer every time.

Good: Lots of quality deer.

Coweta Co. E-3, G-4, F-6, P-4

Excellent: Killed the largest buck of my 65 years and got a 4 1/2-year-old doe two weeks later. Let a lot of smaller deer walk instead of shooting the first legal deer I saw.

Excellent: Saw deer almost every hunt. Saw a strong rut and a strong secondary rut. Watched bucks fight, chase and tend does on multiple hunts. Each of my older daughters, ages 8 and 11, tagged a buck. I managed to tag out with a nice early bow-kill and then my personal best. Saw a lot of the same activities on camera, as well.

Excellent: I got the biggest buck of my life.

Good: Saw plenty of deer when I got the opportunity to go hunt.

Good: Didn’t see as many deer as I usually do. Season started very slow. Not much of a rut. Hunted steadily the first two weeks on November.

Fair: Lots of small does, few quality bucks.

Fair: Didn’t shoot a buck but had a few chances at a big 6-point during archery. Saw a lot of chasing by little bucks.

Fair: Saw two shooters and harvested one. Let many deer walk.

Fair: I have seen deer but have not harvested one. My time afield has been excellent, but coming up zeros every time is frustrating. But bowhunting isn’t as easy as gun hunting. If I carried a .30-06 or my .30-30, I could have tagged out on bucks and put a dent in the doe population. But I’ve passed on small bucks and does waiting for my real chance.

Fair: Saw fewer bucks.

Poor: Just didn’t see as many deer this year as in years past. We tried different things, had some run ins with trespassers.

Poor: To be honest, my sons and I have not hunted this past season. We’ve been working so much that we haven’t had the time. So, we’re letting them multiply and also get bigger. Since COVID broke out, we have been processing the deer ourselves. Plus, everyone seems to be having a hard time getting help.

Poor: Hunted just about every Monday-Wednesday once gun season started until second week of December. Only saw deer twice while in the stand. Deer went nocturnal about two weeks before gun season started. All pics on camera are 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. A lot of construction going on in the area I hunt, and it’s messing me up.

Poor: Baiting and the 12 deer limit has killed the population, especially unethical baiting.

Crawford Co. E-5, G-8, F-2, P-3

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer.

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer this year. I took a doe.

Excellent: I was fortunate enough to see lots of deer and take a nice 5-year-old buck.

Excellent: Shot a nice 10-point on Thanksgiving. My November was slow with the warm temps.

Excellent: Saw a lot of different age class bucks.

Good: Son killed his first deer this year.

Good: Saw a lot of deer during rut and took some does. The place I hunt is QDM, so we are very careful about the bucks we take.

Good: Saw plenty of deer.

Good: Saw a lot of deer, especially during October and November. I’ve only taken one doe so far. However, my dad, two brothers and sister all harvested a solid quality buck each. It was a good year all around. We’re not seeing any of our shooters right now, but that seems to be how it is in December most years.

Fair: Saw limited deer this season compared to past seasons. Bucks were even more rare.

Poor: Because of the hot and wet weather that lasted well into November, deer were not moving during the day.

Poor: Adjacent landowner logged his property all of October and November. I was seeing plenty of deer on camera in September, but barely anything in October and November. Loggers started at 7 a.m. and worked to sundown. Very loud operation. Scared all the deer away. Now all the bucks are nocturnal and the does I see are not mature enough to harvest.

Crisp Co. E-1, G-6

Excellent: Saw several deer early. Harvested a nice 8-point on opening day of gun and also took a couple of does. I was pretty much done by the second week of November.

Good: Lots of deer and good bucks, but I haven’t gotten a shooter.

Good: It seems that the deer population has increased compared to last year.

Good: Plenty of deer, just no wall hangers.

Good: Saw deer almost every time I went.

Good: Many deer seen all season.

Good: Saw a number of young bucks and does. Saw deer every time I hunted, at least twice a week. Looks good for next few years down the road.

Dade Co. E-3

Excellent: Lots of deer movement, good diversity in deer herd.

Excellent: Deer are everywhere.

Excellent: I had plenty of deer to choose from. I mostly hunt does and could easily pick which ones I wanted to harvest.

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

Good: Most deer seen were small and young. Thought we could use a lot more either-sex days.

Good: Saw lots of does, would like to have a few more doe days.

Fair: Saw deer most hunts.

Poor: Too many hunters, few deer.

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

Excellent: Plenty of deer movement the last two weeks. Rut is smoking!

Excellent: I’ve seen a lot of different deer and managed to harvest some.

Fair: Our season doesn’t stay in long enough. Just when our deer finally get started rutting, our season is over. Please change our dates to at least the end of January.

Dodge Co. E-1, G-6, F-1

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Two mature bucks killed. See deer most sits.

Good: Had a chance at a big deer early and killed a good one later on. I hunt a small property that sits in the middle of some large tracks. So if I get a chance at one large deer a year, it’s been a good year.

Good: Lot of bucks, not a lot of size, killed 11-point.

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Good deer movement. Seen several mature bucks. Harvested one.

Good: Killed my personal best bow buck and saw a few good bucks, but deer numbers in general seemed lower.

Fair: We had a lot of young does. Decided we would thin the herd by taking out unbred young does to allow those bred to have more food and chance to increase the buck population.

Dooly Co. E-4, G-3, F-1

Excellent: This second week of December we noticed an 8-point with one side gone. We now have noticed five more bucks with a drop on one side. I’m 73 and have stomped the woods all my life, but I have never seen antler drops this early. I wonder what’s up. 

Excellent: Shot biggest archery buck to date.

Excellent: The number of quality younger deer we saw.

Excellent: Had a great season. Harvested two bucks over 150 inches. Had a feed program going on last year, and we decided to take last year off and not harvest any bucks. It paid off this year.

Good: Problems with feral pigs.

Fair: Lack of quality bucks.

Dougherty Co. G-2, F-1

Good: Lots of smaller bucks. More bucks than does. The numbers seem a little better than last year. Very conservative with our harvest. Hopeful to increase the quality each year.

Fair: No trophy racks spotted.

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

Excellent: Saw deer on 95% of hunts, including some nice bucks.

Good: Only got to go hunting a few times due to moving into a new location. However, saw deer most of my trips.

Fair: Saw a few does but no bucks.

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

Excellent: I have killed two bucks and several does.

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer while hunting and harvested a nice 8-point with good mass and tall tines. Tagged out with two bucks and 10 antlerless deer. Had many mature bucks on camera, as well as an excellent number of 1.5- and 2.5-year-old deer. I hunt private land with numerous agriculture fields nearby.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, just no mature bucks.

Echols Co. G-1

Good: I only harvested one deer this year back in November. I hunt on private property. Even though I only bagged one deer, I learned a lot. I hunted more than I ever have this season, usually going out two or three times a week. I saw a lot of deer sign and activity on cameras. I learned a lot about bedding areas and deer movement. I am confident that with better preparation and continued learning, next season will be more successful. I was a little disappointed in the rut. I hardly saw any activity during the rut and definitely didn’t see bucks chasing does through the woods. All in all, the woods always have something interesting or enlightening to offer every time you go out.

Effingham Co. E-2, F-1

Excellent: We had more deer and bucks in particular than we have ever seen on our property.

Elbert Co. E-2, G-6, F-2, P-1

Excellent: Saw deer almost every day we hunted.

Good: Not seeing the number of deer I have in past years!

Good: Saw deer every time I went hunting.

Good: Saw a fair amount of deer.

Good: I was able to shoot one of our target bucks. Our neighbors are practicing quality deer management, and we are seeing more big bucks.

Good: Good acorn crop early season.

Fair: We had a noticeable lack of quality bucks this year. We usually see six to eight shooters during a season on camera, if not in the stand. We got pictures of only one shooter this season. The rut seemed to last about two to three days, not weeks. There was very little buck sign like scrapes, rubs, etc. We did see several small bucks while hunting and on the trail cameras. We haven’t over-harvested bucks by any means. Took only two last year.

Fair: Poor weather conditions and trespassers.

Poor: No bucks.

Emanuel Co. G-8, F-4

Good: I got my biggest buck and got a few new properties to hunt.

Good: Good movement first of season, then slowed way down. Not as many racked bucks this year.

Good: The times I was able to hunt, I saw deer.

Good: Saw a bunch of deer and was successful.

Good: Numbers and herd appears to be in good shape. Not as many mature deer bouncing around this year as in years past.

Good: Saw very few quality bucks and way too many does. All the quality 3 or 4 year olds seem to be killed off by hunting clubs surrounding our property. I know some become nocturnal, but even trail cams didn’t show any survivors.

Fair: Biggest issue is hogs, they have invaded our hunting lease.

Fair: Saw plenty of does and young bucks early. Our rut starts last two weeks of October through first or maybe second weekend in November. Killed one big buck last week of October by himself. Let several 4-year-old 8s walk. Had bigger deer on cams that stayed nocturnal throughout season. Guess that’s why just being able take one is so special!

Fair: Weather hasn’t been great until the last couple of weeks.

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

Excellent: 6-pointer was 190 pounds or so, which is heaviest buck I shot in 20 years living here. Plentiful does. I think DNR should add two days to doe hunt.

Good: Harvested deer and saw a lot of deer.

Fair: Not a lot of mature bucks for such a mountainous area.

Fair: Most hunting is done on public land, seen deer but not in great numbers, did not see many bucks.

Fair: Saw very little rutting activity. Most of the bigger bucks we saw before rifle season started or we only got nighttime pics. In late December, we started to see them again, some in daylight but are broken up, and we have decided to wait and see what they look like next year.

Poor: Didn’t see a good buck.

Fayette Co. G-2, F-1

Good: I only bowhunt. I have seen a ton of deer and have had plenty of opportunities, however, I have yet to harvest a deer. I am trying hard to take a few before the end of the year. Overall, I have had a very good season so far.

Fair: Fewer deer.

Floyd Co. E-3, G-4, P-1

Excellent: Lots of deer, bucks of all ages.

Excellent: Got to deer hunt in Georgia for the 42nd season, enjoyed God’s outdoors with the best hunting buddy, my brother! Include a full freezer, awesome season.

Excellent: This year we killed more deer at our camp then the previous eight years. Overall it was a very good season.

Good: Didn’t see as many deer as in previous years.

Good: I killed two mature bucks and one big doe. I hunt private land that borders a hunting club. I’m seeing fewer does than I would like to see, and I think we need to lessen the doe tags. Having 10 doe tags is way too many and just makes people think we need to kill all the does. I have a family of five, and we eat a lot of deer, but three to four per year does us plenty. Just my opinion.

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

Good: Haven’t harvested a deer yet. Being selective.

Good: Not a selection for “very good,” therefore I went with “good” over “excellent.” One doe taken.

Fair: Not enough places to hunt.

Franklin Co. E-3, G-6, F-3, P-1

Excellent: Saw lots of deer and killed a solid 4.5-year-old.

Excellent: Was able to harvest two great bucks before Oct. 15. One with bow, other with rifle.

Excellent: Activity was good with a good ratio of young and mature bucks and does.

Good: My first season hunting and I managed to harvest a buck with a rifle and harvest a doe with a bow.

Good: Seen a lot of deer. 

Good: Seen few deer. No trophy bucks but smaller ones.

Good: Quantity of deer seen was down a little.

Good: Killed one mature buck. Saw many deer.

Good: Good number of bucks and does seen in stand and on camera with a good mature buck harvested.

Fair: Saw lot of bucks but not many mature bucks.

Fair: Sporadic rut with few mature bucks to hunt. They stayed nocturnal all season.

Poor: I hunt on the west side of the county around Highway 51 and Highway 63. I hunted nine consecutive times without seeing a single deer. Numbers are poor around that area.

Fulton Co. G-3, F-1

Good: Bow season was great, but after November, everything went nocturnal. The rut wasn’t as intense as past years.

Good: I pass up lots of deer, I kill two or three a year to eat.

Good: Tagged out on bucks, filled the freezer and spent a ton of time in the woods with my son. He got a Georgia buck and another buck out of state. Only thing that kept me from saying it was excellent was that last year set a very high bar in terms of the deer I shot. Last year, I got two bucks over 120 inches, and this year I got a 140 inch but a smaller second buck. Still wouldn’t trade the season for anything. It’s always a blast!

Fair: Deer movement was spotty at best. Mature bucks seem to be trending more nocturnal.

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

Excellent: Had a great time out hunting with my grandson. We each got a buck and also saw a lot of deer. But most of all, we made some great memories.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Had several bucks on camera and shot a nice 6-point and a good 9-point on private land.

Fair: I only saw one good buck and totally missed the rut—never even saw it.

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

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Fair: Not much deer movement and hardly any rut sign.

Poor: I only saw two deer on our property the whole year, and I was not the only one in my club that saw that or none. We had a lot of good pictures before August, then I think we had hogs run them off, and they haven’t returned yet. Hogs are gone and so are the deer.

Glynn Co. G-1, F-1

Good: Saw deer but mostly does. One of my kids killed a really nice buck, my youngest killed his first deer ever with crossbow, and my second youngest killed his second deer ever. As for me, it was a slow season.

Gordon Co. E-3, G-2, F-8, P-1

Excellent: Great first and second rut. Bucked out.

Excellent: Got a good buck and had a lot of deer on me.

Good: Plenty of deer available but good mature bucks were scarce.

Good: Plenty of deer and plenty of acorns.

Fair: Not as many good bucks. Too many does.

Fair: The property I have been hunting this year runs cows on it, and they have this crystal ball telling them when I throw out any kind of bait or attractant and come clean it up before I get the deer coming around. I have managed to kill two does but haven’t had much luck seeing anything.

Fair: Seeing fewer deer.

Poor: Have only taken one deer this year. Have seen plenty of sign but have not seen many deer at all.

Grady Co. F-1

Greene Co. E-5, G-12, F-6, P-3

Excellent: The season started off very slow in bow season. I joined a new club and just couldn’t get the deer figured out there. I missed a nice buck opening morning of rifle season. I was able to kill my first bow deer on Oct. 23 on a Walton County lease I have. I also killed my best buck this year, it green scored gross 137 2/8 on the same Walton lease. I also killed three other does, two in Greene and one in Jasper at a family friend’s property. This has been my best season ever.

Excellent: I enjoy getting out in the deer woods. Don’t have to shoot a buck every year to enjoy God’ creations.

Excellent: Saw lots of deer all sizes and sexes.

Excellent: I hunt Redlands WMA in Greene County and private land in Wilkes County. I rated my season as excellent for several reasons, a few of which are that my son-in-law got his first deer at Redlands this year, and I took both a doe and a buck at Redlands. I took my granddaughter and father-in-law on separate hunts as guests at my club in Wilkes County, and my granddaughter (10) got a doe and my father-in-law (76) got two does. I added three does and a buck at the Wilkes County club, including my first ever with a bow (crossbow). Also, first year all four people in my family who hunt got deer. Ten deer in the freezer, six of my own (including a 9-pointer at Redlands), and these are all reasons this was truly an excellent season for me and my family. 

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Saw deer somewhat regularly, no giants.

Good: 5-pointer, four does on WMAs.

Good: Number of buck sightings down compared to typical years, but doe herd appears healthy.

Good: Seen a lot of movement. Also had some memorable hunts.

Good: It would have been excellent, but I missed two different racked bucks within 45 minutes of each other.

Good: I either misjudged the age of a couple of deer by letting them walk last year or we had some type of deficiency during antler growth this year. We feed year-round so it’s pretty easy to keep up with the majority of our older bucks. I won’t really know until next year when they regrow their antlers.

Fair: Only live bucks seen were spikes, 3-pointers and buttons. Does were little. Saw very few deer.

Fair: Oconee was not very productive this year. Probably due to clear-cutting so much of it. I was only moderately successful there, and this year this is the only location I hunted.

Fair: Not seeing deer in December. Last year, I saw plenty. Not seeing as many bucks on camera.

Fair: New construction behind my deer hunting land led to a decline in traffic. Also, I did not hunt as much as I typically would, as I was moving during deer season.

Poor: Food plot failure due to drought!

Gwinnett Co. E-2, G-2

Excellent: Killed a big 10-pointer, saw several other bucks and does. Best season in a while.

Excellent: I saw multiple deer on 18 of the 20 hunts. Freezer is full.

Good: I have had a lot of good hunts this year. I have seen a lot of deer and some nice bucks. The reason I rate it good instead of excellent is because we had a neighbor who killed a deer that we have been watching for several years. Come to find out he has been watching him, also.

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

Excellent: Recently retired. Got to hunt more than ever before. Saw several good bucks. Hunted several times with my grandsons. One of them killed two bucks and four does while with me.

Good: Killed one decent buck.

Good: Saw a lot of deer. Saw deer almost every time I was in the stand. Harvested three does in bow season. However, I did not harvest a buck in gun season. Saw numerous bucks but they were young bucks.

Good: Saw good number of young bucks but we need to cut down the 10 does you can shoot in the northern counties.

Good: I have seen a ton of deer this year. Just haven’t been seeing any bucks worth killing.

Fair: I saw deer every time I sat in my stands, but surgery ended my season early.

Poor: Saw does but no bucks.

Hall Co. E-7, G-9, F-1

Excellent: Healthy deer and high deer density.

Excellent: Lots of quality bucks and a good ratio of does to bucks.

Excellent: Always see lots of deer and killed a big one again this year.

Good: Killed a nice buck.

Good: Saw deer most every sit.

Good: I hunted at my house and saw lots of deer. I was able to feed them regularly, including this past summer. I saw lots of bucks. I killed one 9-point and let another mature buck walk multiple times.

Good: Saw a lot of deer this year and had several mature bucks on camera, and we were able to harvest one of them. And the neighbors have harvested three mature bucks.

Good: Have seen several deer but no shooters.

Good: Haven’t gotten anything yet, but they’re all over my cameras.

Hancock Co. E-11, G-19, F-4, P-4

Excellent: We continue to see a lot of deer on our lease, and I killed my largest buck to date this season.

Excellent: Tagged out this year by opening day of gun season.

Excellent: Was put in the GON magazine. Killed two bucks in the same hunt. Saw lots of buck and doe action. Tagged out early with the biggest bucks I have ever killed.

Excellent: Observed record numbers of deer.

Excellent: I’ve seen a lot of deer and tagged out early!

Excellent: We harvested a very good buck.

Excellent: Plenty of deer and a lot of quality bucks.

Excellent: Lots of deer, good-looking bucks and very good-looking young bucks

Excellent: Whether I harvest a deer or not, just enjoying the outdoors is all I need.

Good: Lots of deer movement, lots of young up and coming bucks.

Good: Saw a lot of deer, just not many bucks.

Good: Deer seen ever sit. A lot of 2.5- and 3.5-year-old bucks.

Good: More mature bucks which may be a direct result of a couple local clubs losing their lease. They were a “if it’s brown, it’s down” club. After rut, very little activity during daylight hours

Good: No big bucks on cameras this year. But, I was sick for most of the season. Got to watch rut happen twice this year. Once around Nov. 7-10 and then Dec. 24-25. That was cool. This is the first year that I’ve lived down at my hunting property and can see them out the window of the house.

Good: Had deer in bow range almost every time I hunted, just not any good bucks, but I killed three does.

Good: Lots of deer and lots of deer activity.

Good: The best chasing we’ve ever seen but no shooters showed up.

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Deer population was up slightly. We were able to shoot a good many coyotes last year.

Good: I saw lots of deer, no real good bucks, but I shot a doe.

Good: Saw a lot of deer early, but the quality of bucks have diminished.

Good: More large bucks.

Good: I harvested a buck and a doe and passed on two others. That’s better than last year.

Good: Good population.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, we have been letting young 8-pointers grow, and we are now seeing 10-pointers, which is nice.

Fair: We have too many hunters for 300 acres of land.

Fair: Don’t see quality deer.

Fair: Overall deer population seems to be declining each year.

Fair: Did not see an 7-points or better bucks in this trophy county. Quality of deer has been going down here for years.

Poor: Didn’t see a lot of deer this year.

Poor: Did not see a legal buck.

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

Excellent: Lots of deer.

Excellent: Saw two shooters and harvested one. Let many deer walk.

Excellent: My son killed his first buck.

Good: Saw deer but still haven’t killed any, but enjoying every moment in the woods.

Fair: Saw a few nice bucks but nothing big enough to shoot.

Poor: Hardly any movement, most at night.

Poor: I wish the state would consider making Haralson County a trophy-management county to get the population back up and maybe hunters will let the smaller bucks walk. 

Poor: Not much deer activity. Some young deer. We need to turn this county to 4 points or better or a trophy-only county.

Poor: Very few deer sightings. I would favor reducing either-sex days in Haralson County.

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

Excellent: Plenty of deer and quality is good. The 4-point rule on bucks helps maintain the quality of deer in the county.

Excellent: Almost 100% success rate for seeing deer every time from the stand, three quality bucks taken from our 600-acre club.

Excellent: We saw deer almost every time we hunted this year. We didn’t harvest deer every hunt but enjoyed watching them.

Excellent: I saw lots of deer from the start of archery season until now. I missed a nice buck at 350 yards, so that’s on me. Overall, I saw lots of deer and lots of activity during the rut.

Good: Seeing deer on a regular basis. Just nothing that I want to fool with.

Good: Saw lots of good bucks in the 120s, let them walk. Saw more yearlings than last year. 

Good: Killed two bucks, did not see as many does.

Good: I saw deer in bunches or not at all. Interesting.

Good: Saw deer 50% of hunts. Shot mature buck and doe. No injuries at club, no drama.

Good: After a disappointing 2021-2022 season when the paper company clearcut half our property the year before, I saw more bucks this year than the past two. I took a big-bodied 7-point that was never going to be a trophy in mid November and passed a very nice 3-plus-year-old 8-point and several other young 8-points.

Fair: Not many quality bucks seen this year. Does are small.

Fair: Two properties: One poor, One good means fair overall. I believe high land prices have emboldened trespassers and poachers. Coyotes were the problem, but now it’s people.

Hart Co. E-4, G-5, F-4

Excellent: I harvested my personal quota of four deer, including a nice 8-point buck.

Excellent: I saw more rutting activity and mature bucks than in years past.

Excellent: Able to take two bucks this year. Even with periods of no rain and cold weather, the rut was strong this year.

Excellent: Nice limit by everyone in the family. Still plenty of nice deer that will be target bucks next year.

Good: I saw a lot of deer but did not shoot one because I am picky.

Good: Saw more bucks than I have the last five years of hunting in Georgia. Shot two bucks with my bow. First time.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Not much rut activity.

Good: November weather was good. The rut was also good and produced one small 8-pointer and one nice 8-pointer. Plenty of does were being chased.

Good: Saw quite a few deer but not many bucks.

Fair: First season hunting in Georgia. Hunted a mix of public and private land and had good experiences on both. Was able to see deer but looking forward to proper scouting and acclimating for next season.

Fair: Lots of does and very few good bucks. Gun season is too long and a 2 1/2 buck doesn’t have a chance.

Fair: Buck/doe ratio is terrible where I’m hunting.

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

Excellent: Several big bucks running around on camera and numerous does. I managed to fill my antlered tags right as rut kicked off.

Excellent: Saw three mature bucks and probably six great-looking 3-year-old bucks. Super excited for the next few years.

Good: I saw lots of deer, just not any I wanted to take.

Good: Saw plenty of does but only saw two young bucks. Just blessed to be able to get out in the woods and enjoy God’s gifts to us all. I was able to kill two big does for the freezer.

Good: I’ve been hunting in Heard County for 30 years now. During the last five years or so our success has gotten better and better every year. We have been seeing an average of five to 10 deer every sit, and we saw deer every time we went hunting this year. My 13-year-old son tagged out on bucks this season with two 8-pointers. 

Fair: Saw very few deer.

Poor: Saw less deer than I have ever before.

Poor: Three deer only killed.

Henry Co. E-3, G-5, F-3, P-1

Excellent: Abundance of deer and the herd was healthier than ever before. The additional food plots we put in are really paying off. Age structure is where we want it.

Excellent: I got a deer and my daughter got her first deer and three more on top of that.

Excellent: I got my trophy buck after three years.

Good: Not many mature bucks around but plenty of deer.

Good: Seen a lot of deer. Several quality bucks taken.

Good: My family and I have harvested four deer so far. I don’t see deer too often, or it would be rated excellent.

Good: Killed five, one nice 8-pointer. Seeing deer often.

Fair: Saw several deer early season but no mature bucks.

Fair: Fewer deer.

Fair: Saw lots of deer, but no mature bucks.

Poor: Haven’t seen a single buck older than 1.5 all season. Quiver still full of clean arrows.

Houston Co. E-3, G-6, P-1

Excellent: Only hunted a few times. Saw deer every hunt. Tagged out on bucks by Thanksgiving.

Excellent: Saw lots of deer, lots of rutting activity. Although I personally didn’t connect with a trophy buck, my wife and son did so that made my season. Our club was freshly clearcut of all the pines a month before season started so had to find new areas to hunt. I think it helped expose them in some ways and hurt us, also. We’ll see what the future hold for the property.

Good: Didn’t get to go near as much as planned.

Good: Saw deer but not like past seasons.

Good: Saw lots of young deer.

Good: Plenty of deer.

Poor: In the small area I hunt, there’s tons of pressure. I believe everyone in the area hunts. This has caused mostly nocturnal movement. The human population growth also doesn’t help with the movement. Between three of us, there was one buck harvested on opening day, one buck and one doe missed by grandson and buddy. I haven’t had the privilege of seeing one even on camera during legal hours.

Irwin Co. G-5

Good: Saw plenty of deer and bigger bucks this year.

Good: Saw plenty of deer this season. Did not see very many bucks at all through the season until end of November first of December other than spikes and such. Plenty of does and yearlings.

Good: Saw plenty of deer! Just not one big enough to shoot.

Good: I harvested my management buck.

Jackson Co. E-4, G-5, F-3, P-2

Excellent: Plenty of deer.

Excellent: The doe population is extremely high. Buck/doe ratio 30 to one. Hardly anyone wants to shoot a doe, but I do.

Excellent: Between my kids and I, we killed five bucks and five does. We saw deer just about every hunt. Lots of great memories made.

Good: Got a decent buck in Jackson and a couple good ones on a WMA lottery hunt.

Good: Saw a good balance of doe and bucks. Our club has a plan to get a better buck/doe ratio to enhance better quality-buck success.

Good: Lots of deer. Some good deer on camera. Rut activity short.

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Good: Saw a good amount of deer activity.

Fair: The deer were there. The weather was unusually warm most of the peak rut phase, which led to a lot of activity being mostly at night.

Fair: Lots of hunter pressure, warmer temps.

Fair: Hunted many hours and only saw small bucks and does. Harvested one small buck for meat on Dec. 28. Saw plenty of shooter bucks on camera but not during daylight hours.

Poor: Not seeing the deer this year. Normally, we see a lot of deer but not this year.

Poor: Not seeing as many deer.

Jasper Co. E-8, G-7, F-5, P-1

Excellent: Doubled in one night with one deer scoring 173 inches, 23 points.

Excellent: I saw plenty of deer, both bucks and does.

Excellent: Saw more deer and more quality deer this season due to our buck management program. Only quality bucks 8-point or better outside the ears are harvested. Also, harvested four coyotes and over 10 coons.

Excellent: Harvested two 8-point mature deer, 18- and 21-inch racks.

Excellent: I saw deer every trip and could have limited out very early on in the season.

Excellent: Saw several does and harvested two 8-pointers, very happy with the action this year.

Excellent: I saw more deer this year than any season in the last 10, maybe the most ever in a single season. I also shot my biggest buck to date. Hunting public land can be up and down, this year was definitely up.

Good: Saw a lot of deer, a lot of young bucks.

Good: Saw more deer than in the last few years and more high-quality bucks.

Good: Saw lots of deer early in the season and through Thanksgiving. Took a nice 8-pointer in mid-November. Had many opportunities to take does. Trail cameras showed lots of quality young bucks and several nice older bucks.

Good: I saw a little more deer this year. I also killed my best buck this year. I hunt ONF. I think there needs to be more law enforcement around during deer season. Needs to have a restriction on the size of bucks you can shoot.

Fair: Saw some deer, saw a few bucks.

Fair: Seems rut was early. Also, a lot of acorns kept deer in woods and out of fields.

Fair: Club has too many members.

Jeff Davis Co. G-2, F-1

Good: I limited out with two really nice bucks and four does.

Good: Seeing good numbers of does and small bucks. Had a couple nicer bucks on camera.

Fair: Didn’t get to hunt much.

Jefferson Co. E-2, G-6, F-2, P-1

Excellent: Shot two does, 8-pointer and a nice 9 pointer. Seen plenty of deer this year, mostly in the evening.

Excellent: Killed three 8-point, 6.5 4.5 and 3.5 years old. One on a state park hunt.

Good: Not as many mature deer but a good season nonetheless.

Good: Lots of deer but no trophy size.

Good: Didn’t hunt much.

Good: Saw enough deer to keep it interesting.

Good: I saw a lot of deer, but I did not see any bucks larger than 4 points.

Fair: Saw a decent amount of deer.

Fair: Did not see many bucks.

Poor: Did not see quality bucks.

Jenkins Co. G-3, P-3

Good: Not a lot of big does.

Good: Good population.

Good: Saw several wall-hanger bucks.

Poor: Minimal to non-existent daylight movement! Bucks seen were low-quality dinks, with most showing no potential for future antler growth!

Poor: Last year I reported excellent, this year it was poor. Don’t know what changed. Hunted 29 mornings and saw 18 deer with only one spike. I saw no rut.

Johnson Co. E-1, G-1

Good: My two sons killed good bucks and saw a lot of deer.

Jones Co. E-4, G-3, F-5, P-2

Excellent: I primarily hunt public lands for the last 10 years. With a lot of scouting, I have done very well. I am mostly a meat hunter. This year, I killed a nice buck and a doe. Georgia has some very good WMAs.

Excellent: I killed two mature 8-point bucks and so did my wife.

Excellent: Shot a large 8-point that is at the taxidermist. Saw many young bucks that bode well for next year. Also shot a large 9-point in Burke County that is also at the taxidermist. Two bucks to the taxidermist in one year­­—could not ask for a better year.

Excellent: More deer moving than previous years.

Good: Saw adequate deer numbers early but number of sightings dropped quickly after early December as most went nocturnal.

Fair: I was not able to hunt as much as I normally do, but I did see a lot less deer compared to last year. I keep track of how many deer I see each hunt.

Fair: Saw few deer and not much rutting activity or sign.

Fair: Saw couple of small deer only.

Fair: Saw some deer but do not see enough deer.

Poor: Only saw a couple of deer.

Poor: Did not see any bucks and small does only, would not have shot anything I saw. Maybe next year will be better.

Lamar Co. E-1, G-1, P-1

Excellent: Killed two mature 9-points and saw plenty of deer while hunting.

Good: Didn’t hunt much. Lost my leases. We need more lease land and WMAs.

Poor: We’ve been covered with wild pigs for over three seasons and have very little deer activity. Prior to the pig infestation, we had good quality deer on camera. I killed a really nice 9-pointer in the 16-17 season.

Lanier Co. G-1

Laurens Co. E-3, G-10, F-6, P-1

Excellent: Saw deer every hunt.

Good: Lots of does with fawns. Several bucks of different age groups.

Good: Didn’t hunt much but saw plenty of game.

Good: Saw several bucks and does.

Good: Saw plenty of deer and tagged out on bucks.

Good: Our 1,780-acre lease produced 21 deer. Our problem is members don’t let deer get over 3 years old.

Good: Saw a lot of deer and decent quality.

Good: Saw lots of young bucks, one good 10-point buck on camera. Saw plenty of does.

Good: I had a good population of 3- to 4-year old bucks, with several 5-plus age class to hunt.

Fair: Land was clear-cut last year, lost all of the bedding area.

Fair: Too many small bucks, not enough does. Two properties each side of Laurens County.

Fair: Scarce. Didn’t see a whole lot of activity.

Fair: Saw a lot of deer, mostly small does and small bucks.

Fair: Lot of deer on camera coming into hunting season but just got tough.

Fair: I only saw five or six deer in my yard.

Poor: Saw deer about every time I went hunting.

Lee Co. E-2, G-4, F-1

Excellent: Hunted two times, killed 8-point buck, saw bucks every time.

Good: We saw a lot of young deer but did not see the quality of bucks we normally see.

Good: See deer regularly. Season was warm and dry.

Good: Took six does and passed up several bucks hoping they would make it one to two more years. 

Good: Saw a lot of deer but did not get an opportunity to shoot what I would consider to be a wall hanger.

Fair: County needs to be a QDM and non-resident hunter bag limits should be changed.

Liberty Co. E-1, F-1

Excellent: After removing hog infestation last year, deer populations and sightings were exceptionally good.

Fair: Didn’t seem to see as many deer as usual. UGA football games really cut into my hunting time.

Lincoln Co. E-3, G-1, F-3

Excellent: Saw three mature bucks in four hunts during the peak time. Harvested one. Earlier in season the neighbor harvested one. Hopefully neighbors are allowing a little age class to develop.

Excellent: I had a great season, killed a 10-point that I had been getting on my trail cams.

Good: I shot two nice bucks.

Fair: Hurricane changed rut pattern. Reduced deer movement.

Fair: While I was successful, the quality of the bucks seen were not as good as previous seasons.

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

Fair: Too hot to be interested in hunting.

Lowndes Co. E-1, G-1, P-1

Poor: I did not get a deer. I only saw a few small does and no bucks. I had pictures of bucks but never in daylight. I have a big problem with hogs, the deer are there just being crowded out by hogs.

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

Good: Good deer sightings, need more either-sex days.

Fair: I didn’t get to go this year as much as I usually do.

Poor: Seeing far fewer deer on the National Forest. USFS should have food plots for deer and turkeys.

Poor: I hunted numerous days without seeing a deer at all, not one. On top of a bad acorn crop this year on CNF, I did hunt on Dawson Forest WMA and saw many deer there without any shot opportunities. The pines are taking over the hardwoods on CNF.

Macon Co. E-6, G-4, F-5

Excellent: Rut activity almost every hunt. Killed a 135-inch buck.

Excellent: Having a place to go that is abundant in all types of game is a pleasure whether for hunting or just enjoying the beauty and serenity that surrounds me.

Excellent: Really strong numbers of deer.

Excellent: Saw more large bucks, as well as lots of does.

Excellent: Mostly hunted with my grandson in hardwoods loaded with acorns. Saw plenty of deer, fewer pigs, and I killed a nice 10-point on Nov. 12 that came to the horns.

Good: Saw a reasonable number of deer throughout the season. Most were does with very young fawns just out of spots and not desirable for harvest. Not as many sighting or camera shots of mature bucks as usual.

Good: I was not able to hunt as much as I have in recent years; however, I have seen almost as many deer as I have seen in previous years on the properties that I have access to hunt.

Good: Had some really good bucks on my property all summer. All of them left and the only ones left were young bucks and does. High temperatures, lots of wind and rain knocked most of the acorns on the ground. It was hard to pinpoint one or two sweet trees since there were acorns everywhere. Persimmons were ripe very early and fell before bow season started. Several good bucks returned but moved before daylight and after dark.

Fair: Did not complete the set quota.

Fair: Killed a good deer first day of archery. Filled freezer with a couple does. Clear-cutting on main property reduced acreage available to hunt. Hogs have been a major problem on club land. Deer sightings there were impacted.

Fair: Most of the bucks in my area and the bucks my family and neighbors reported were too young to harvest, and the older bucks caught on camera were small in numbers and mostly nocturnal.

Fair: Only saw a few small bucks. No shooters this year.

Madison Co. E-5, G-2, F-6

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer and we killed some quality bucks.

Excellent: Passed up many 3.5 and younger bucks. Killed a 4.5 and five does. Too many deer.

Excellent: Saw dramatically more deer this year, and they were healthy.

Excellent: I have seen more deer and of all age classes than ever.

Excellent: I had quit hunting for several years up until a couple of years ago. I killed my biggest two bucks ever this year. One is entered in the Truck-Buck contest.

Good: Lots of deer!

Fair: Little less than fair. Didn’t see as many legal bucks but lots of young bucks. Too many does but we worked on that situation in late season.

Fair: Hunting mainly agricultural land. Fields were fallow. No sustainable food source. Saw about same number of bucks, but fewer 3 1/2-plus year olds. Plenty of does.

Fair: No big bucks, just does.

Fair: Got three deer, saw some young bucks but no shooters. The rut was a little slower than past years.

Fair: Too busy and bad weather when time to go.

Fair: Saw many at the beginning of the season. Killed a small 7-pointer. Turned poor after that. Lot of people hunting around me and the deer are only coming in at night.

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

Excellent: I took one buck and saw about 10 to 15. I had a chance at about a 140 to 150 but just couldn’t make it happen.

Good: First part of gun season, I was seeing four to eight deer every time I was in my stand. Saw good rut activity mid November. I killed two does and a nice buck this season. As the season went into December, I was still seeing deer, just not as much activity during daylight hours.

Good: Good activity and the weather was pretty favorable.

Good: I saw a lot of deer activity this year. The rut activity provided a lot of action and entertainment. I had the opportunity to harvest three deer this year. Can’t wait for next year!

Fair: Didn’t see much chasing or mature bucks.

Fair: There did not appear to be as many deer this year. Most of the deer broke one of their antlers off early in the season. Then the full moon fell at an inopportune time and the deer went nocturnal. The hurricane hit just when the rut should have been going on.

Poor: People around us are killing way too many does. Number of does to be killed needs to be lowered. People are shooting everything that walks. Please lower the limit of does that can be killed.

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

Excellent: Saw really high numbers of deer and bigger bucks.

Good: Plenty of deer.

McIntosh Co. G-1

Good: Although I didn’t harvest a deer this season, we saw multiple deer on every hunt, including several up and coming bucks. Lack of harvest is primarily due to being too busy to hunt as frequently as we’d like.

Meriwether Co. E-12, G-13, F-5, P-4

Excellent: Two does.

Excellent: Lots of deer.

Excellent: Several nice older bucks taken.

Excellent: Deer herd is very strong, good numbers of bucks and does.

Excellent: Killed nice buck, seen a lot of deer every time out.

Excellent: I was able to harvest a 147-inch 12-pointer and a 153-inch 10-pointer. It’s not by chance though. It takes strict management practices, time, money, feed, predator control and great neighbors with the same mindset.

Excellent: Killed two nice bucks and saw many others!

Excellent: Lots of mature bucks.

Excellent: We saw enough does and bucks to keep it interesting. We also had a successful season.

Excellent: I killed two great deer and the deer activity was great.

Good: Two does, no bucks.

Good: I harvested all the meat I needed.

Good: Killed one of my best bucks ever at the last part of November, but the rut was almost non-existent when it should’ve been wide open.

Good: As a club, we have seen many more racked bucks than in the recent past. We have intentionally let many of them walk, hoping that if they stay on or near our property that we will have an even better quality of bucks next season.

Good: I saw plenty of rut activity this year, saw a lot of deer in both the rut and pre-rut. I didn’t get the big one I was after, but it sure was a fun season!

Good: Hunted 24 days of gun season, saw deer every day, just not what we were looking for, getting picky in my older years. If we’d killed one, I would have rated it excellent.

Good: Saw deer pretty much every sit, including several quality bucks.

Good: Seeing plenty of deer both on camera and in the field.

Good: I saw deer on 80% of my hunts and put a couple in my freezer. I passed on several 2 1/2 year olds that I would have shot 10 years ago, and I took a 3 1/2-year-old cull buck out of the breeding population.

Fair: I saw very little mature bucks and very little rut activity.

Fair: Didn’t hunt enough.

Fair: Not as many deer as past seasons.

Fair: Saw very few deer. No legal bucks.

Fair: Tough weather conditions for the majority of the season, especially on the weekends when most working-class hunters are in the woods.

Poor: I have hunted multiple days this year and did not even see a deer. On this same property every year prior to this one I would see 10-plus deer every time I hunted. I did not change anything in the off-season. I feed protein year-round and have for six years now. I usually have multiple good deer on camera. I have one this year.

Poor: If you ain’t got corn, you ain’t got no deer!

Poor: Deer are nocturnal, as shown on our trail cameras.

Miller Co. F-1

Fair: Rifle season too long, over hunted WMAs.

Mitchell Co. E-1, G-3

Excellent: We have a healthy deer herd with plenty of opportunities to harvest mature deer.

Good: It was a little better than last year, mostly because we had some early cold. The rut here seems to get later and later. We need season to start later and last longer into January.

Monroe Co. E-1, G-13, F-3, P-3

Good: We were able to harvest a buck and saw other deer while in the stands.

Good: I had plenty of deer to choose from this year.

Good: Loads of deer. Most we’ve seen in years.

Good: Plenty of good healthy deer on my property.

Good: See deer every time we hunt, but not any big bucks. Seems that they are all shot at a young age, but I just love being outside in God’s great world.

Good: I had a good season, one doe with a bow, two bucks with a rifle, Monroe County for all three. The really dry summer hurt our food plots and shifted the deer around to different food sources, so while I was satisfied, and my freezer is full, it could have been better.

Good: Got a big 8-point on Nov. 4.

Good: Healthy deer, good doe-to-buck ratio. Would be better if more hunters let deer age longer.

Good: Saw a lot of bucks and does but no opportunity at a P&Y-size buck.

Good: I got a 1 1/2-year-old buck at Rum Creek. I’m only hunting WMAs, Rum Creek, Piedmont NWR, Ceder Creek (but not this year) and Flint River senior hunt in October.

Good: Harvested a mature buck and doe. The deer herd on properties hunted in Monroe and Jones counties seemed healthy and ranged from yearlings to mature deer.

Fair: Not seeing the numbers as years past.

Fair: Saw several smaller bucks and does. Just not the quality deer I wanted to take.

Poor: Hot temperatures. No rain for food plots. Late acorn drop.

Montgomery Co. E-2, G-4, P-1

Excellent: Tagged a few does, including my son’s first-ever deer. 

Excellent: With regards to the overall deer herd on two separate tracts that my family hunts, the herd was very healthy and abundant. We found deer aplenty and decided to harvest more does than usual in an attempt to knock the numbers back.

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Good: Saw many good young bucks with good racks that I passed on so that they will be better next year. Saw a lot of yearlings even though the coyote problem is serious. Enjoyed time with my son, grandson and brother while hunting.

Good: Good number of deer sightings and a few mature bucks.

Poor: The number of sightings were extremely down. Had multiple sits without seeing deer, which never happens. At one point there were six consecutive sits without a deer. However, I did kill my highest-scoring deer this year.

Morgan Co. E-7, G-9, F-3

Excellent: I actually didn’t harvest any this year but could’ve gotten one anytime I wanted. They’re plentiful.

Excellent: Defined rut and good buck-to-doe ratio. Plenty of older age class bucks.

Excellent: Killed both of my bucks in a short period of time on my new property. Just moved here in October and was pleasantly surprised.

Excellent: Saw plenty of quality deer. Good time hunting with family and friends. Looking forward to next year.

Excellent: We took two mature (5.5+) bucks off the property, as well as several mature does.

Excellent: Quality bucks and a good rut.

Good: Saw lots of deer, more than the last several seasons.

Good: Saw deer and some decent bucks but nothing I wanted to shoot.

Good: Saw good deer numbers but lacked bucks over 3.5 years old.

Good: Deer were extremely scarce until Thanksgiving. Between Thanksgiving and Dec. 10, we killed two bucks over 130 inches and one over 125 inches. Our rut began Nov. 25. We have a group of six hunters on 250 acres.

Good: Saw many small shooter bucks and lots of does. Could have taken deer but passed.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, had good success on limited days I did hunt.

Fair: Saw lots of deer early season but nothing of any size, very little deer seen since the rut.

Fair: Not a big acorn crop. The weather was too hot in the early season. Not hard rut.

Murray Co. G-1, F-1, P-1

Good: Seen a lot more deer than the year before. Trapped over 40 coyotes last winter and had noticed a lot more fawns this year.

Poor: Started scouting too late in the season. Had no preseason time spent scouting. Zero deer killed as of Dec. 27.

Newton Co. E-3, G-5, F-2

Excellent: Large population of deer.

Excellent: High volume of deer sighted throughout season. Harvested several quality bucks.

Excellent: Saw lots of deer. Saw great rut activity. Took 10-point, then 7-point that 10 would fit inside of.

Good: Saw lots of deer but missed my chance at the one I was looking for!

Good: I saw a good amount of deer and harvested a target buck on the property I hunt.

Good: Seen a healthy population of deer this year and got drawn for several quota hunts.

Good: Lots of opportunities to put meat in the freezer.

Fair: Low deer activity. The way Georgia manages deer is very poor when compared to states out West. Our deer limits and seasons could be improved.

Oconee Co. G-1, F-1

Oglethorpe Co. E-5, G-15, F-6, P-1

Excellent: Plenty of deer. Several nice bucks were taken.

Excellent: I have seen an abundance of deer. There are plenty to mature for the future. I also harvested a 12-point buck this season.

Excellent: I saw deer each time I went out. I saw 22 different bucks.

Excellent: Good deer herd and good bucks.

Good: Saw deer most hunts.

Good: It’s been a very good year for our club. We have seen a lot of does with fawns and a good number of small bucks which looks good for the future. No wall hangers. Everyone does have meat in the freezer.

Good: Saw a lot more deer this year.

Good: Saw a good number of 8-points or larger bucks. Good number of smaller bucks for next year.

Good: Lots of photos on cameras. Took nice deer with bow considering only hunted four times.

Good: Saw some nice bucks; unfortunately didn’t get a shot at any shooters, but they’re around. Doe population and overall herd population is good. Rarely went out and didn’t see any deer.

Good: Saw lots of deer. Daughter and son-in-law killed a 8- and 10-pointer.

Good: The deer herd was healthy. I saw deer often, (both does and bucks). Our food plots did suffer early with the drought. I would have rated it excellent, except hogs are becoming a major problem, especially with so many hunters baiting now. I did see some fawns, but not as many as in the past.

Good: Good for seeing deer. Poor for quality bucks.

Good: We just did a commercial thinning of the timber on about 125 acres, and it opened up a lot of opportunities for seeing deer. Overall, we killed more deer than the past several years so far. The deer seemed to be very healthy on our property. We also quit putting our corn feeders in operation this year and saw NO HOGS. I believe that this helped a lot.

Good: Lots of deer.

Good: Deer population is good. I feel like the coyotes are starting to dwindle fawn numbers though.

Fair: Saw lots of small 1- to 2-year-old bucks but hardly any does. I saw one doe for every 10 bucks I saw. You would think that’s a good thing, but I’d rather kill does for the freezer and leave the bucks to grow into mature deer. I didn’t kill any bucks this year.

Fair: Haven’t seen as many deer even on camera.

Fair: Didn’t hunt much (work).

Fair: I hunted more this season than I have in any season and saw nothing to get excited about. This will be the first season in 35 years I haven’t killed a single deer. I don’t think I have had a season in the last 20 years where I didn’t at least have an opportunity or see a big deer. Very disappointing season.

Fair: A lot of small bucks let walk, only saw one mature buck all season. Plenty of does.

Fair: Numbers of deer were actually OK. I only have 20 acres to hunt. I really only see bucks the two or three weeks of the rut. My problem was a neighbor’s dog started sight running deer. I texted him from the blind the day I saw it happen. I’ve seen him frequently on the trail camera but thought he was just passing through. He apologized and said it’s complicated. I got him on camera two days later, five days later and several more times during those rut weeks, seeing less deer each day. It’s not the dogs fault, he’s a nice dog and should be in a good home. I don’t understand what’s complicated about a rope?

Poor: The drought greatly affected our food plots. Indeed, we didn’t have food plots at all until the rains returned well after the rut was over. Since we depend on these plots, our season was awful. The early warm weather and full moon also contributed. A terrible season.

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

Excellent: Shot my personal record, a 149-inch gross non-typical 14-pointer. My son, 6, shot his very first deer, an 8-pointer, which was better than me ever shooting a deer. He’s hooked for life now.

Good: Saw plenty of numbers and decent bucks, nothing extraordinary.

Good: Seen several small bucks, good crop for next year.

Good: Saw several shooter bucks, although I did not take one.

Good: Good deer numbers on camera and seen while hunting.

Poor: I hunt public land, and there are too many people using it. Next season I will just start earlier and take advantage of archery season.

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

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer and herd appeared to be healthy.

Fair: My schedule only allowed me to hunt four days. In that time, I saw plenty of spikes and smaller bucks, but our total herd numbers continues to decline in our area.

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

Excellent: Tagged out. Shot a good one on public land in Lumpkin County.

Excellent: I was able to harvest several deer this year. Hancock County also provided me some good hunting, as well.

Excellent: Saw many more deer than normal and took more deer than normal, including two with archery.

Excellent: I was only in the woods four times and harvested two 8-pointers. I hunted on a 15-acre tract of land I purchased in March.

Good: Got a compound bow-kill sitting in a pop-up blind.

Fair: Seeing deer but because of club rules can’t harvest them. I don’t mind that, rules are fine.

Poor: No deer.

Pierce Co. E-2

Excellent: Lots of deer activity! Lots of cruising bucks. Held out for a nice 8-pointer Thanksgiving weekend. Looking for a fat doe the last couple of weeks.

Excellent: Killed three 8-points before Thanksgiving. One was a quota hunt tag.

Pike Co. E-4, G-5, F-3, P-2

Excellent: Saw and killed a lot of deer.

Excellent: Harvested two of my target bucks and passed on numerous other good bucks that were seen. Trail cams still getting nice bucks on them after having tagged out.

Excellent: Lots of quality deer in the woods.

Good: Saw deer every time I went hunting.

Good: Saw numerous quality bucks during rut, took a very nice one after four days of hunting.

Good: Only got to hunt four days and saw deer on three days. Shot a buck on last hunt.

Good: I hunt a smaller parcel of land roughly 10 acres. I’ve seen deer every time I’ve hunted. I’ve harvested a buck and a doe this year. It just seems like I’m seeing the same seven or eight deer that are constantly in the area. Would be nice to find a way to draw other deer in from the surrounding area.

Good: Plenty of deer, not a lot of mature bucks. Too many people are shooting young bucks and not letting them grow.

Fair: Lack of deer, too many doe days. Open doe days too early, does get killed before the rut.

Fair: Part of our lease got clearcut during the season. Didn’t see many deer at all.

Poor: Only seen three deer.

Polk Co. G-2, F-2, P-5

Good: Harvested two deer this year. One in Polk County and the other in Carroll County.

Good: Plenty of deer sightings but not a lot of mature bucks this season. I did take a nice buck and passed on another as I did not need the meat.

Fair: Too much hunting pressure in the area caused bucks not to move during daylight.

Fair: We didn’t see many deer when the season started, but at the end, we saw them all over.

Poor: Too many trespassers and poachers. Too liberal bag limits and too many doe days.

Poor: Lots of does, not many mature bucks seen or on cameras. Hard to get one to survive past 3 1/2 years old. We need statewide antler restrictions.

Poor: Saw very few deer.

Pulaski Co. E-1, G-1

Excellent: Population numbers are good.

Good: Lots of deer in the area.

Putnam Co. E-8, G-7, F-4, P-3

Excellent: Number of deer sightings.

Excellent: Killed two mature bucks. Saw deer every hunt.

Excellent: I have seen a lot of deer this year in the daylight!

Excellent: Killed two trophy bucks, one with bow, one with rifle. Passed on several more nice bucks, saw plenty of does, also, and killed two. Saw lots of deer all season.

Excellent: Two nice bucks. Seen plenty of deer. Lots of rutting activity.

Excellent: I hunt on family owned property that I basically manage for pine tree production; however, over the last several years, I have put in three food plots, which are primarily ladino clover but also plant a winter mix and a spring mix to provide a variety of food sources, planted several pear trees, wild persimmons, wild plumb, sawtooth oaks and most recently Dunstan chestnut trees. The fruit trees and sawtooth oaks are all producing mast for the deer to eat. The creek bottoms and the perimeter of the property have an abundance of hardwoods (variety of oaks, hickory etc.), which also provides a food source in the fall. I feel all the improvements in providing a food source has kept and supported a good herd of deer.

Excellent: Averaged 10+ deer on each sit with several bucks age 3+.

Good: Plenty of game.

Good: Most times I went I saw deer, just too much going on to hunt as much as I like.

Good: Seen a decent amount of does to bucks, filled freezer no problem.

Good: Saw deer on most outings.

Good: Lots of deer. Fewer larger-racked deer.

Good: Got a quality buck at BF Grant WMA during the primitive-weapons hunt.

Good: Really our fault as we didn’t get a chance to hunt as much as we would have liked.

Fair: Doe population seemed down this year, which affected the number of bucks seen.

Fair: Lack of bucks.

Fair: Saw a lot of deer, mostly on camera at night. Lot of bucks but all very small. Had one mature buck with massive spikes only at night.

Poor: The property was recently cut, then burned and sprayed. The spray killed all browse and small sweetgum trees. There is no natural food, other than a few weeks of acorns, available. I had three feeders out, which helped bring deer into view. The biggest buck was a 4-point. Several spikes were also there, along with four or five does.

Poor: Saw little rut activity and only does during shooting hours even on our trail cameras.

Poor: Didn’t see as many deer as last year and weather was hot and very dry.

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

Excellent: Group took three bucks (two 7-points and an 11-point) and four does. Our management program seems to be working.

Good: Saw a lot of deer.

Fair: Saw deer up until Thanksgiving and then they totally disappeared. Have a serious hog and coyote problem in county. See groups of 30 hogs all the time.

Rabun Co. P-2

Poor: Just not able to hunt during the time of the rut, although saw some nice deer on cameras.

Randolph Co. E-4, G-8, F-3

Excellent: Very good rut movement mid November to December, saw deer every sit.

Excellent: I have a personal lease that we highly manage and am a member of a hunting club. On our personal lease, we have had a feeding protein for three years and really saw a difference in this year’s deer herd. We saw numerous deer each time we hunted and saw a lot of rut activity during Thanksgiving. Our club side was good, as well, but with the pressure it receives from all the members, deer sightings were not a good as on our personal lease.

Excellent: Harvest big mature bucks at our camp. Saw lots of healthy deer.

Excellent: The weather was perfect at the right time, and we actually had a hard daytime rut.

Good: In my opinion, there’s no such thing as a bad season when God allows you to see and hear His creation come to life.

Good: I did not see any mature bucks. However I saw a substantial amount of 3.5-year-old bucks that were in the 110 to 120 class. Gives me hope for the coming years.

Good: The weather was the biggest problem, hot most of the season. Was a lot of small does and young bucks.

Good: Deer numbers and buck/doe ratio.

Good: Warm weather and drought, acorns scattered.

Good: Saw plenty of deer on both properties I hunt. Connected on one deer for the freezer. Two of my grandchildren got their first deer this season.

Good: Went two months of inability to shoot deer due to temps being too warm. I think deer season needs to be moved to start a month later.

Good: I shot two good bucks and saw plenty of deer throughout the season.

Fair: I saw lots of does, but the bucks were just small. Just a lot of 2-year-old bucks. I probably should have shot some of them with raggedy horns. I didn’t shoot a deer this year. Had back surgery on 19th, and my season is over.

Fair: Didn’t hunt as much as usual.

Richmond Co. E-2

Excellent: Harvested two nice bucks.

Excellent: Only hunted the first two weeks of the firearms season and harvested a nice buck. Saw deer every trip to the woods! Hunting at Fort Gordon.

Rockdale Co. G-3

Good: Deer are numerous in the area.

Good: Been trophy managing property for 30 years and have a lot of good bucks that are on camera and one or two harvested each season.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. Had a few nice bucks on the property, but we do quality deer management.

Seminole Co. E-1

Excellent: Saw more deer than ever.

Schley Co. G-3, F-3

Good: Seems like there are deer behind every tree.

Good: Plenty of deer.

Good: On a good note, my freezer is full. On a bad note, Biden is still president.

Fair: Not a lot of mature bucks. Lot of does.

Fair: I was able to shoot two does. I haven’t seen a buck since October and all the decent bucks have disappeared. I’m assuming the neighbors had another great year shooting everything that moved.

Fair: I was able to harvest a few deer in my yard and on a small family property. Florida hunters are hogging all deer leases. They drive lease prices and property prices through the roof. It is nearly impossible now to find hunting land around the house. It is atrocious. Please find a solution to limit Florida hunters.

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

Excellent: I saw deer on almost every sit. Killed two nice bucks and four does.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer, with some quality bucks seen. Filled the freezer. Made a trip to Morgan County, as well, and contributed to the freezer.

Excellent: I killed a buck during muzzleloader season, then killed a buck opening day of centerfire season, then killed two bucks on WMA bonus hunts. I let several bucks walk. There was no need to take a doe. I haven’t shot a doe in several years. Doe population is way down on both private land I hunt and the WMAs I hunt.

Good: Not many prime bucks.

Good: We have a lot of coyote predation. I have found four coyote kills in the past two months.

Fair: We hunt 1,800 acres, and this season we’ve harvested seven bucks and six does. Very few if any 5+ bucks on camera. In years past, we have had several 5+ bucks on the property. We make efforts to let the young bucks go and watch them grow, unless we allow the younger hunters to take a young buck from time to time. I figure with 1,800 acres of various age pines, about 3 miles on Beaverdam Creek with hardwood/mast trees, 20 acres of food plots and plenty of corn, we should have more pics, more sightings while hunting and ultimately more harvests of mature deer than we’ve had the last couple of years.

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

Good: Harvested two does, was unable to harvest a good buck.

Fair: I did not see a good rut.

Fair: Not as many quality bucks as we are accustomed to.

Poor: Too much land development, extreme loss of habitat.

Stephens Co. G-1, P-2

Poor: Saw very few deer over the whole season.

Poor: Health reasons.

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

Excellent: Lots of good racked bucks. We let them walk so they should be even better next year.

Good: Every time I’m hunting with my friends and family, it’s a good time. I couldn’t imagine not being able to experience the hunting bond, friendship and fun that deer season provides me.

Fair: Buck movement mainly at night.

Poor: Several small bucks but not many shooters. Rut was a trickle.

Sumter Co. E-7, G-5, F-4, P-1

Excellent: Deer were seen on every trip down to the camp this season. Maybe our neighbors are finally letting bucks mature, because we have been seeing more big bucks.

Excellent: Took my nephew hunting and he scored a nice 8-point buck for a first deer! I also took two nice bucks, and two of my kids scored, as well. Deer seen on almost every hunt. Management plan is paying off. Letting little bucks walk and careful management of does. It has been a great year in the woods with friends and family.

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer, including some good bucks and harvested two nice bucks, one in Sumter and one in Randolph County.

Excellent: Harvested deer and younger deer not harvested, had better weight average.

Excellent: Killed a nice buck scored 183, waiting to get official score.

Good: Killed a shooter buck.

Good: We had poachers shoot 28 deer in our immediate area, and bucks and older does were scarce.

Good: Saw lots of deer and plenty of meat in the freezer, but no trophy bucks made it on the wall.

Fair: Farmers shooting too many deer on crop permits. If they have 20 permits, they shoot 60 deer or more.

Fair: Lots of acorns on the ground throughout the season. Been pretty warm. Deer just didn’t move very much until the freezing weather started. Hog numbers are also increasing!

Fair: Haven’t seen an alpha doe in two years. Plantations on either side of me kill 20 to 40 a year. Doe limit needs to be reduced.

Fair: Florida guys killing too many deer in area, not as many deer this year.

Poor: Saw a lot of small bucks, no shooters. Coyotes and wild hogs are having an impact on SW Georgia.

Talbot Co. E-1, G-13, F-10, P-7

Excellent: I saw several bucks and lots of deer. It was a successful season for me.

Good: Two 8-pointers and a doe.

Good: Saw plenty.

Good: Saw many trophy bucks and killed an 8-point and several does, as well as shooting an 8-point I couldn’t recover and missing a very big 8-point.

Good: Good sighting of deer and took a nice buck.

Good: Saw lots of deer, but mostly does in the daylight hours.

Good: We obtained a new lease this year. For the ones who hunted, it was a successful season. We saw lots of deer and harvested some decent bucks and a few does.

Good: Saw a good number of deer. Passed on two nice bucks.

Good: Lots of deer, good rut.

Good: I shot just three does, didn’t see any bucks other than on my cameras at night.

Good: I killed an 11-point and a 10-point.

Good: Warmer temperatures in what is normally prime time led to more subdued deer movement. Also an increase in pressure and poaching around our property.

Good: Observed several deer. Did not shoot unless buck had horns outside ears and 4-plus per side.

Fair: Selfish people just will not let the bucks get grown. Everything killed by year 3.5. Four-month-long season is far too long.

Fair: I was sick this year.

Fair: Too hot, rut started late October but warm weather stayed throughout November and deer were nocturnal. Plus poor acorn crop this year. Still shot a doe but never saw a Talbot County QDM legal buck. GADNR should change two buck QDM limit to one buck with no limitations and one QDM. Saw plenty of spikes, 4- and 6-point bucks. Enjoyed the season though.

Fair: Did not harvest or see many deer.

Fair: I hunt on Big Lazer WMA, and it is first come first serve on locations. Someone got to most of my locations ahead of me and the places I did hunt had very little food for the deer.

Fair: Just didn’t see that many deer during shooting hours. Lot of them on camera at night.

Fair: Did not see rut activity as expected based on history (it was later this year).

Fair: Saw plenty of deer but no shooter bucks.

Fair: Seeing fewer deer than usual.

Poor: Weather made the biggest difference. Drought early affected food plots. Warm, wet weather affected the rut. Then rainy days and deer moved at night. Plus full moon timing. Coyotes still reduce population.

Poor: No daytime bucks.

Poor: Post timber harvest, low buck numbers.

Poor: Saw few deer and only two shooters.

Poor: Our deer numbers are going down, and our hog numbers are exploding.

Poor: Little to no sightings of a shooter.

Taliaferro Co. E-2, G-12, F-1, P-2

Excellent: While I only hunted about 10 days, I have seen and had many opportunities to take deer. Saw bucks almost every day, just not old enough to take. 

Excellent: Always see deer every time on the stand! Tagged out on two awesome bucks opening day of gun season!

Good: Saw plenty of deer.

Good: We killed 14 deer on our 233-acre property, three bucks and 11 does. My 13-year-old killed 10.

Good: Lost too many 2 1/2-year-olds to uncooperative neighbors, have seven or eight neighboring properties who work together to get bucks up to 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 and then one or two other properties shoot anything.

Good: Saw a lot of bucks and had a good rut.

Good: Saw an average number of deer early season, with a good mix of bucks and does. Late season was sporadic.

Good: Saw a fair amount of deer. I harvested a good 8-pointer for our hunt camp. Only got skunked once. Also, I harvested a 130-lb. hog.

Good: Saw a fair amount of deer, only a handful of hunts where I didn’t see any.

Good: I saw a decent number of deer. I saw one mature buck but didn’t get a shot. I enjoyed spending time in the woods with family.

Good: Our crew had a good year. Harvested two, nice 3.5-year-old bucks. Saw deer every time I went to the woods.

Poor: Deer harvest too high.

Poor: I hunted a fair amount, and more than usual, yet I did not harvest a deer.

Tattnall Co. E-1, G-3

Excellent: Harvested best buck ever.

Good: All in all good season. My food plots were terrible this year with very little rain. I feed high protein year-round so have plenty of deer (mostly does.)

Good: I saw a lot of bucks early. It is always good to see the smaller ones and pass them up. Got a good one with my bow and blackpowder. At 61, I still have a passion for this stuff!

Taylor Co. E-6, G-7, F-2, P-1

Excellent: Saw many bucks and does, new area this year and it proved very productive. Took one wall hanger.

Excellent: Saw deer every day I hunted.

Excellent: Killed my biggest buck this season and saw plenty of deer every time I hunted.

Excellent: Best season in years, great bucks. Me, my son and grandson had excellent seasons.

Excellent: Nice crop of quality bucks.

Excellent: Had plenty of deer around all season. Shot a big, mature 10-point during the rut.

Good: Saw plenty of deer.

Good: I managed to kill a nice buck, but I didn’t see as many deer as usual. Coyotes are a big problem.

Good: There were deer, but not as many as in years past.

Good: I saw mature fat does on average every other day in the woods through November. Shot two. Our club on Flint River is QDM and our guys took about six good bucks and many does. Lots of 4s and 6s seen, as well. Bigger deer seen on trail cams but first and second rut were elusive! December was slow. However, I live in White County and shot a nice buck and a fat doe there on their limited doe days. So good year for my freezer but no big buck for me.

Good: Quantity and quality of deer seen.

Good: Killed a nice 5-year-old 9-point in bow season. Saw a lot of activity the rest of the season, just not in the age class or size to harvest. Taylor County needs to join the 15-inch rule like Macon and Dooly.

Good: We harvested our target buck, but overall the rut activity was lighter than we prefer.

Poor: Saw plenty of does but just one small buck all season.

Telfair Co. E-1, F-4

Excellent: Plentiful deer, lots of bucks.

Fair: Never saw a buck.

Fair: I saw a bunch of deer but not many big bucks.

Fair: The weather was hot with lots of gnats and mosquitos pestering us all day. It was also a full moon on both of the weeks that we were able to hunt and in my opinion is not conducive to a lot of daylight deer movement. The bucks that I did see were all too small to take. On a positive note, I did get to watch a nice 4-point and cowhorn spike fight over a doe. The 4-point was the winner.

Fair; Not seeing as many quality bucks as I have in years past.

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

Excellent: Lot of deer seen, good rut activity and saw some nice bucks.

Excellent: Lots of acorns = lots of deer.

Good: I’ve hunted very little, but others who hunted on our property were successful in killing deer.

Good: Harvested two great bucks and a few does. Rut was late and not as exciting as usual because the temperature never got cold until Dec. 15. Saw some great potential, just a waiting game to see if the young bucks will develop.

Good: Got to watch my girls enjoy hunting and harvesting deer.

Good: We saw more does that need to be taken out than in previous years. Our buck population, after 15 years of strict management, has produced several nice 8-pointers in the 130 to 140 class. We now have a problem of a joining neighbor leasing to a non-resident group who are shooting any buck they see. We know and hope every hunter scores a deer kill. They deserve that for their efforts. It would be great if they understood the work put in to have trophy bucks and would pass the little guys up and kill more does.

Fair: Saw a good fawn crop. Have a good batch of upcoming bucks.

Thomas Co. E-2, G-1

Excellent: Filled two doe tags and killed a 141-inch 9-point. Lots of activity and rut action. Mostly pleasant weather.

Excellent: Saw more deer than last year.

Good: Number of deer on property was significantly higher along with quality bucks. Only negative was hogs. Never had that problem before, but we have a growing population.

Tift Co. G-3

Good: Saw lots of deer. Quality deer.

Good: Good deer population this year.

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

Excellent: After three years of deer management, I am beginning to see quality bucks and mature does with multiple fawns.

Good: Seen a lot of deer.

Good: Plenty of deer, not many bucks.

Fair: Small bucks and does.

Fair: The rut period seemed way off.

Towns Co. G-2, P-1

Good: I so far got a 10-pointer and my wife a 12-pointer. We are still seeing bucks now in the second rut. Good year, yet I noticed that white oak acorns were really only up high this year. Many oaks did not have acorns this year, which could be why we had good sightings this year since we were hunting fallen acorns.

Good: Numerous encounters, saw deer almost every time I went. If we have a real cold winter, it could be tough on the deer. Acorn crop was almost a total failure in the mountains this year.

Treutlen Co. E-2

Excellent: We manage our property of 300 acres for wildlife, including deer, planting for wildlife and supplementing protein deer feed, as well as practicing QDM guidelines, and it is paying off! I went out over a dozen times this year and saw activity every time!

Excellent: Saw more deer this season than ever before, especially from early season through rut.

Troup Co. E-3, G-5, F-3, P-3

Excellent: Lots of deer sightings and some big bucks.

Excellent: Hunt managed properties that include doe management and only targeting mature (4.5 year or older) bucks. Kills, on stand sightings and trail cameras show success in terms of older age class bucks and a generally balanced doe population. Rating a “deer season” as a success, excellent, good etc. can be independent of deer killed.

Excellent: For the last four out of five years, I have harvested a quality buck on my farm in Troup County. The deer hunting here has been getting better year after year with QDM and supplemental feeding.

Good: Saw plenty of deer and passed up several quality bucks to grow one more year.

Good: Good start of the season. Saw a lot of 2-year-old bucks. Only issue is bordering properties giving a lot of pressure.

Good: Saw deer and harvested two bucks and four does, but quality not as good as it needs to be. Would like to see one buck a season.

Fair: The weather was the biggest problem this year.

Fair: Not seeing as many deer.

Fair: Fewer deer seen, small antlers.

Poor: Deer never came out of their nocturnal mode. For every daytime trail-cam picture I have gotten, I have 100 nighttime pics, including during the peak of the rut.

Poor: Didn’t see many deer this year and still haven’t had a chance to harvest one.

Poor: Hunt West Point and Dixie Creek WMAs. Saw a total of three deer. All does.

Turner Co. E-4, G-3, P-1

Excellent: Good numbers of deer and the herds were very healthy.

Excellent: Strongest rut we have seen in several years. I harvested a 10-point, a friend harvested a 9-point and my dad harvested an 8-point. We had bucks chasing like crazy for three weeks.

Excellent: Usually see plenty of deer and have the opportunity to share the hunting experience with family.

Excellent: Harvested a 23.5-inch, 6.5-year-old eight and a 148-inch gross 10, plus several does.

Good: Trophy hunter. Saw lots of nice bucks in the 2 1/2- to 4 1/2-year-old range but none older. Lots of action with sightings of small bucks and does. Been feeding protein for three years now. Starting to see results.

Good: Seemed to always have activity on days I hunted. The drought did delay the food plots from sprouting until mid-November.

Poor: Hot weather prevailed, road hunters are a problem.

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

Excellent: I personally saw more deer this year than last. Shot a big 8 that I’ve been watching for three years. Other members of the club I hunt saw plenty of deer, as well. There were three shot this season at our club.

Excellent: Killed one 50 years between my first one at age 14 and this season! Thanks to my son Stephen McLarty, he put me right on them. Thanks GON for your publication.

Good: Saw and shot same amount as previous years.

Fair: Poor rut.

Poor: They were logging our property all season!

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

Excellent: Got a good 8-pointer, seen several other big bucks this year.

Excellent: I killed two nice mature bucks. I saw a lot of other smaller bucks, also.

Good: I didn’t get too go much.

Fair: Such a high doe population on private land and sparse on public. The bucks weren’t rutting as hard as I’ve seen in the past. The last decent rut we had up here was probably two years ago, and the acorns were sparse up in the mountains.

Poor: I hunted on public land for six days and never saw a deer. Went on private land and saw several deer and did harvest a good 6-point. Public land is very low in population due to habitat. The USFS needs to start cutting more timber and update wildlife plots that are already in place.

Upson Co. E-2, G-9, F-5, P-1

Excellent: Each time I’m able to enjoy God’s creation is amazing. Also was blessed with being able to take some youths for their first hunting experience. Although we didn’t harvest anything, they enjoyed the experience and wanted to go again.

Excellent: Saw deer just about every time I went out hunting.

Good: Only hunted a few times this year but saw deer.

Good: I saw some nice bucks this year. We unfortunately, and out of the ordinary, did not ever have what we deem a shooter buck (140 class or better) show up on camera this year. We did have a 144-inch 8-pointer taken that was not on camera though. All in all a good year but not as good as the past couple of seasons or years past that I have been blessed to experience.

Good: Got one smaller buck.

Good: I harvested a doe and a green-scored, 148-class buck this year. The same week, rut on our club, another member killed a 130-class buck.

Good: Saw lots of deer and killed a nice 10-point.

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

Fair: Saw lots of deer but no shooters.

Fair: Not many deer or wildlife seen during the season is the reason for fair. This year I killed my biggest buck.

Fair: It was a very warm October and November. I feel like this made most of the rut happen at night.

Fair: Saw deer early mostly does. But after Thanksgiving, deer went nocturnal.

Fair: Plenty of nice bucks on camera at night, not so much in daylight. Lots of pressure on our deer herd, weak rut this year, doe limit still too high, four would be plenty.

Poor: There were several mature bucks on cameras throughout the year, along with several does. The rut never produced in a highly active way and the rut season was minimal at best. Although a few bucks were harvested, neighboring properties seem to have a higher than usual harvest compared to others. Seems as though they kill everything that walks. The later season seemed to be a nocturnal sightings and did not produce anything. There are several coyotes that were seen on camera and that again may be the result of the large dumping area from the carcasses of the adjacent properties.

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

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer.

Good: Saw more bucks than does.

Good: I saw a lot of deer and a lot of young bucks on the property I hunt.

Fair: Getting old and can’t get out and enjoy nature like I used to.

Poor: Moon phases versus rut.

Walton Co. E-3, G-10, F-6

Excellent: Seen plenty of deer.

Excellent: Deer numbers are good and stable. We are able to target older bucks.

Excellent: Saw deer every time we hunted.

Good: Saw quite a few deer but not many shooters.

Good: Had many kills and a few small bucks on WMA hunts but no big boy yet.

Good: Have not killed anything this season but have had lots of chances to. Have had small bucks and does sighted in but just didn’t taken the shot.

Good: I had one 4.5-year-buck on camera. I had two 3.5-year-old bucks I saw on multiple occasions. I have numerous 2.5-year-old bucks on the property. While the deer presence was plentiful, the rut was a little later than usual and was what I would describe as softer but longer/more drawn out.

Good: Saw some pretty good deer.

Fair: Weather and rut.

Fair: Saw a lot of deer but never my target deer in daylight.

Fair: Seen lot of does and fawns, very few bucks.

Fair: Full moon and hurricane came through the week I was off. Went down hill from there.

Fair: Overcrowded population.

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

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer.

Excellent: Number of deer was good. Numbers of bucks was good.

Good: One 8-point, four does.

Good: Club had a good year; however I only killed a small buck on opening morning of gun season.

Warren Co. E-2, G-7, F-3, P-2

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer every sit!

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer. Shot a 9-point and doe.

Good: Weather seems to be unseasonably warm during the early season.

Good: Big buck sightings down but overall deer population healthy and high. Strong early rut week of muzzleloader through first seven days of November. 

Good: Have seen deer consistently in good numbers.

Good: Saw lots of deer.

Good: Good buck population and ratios better than year before. Also very good rut activity.

Fair: Limited buck sightings.

Fair: Saw fewer deer this year than last year. Have had major coyote problems this year.

Poor: Fewer deer sighting. 

Poor: Saw fewer deer than previous years.

Washington Co. E-6, G-7, F-7, P-1

Excellent: Saw deer every time I hunted, with several nice bucks.

Excellent: 200-lb. 8-point on Oct. 30.

Excellent: We have seen tons of deer. Several shooter bucks. So far we’ve harvested three of them. We have three more on the hit list.

Excellent: Though I managed to fill the same number of tags as last year, I had fewer deer sightings. I blame this on the fact that the landowner clearcut 75% of our leased property two years ago, and the deer have begun to spend lots of daylight hours in the now grown-up clearcut areas. Judging by trail-camera photos, however, the population still seems to be plentiful, with bucks seemingly making up more of the sightings than in years past.

Excellent: Seen a lot of deer.

Excellent: Saw deer nearly every hunt, usually several each sit. This year we watched more bucks than any of the 21 years that we’ve had property in Washington County. Proof that letting them walk works. But best of all my 10-year-old grandson harvested his first deer, a nice 7-pointer.

Good: Saw lots of bucks this year compared to previous seasons.

Good: Killed two bucks and nice doe. Saw lots of deer.

Good: We have recovered from being clearcut and replanting. Things are starting to green up and give the deer something to eat. I have taken does. All is good.

Good: Saw plenty of deer, just no shots on any mature bucks. Lots of 2.5- and 3.5-year-old bucks and doe population seems healthy on our lease.

Good: Saw plenty of deer. In a new club and had three mountable deer taken on it. Saw three or four good bucks I passed on.

Good: I did not harvest my target buck, but overall I saw lots of deer. Believe the warmer temps affected things.

Good: Seeing animals, however, mature bucks have been nocturnal, not as much activity during rut as I would have expected, or like to have seen.

Fair: Too dry and hot, deer didn’t move in daylight.

Fair: Weather was frequently too warm or too wet.

Fair: Except during the peak of the rut, the deer on my property are only moving at night.

Fair: We saw lots of deer, just not many shooters. But I did put meat in the freezer.

Fair: Just didn’t see the number of deer we usually see on our hunting club.

Fair: We had a good number of deer on camera prior to the season, usually at night, but when the season begins, we have only a few sightings. We plant food plots, but it seems to help little for daytime sightings. It is a property less than 75 acres.

Wayne Co. G-1, F-3, P-1

Good: I had the opportunity at three mature bucks but didn’t harvest any. Wife harvested nice 10 with her bow.

Fair: No quality bucks.

Fair: Until hunters in my area start harvesting more does to get buck and doe populations more balanced, their freezers will be full, but not with quality bucks, which is OK, if that’s what you prefer, it’s your right. Each to there own. The landowners (timber companies) need to help their leasing clubs in maintaining the land, instead of raising the rent practically every year, so as to help the clubs manage the herd properly. Hunting is fast becoming a wealthy person’s hobby and political. The true practical hunter is sadly becoming obsolete. A gun and camo does not make a hunter.

Fair: Lack of quality deer due to dog hunters.

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

Excellent: Lots of deer seen.

Good: Killed four does and one buck.

Good: I was able to harvest my limit at a WMA quota hunt (Lanahassee). Saw decent amount of deer in our property but neighbors harvested both our shooter bucks. Overall a decent year.

Good: We met our venison needs for the coming year.

Fair: We harvested six mountable bucks a year ago but only two this season. They just were not showing up during the daytime during hunting season. Have pictures of numerous shooter bucks at night on trail cameras.

Fair: No where near the number of deer seen. Much more nocturnal activity than normal.

Poor: Saw no bucks bigger than basket 8s and few of them. They were passed on to allow for them to grow. Trail cams did not show much either. One shooter on five cams. Naturally 3 a.m. We talked to adjoining neighbors, and just to the south of us, two nice bucks were taken and one other to the north. The neighbors and us make up about 4,000 acres in total. That is a poor year. We had several plots of buck oats and a few broadcast feeders. Oats were hit hard, but does were the predominant visitor with a few spikes, 4-points and a couple of cowhorns. Just a poor year north of Preston.

Wheeler Co. G-7, F-2

Good: Saw lots of deer. Nothing real big but plenty of does and several small bucks.

Good: Saw deer often.

Good: Have a good population of deer on property, also the number of turkeys has doubled in the past two years. I saw deer each trip hunting.

Good: Plenty of deer seen.

Fair: Barely saw any deer during shooting hours.

Fair: The movement was not regular with the abnormal weather changes this season.

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

Excellent: Loads of deer in my area. Good quality of bucks, mature and young ones.

Good: Not as many deer as last year.

Good: Saw deer almost every time.

Good: Seeing better bucks every year.

Fair: Only saw young deer.

Fair: I hunted on two WMAs in White County on four different hunts and only saw a few deer. Chattahoochee WMA is almost void of deer. I have hunted it for more than 40 years, and it seems to be getting worse every year. If you look at the number of bucks killed this year on 25,000 acres, it makes no sense. I’m hoping that the no doe days will help build up the population.

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

Excellent: I saw lots of deer, the movement was very good at the right time of year, the ratio of does and bucks seems perfect right now in this part of the state. The weather was really good this year during the prime time of the rut. Overall, it really could not get any better; folks in our area seem choosy, too. I do not hear tons of shooting like I have in the past, hunters are being more selective it seems with their harvests.

Excellent: Shot a nice buck and watched a lot of borderline bucks, way overstocked on does though.

Good: Saw bunch of deer, few good bucks.

Wilcox Co. G-3, F-3, P-1

Good: Killed a nice buck in November, but overall numbers seem to be down.

Good: Always saw deer. Got a nice buck and doe.

Fair: No mature bucks seen.

Fair: There is too much night hunting in the area.

Fair: Didn’t see one big enough to shoot.

Poor: Deer disappeared from daylight hours after opening week of gun season.

Wilkes Co. E-3, G-7, F-1, P-6

Excellent: Excellent deer sightings all season long. My son also shot his biggest buck to date.

Excellent: We have a healthy deer population on our property and have seen several good bucks on the cameras. I did not take a deer this season but had many good sits. The two men I hunt with both took bucks and were happy with them.

Good: Our club has six members. We killed six nice bucks and six mature does. The rut was a little more intense this year it seemed. After I tagged out on bucks, I still saw several good deer trailing does through mid November.

Good: Number of deer sightings and quality of deer on our property.

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

Good: Drought in fall had food sources scarce. Killed great buck in rut but struggled to see deer late season.

Good: Lots of deer. Several nice bucks. Didn’t get out as much as I wanted to.

Fair: A lot of small bucks.

Poor: Didn’t get to hunt yet.

Poor: Deer numbers are down and decreasing every year. Between predators, automobile accidents, poaching and an outrageously high deer bag limit, the deer numbers are decreasing at an alarming rate.

Poor: Terrible deer season. Timber company logged on our lease during middle of rut and all deer left.

Poor: Didn’t get to hunt until late November and deer were completely nocturnal by then. Only saw two deer entire two weeks of heavy hunting.

Wilkinson Co. E-1, G-5, F-6, P-2

Excellent: Saw a lot of deer and quality bucks. Herd seemed to be healthy through observation.

Good: Seen lots of deer and harvested two bucks.

Good: Saw a good number of deer and saw a good ratio of bucks.

Good: We killed four bucks on 168 acres.

Good: I managed to kill two bucks, both 4.5 years old. I saw a reasonable number of does and many younger bucks. I would have rated the season as excellent except that as usual, I saw only a few fawns.

Good: No bucks killed but the freezer was filled up with does.

Fair: Did not see a lot of deer.

Fair: Nothing exciting on trail cameras.

Fair: Did not see any harvestable bucks. I saw two bucks from stand, and they were both very young spikes. I saw one doe after the rut and did not want to harvest her. Timber company did thin out property first half of the season. During the rut, I did catch a couple of nice bucks on camera during the day.

Fair: I did get a nice 8, but I didn’t get either of my target deer.

Fair: Didn’t hunt much and saw few deer.

Poor: One, button buck, one doe, one hog, many hours on stand.

Worth Co. E-3, G-5, P-2

Excellent: Saw good deer numbers and several 8-pointers that will be shooters in two years.

Excellent: Saw plenty of deer on the farm. Killed four bucks with my family.

Good: I was able to have an amazing hunt and get a good 9-point deer.

Good: Saw lots of deer early in the season, including plenty of good bucks. It went cold a little after the rut and activity went down, which is why it was not excellent.

Good: Seeing larger bucks but still have a lot of does. Deer are beginning to be detrimental to crops.

Poor: Didn’t see any deer while hunting.

Poor: Too many hogs.

 

 

Poor: Deer movement ceased at beginning of rut and never resumed. Very slow season.

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Question 2: On your primary hunting property, do you have a trapping program in place?

Question 3: If you answered “No” to Question 2, what is the primary reason why? (Please check only one answer)

• Yes, and we love hunting them, too. It’s a challenge.

• I have live trapped raccoons on my farm for the last four or five years. Have managed to capture and eliminate approximately 75 raccoons and 30 or 40 opossums. 

• No trapping. We have several farm dogs that patrol and keep coyotes away from chickens, trash, etc. Also, neighboring dogs show up once in a while. We hunt coyotes several times weekly (night thermals and infrared scopes and binoculars). 

• With all the corn being put out for deer and a large decrease in recreation raccoon, opossum, fox, bobcat trapping and hunting, they are increasing and consequently a decline in ground-nesting birds.

• I have trapped raccoons over the past two years but found it very difficult to check and maintain traps during the required 24 hour time frame. As such, I have not even trapped raccoons this year.  I have considered hiring a professional trapper, but I do not even know where to begin. Perhaps this survey and consideration of hiring a trapper will get me started in the right direction.

• The reason I do not have a trapping program is because the properties where I hunt are small, private tracts of land.

• I do think predators are a significant problem, and I hope to get a trapper to trap our hunting property this winter or spring.

• Our club started trapping last summer. Unbelievable the amount of critters we’ve removed. No wonder our turkey population has declined so much. I wonder if they are getting the fawns, too.

• I hunt Franklin County, and I have lots of predators. I did trapping myself four years ago, and it does pay off but you have to do it every year. Predators had deer moving at weird times, I believe. I had a coyote get away during firearms deer season in Franklin County, and I shot over a coyote with a muzzleloader during primitive deer season in Jackson County. Every time I can I eliminate them, I do. Don’t need them around.

• Call and take coyotes occasionally on my property.

• Camp is 100 miles from home, don’t have time to trap, check sets.

• My No. 1 response would have been that I do not have time/ability to monitor a trap line on a daily basis.

• I do not have time to check traps every 24 hours. Because someone thought it was good to bring in pigs near us, we now have to deal with those issues. What can we do to stop people from adding and breeding pigs in the wild?

• Make the trapping season longer.

• We have trapped, not on a consistent basis, coyotes. Pigs are an issue. We have ordered some material to set up pig trapping.

• I like the changes on taking raccoons on private land. They are a huge issue at my deer feeders.

• We need assistance with our coyote program. Incentives, reimbursement for trapping costs, etc.

• I would like to trap but don’t want to take bobcats. To me, they are not as big a threat as the other predators.

• I do not trap because of domestic animals on and around my property.

• Our primary hunting property is a lease. The property owners do trap coyotes a few times per year with a professional trapper, but we aren’t consulted or informed when they are trapping, so we don’t interfere with their program.

 

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Question 3: How much deer hunting are you doing now compared to five years ago?

• Always take to processor because our dogs and coyotes dig up entrails, etc.

• Process them myself. I do a better job.

• I used two processors: York’s in Barnesville and Fuller’s in Geneva. I like both, zero issues.

• The cost of processing is getting way high. Makes me think carefully before pulling the trigger on smaller does!

• Only killed one doe and donated to Hunters for the Hungry.

• Rack Shack is the best!

• We process our deer because it is part of hunting, and we know what we are eating.

• I’ve become lazy as I’ve gotten older, and the processor is 15 minutes from camp, and I can afford it.

• Hunters don’t pick up their meat when contacted, therefore no room so the processor has to shut down for a week so you have to scramble to find another if ones close, affects your hunting, also.

• Doing this since I was 12. In my entire life, I have only taken two deer to processors and have been disappointed each time.

• I take all my deer to Deer Factor in Leslie. He does an excellent job and is very reasonable.

• Don’t trust processors to get all meat back.

• Processors have gotten a little bit expensive, so our guys are converting an old room in our barn to a cooler. I processed one of the three that I shot this year. Link sausage is $4/pound, and I could only afford to do one of those like that ($240!) On the one that I processed, I got three big neck roasts out of it, and a lot of meat, so I’m going to do that more next year.

• Processing costs are nearing the point where I will either kill fewer or buy my own processing equipment.

• Processor let’s me hunt longer. I live in Miami, and it is a 11-hour drive one way there.

• Less processors around, one close gets full fast. Might be time to invest in a vacuum sealer and do it myself.

• This is the second year in a row of having a hard time finding a deer processor that is not full. I have been hunting since 1979 and have never had a problem getting deer processed until last year and this year. I sure wish things would go back to normal. I imagine some deer may be needlessly dumped because hunters are unable to find a processor and are unable to process themselves.

• Years ago, I processed my own deer, but now I prefer to support our local processors and have more time for hunting. I especially like to support processors who will also process hogs. I wish the state would make it easier for deer processors to also process hogs. Anything that increases the killing of hogs is a good thing in my opinion.

• This year was the first year I considered processing my own deer.

• Took the buck I harvested this year to a local processor. They were full. This was the case at two other processors, so we quartered and did our own thing!

• I usually process them myself but do use a processor if time restricted.

• We process our own. Only go to the processor for special sausage grinds.

• Everyone should know how to process their kill and teach all the young hunters who they possibly can. It is a survival skill every hunter should possess.

• Costs to have my deer processed coupled with the quality of work at the processor’s facility drove me away. I process my own again to save money and get what I want done. Several times I felt like I wasn’t getting my deer back after processing or the bag felt light considering the size of the deer I dropped off. If I do it myself, I get what I am suppose to.

• Processors in my area were closed several days this year due to full coolers and trouble hiring workers.

• Took one deer to the processor this year, and they lost my deer. The other two deer I processed myself and will keep doing it myself to may sure I do not lose my deer meat.

• Sometimes we will take our deer to a processor, but we like quartering them up and processing them ourselves.

• I rarely process my own deer because I’m 81, and it is too much work for me.

• I usually skin and bone out my deer immediately after the kill. I take everything but the back straps and tenderloin to a processor to be ground or made into sausage. I put the backstraps and tenderloins on ice for five days and process by packing in vacuum sealed bags and frozen.

• In the past, I have tried to self process my game, but finding the time to do it is always the tricky part.

• I generally cut up one and make my own sausage if I have time.

• Because I live in Florida, I bone out my entire harvest, cooler it and process it at home. Unfortunately, I have to wait to bring my Euro mounts home for final processing because getting them to meet the Florida import requirements takes time.

• Pittmans in Sharon is awesome!

• Processor in area didn’t have help. Labor shortage thanks to Biden.

• Good processors are hard to find or always full and can’t take another deer.

• This year the processor in our area would not skin a deer. He wants it already skinned in the cooler. If I do that, I just process it myself.

• If I had killed a deer, I would take it to a processor if they were not filled up.

• Haven’t used a processor in 45 years!

• Always take my deer to the same processor I’ve been using for 35 years. They do a great job, and I don’t have to mess with it myself.

• I will process my deer if I have time.

• I don’t like gut piles anywhere around where I hunt. Draws unwanted predators.

• Unfortunately, I took my deer to a processor who’s facility was sabotaged by a disgruntled ex-employee. We lost three deer because they’re refrigeration failed and the meat was spoiled. I personally am going to start processing the meat myself because I can depend on myself more than others. I also have cleaned my own game in the past and know how to do it. Practice helps for sure, and it might make a good article on how to process your own game animal.

• Got a nice meat grinder from Bass Pro, and it’s already paid for itself from saving on deer processing costs.

• It’s getting more difficult to find a processor who is not slammed/full with deer. It’s good for them.

• This is my first year I started doing my own processing on my deer.

• I process my own. I don’t believe processors have the time to be as clean and particular as I do. I also suspect I don’t get my meat back 100%. I take care of my harvest and want my meat back.

• For years, I always processed my own deer, but for the last several years, I have relied on a local processor who does an excellent job in packaging, labeling and provides a variety of sausage blends.

• Not enough coolers in my area, either have shutdown or full.

• I butcher my own. My grandfather taught me you kill it, you clean it and mom cooks it.

• Processors do a better job than I can.

• Took to Dorminey’s in Carnesville. I only live 15 minutes from there, but he’s the best around. When all processors were full the week before Thanksgiving, I went anyway because that’s not going to stop me from hunting. I shot a nice 9-pointer behind my parents house that week and had it quartered with the help of a friend.

• I know how to cut up a deer, but it’s getting tougher to find fats to add, and processing makes a big mess in kitchen. Not to mention the cost of meat processing equipment. Biden’s inflation has caused that stuff to almost double in price. And it’s something you may use a couple of times a year.

• I prefer to do my own processing. I cut my deer meat differently than they do at the processors.

• I use Wainwrights in Brantley County to make my venison sausage.

• With many local processors being full or shutting down completely, I have started processing some of my own.

• My only comment is that it seems processors are pretty fly by night. I have had to find a new processor nearly every year for the last few years.

• I am very particular about how my deer is handled. I make my sausage and burger.

• Deer processors are too expensive.

• Deer processors cost is getting high, so I am thinking of doing this on my own for my next deer.

• Skinned and quartered myself to achieve the aging I wanted but allowed a processor to grind and cube for me. Most processors were always full, which I believe is a direct reflection of the liberal baiting laws the state employs.

• My family processes all our own deer. Bought a grinder because there’s not many processors around here, and the ones we have want $80 to $150 to process one. Also, because we get our meat done exactly how we want it.

• I participate in a meat ministry. The processor takes care of those deer for us since they participate in the ministry by giving us a discounted price. I usually kill enough for me with my bow for my own consumption. I take quartered-up deer to be ground for freezer meat for me and my family.

• Bonds Processing is exceptional with very reasonable prices.

•  No coolers open to take a deer. They are always full.

• Still have meat in freezer and processors now cost too much.

• You can not find a processor within 50 miles that isn’t full. I know of three in the area that aren’t in business anymore.

• We have a great processor with great prices right down the road. Good turn around time, as well.

• I process my own deer to achieve a better quality of meat.

• I quarter the deer and take it to a butcher shop for processing. A lot better than most deer coolers and processors.

• Gut, skinned and quartered myself. Final processing done at processor.

• Pat’s Grocery and Deer Processing in Toombs County is the best!

• Process my own deer so it is aged properly, then cut and packaged properly.

• I process my own meat, couldn’t afford to hunt if I had to rely on a processor.

• Sometimes I process deer myself, especially if it’s a small one.

• Many processors do not give you back your harvest and are getting overpriced and sloppy in packaging and processed weight versus live weights.

• Processed all three deer myself this year. The processor I normally use was either full or required that you gut the deer before bringing it.

• Had to process the deer myself. All processors were full.

• We have invested in the commercial grinders, vacuum sealers, etc. This way we have total control of the entire process and can ensure it is done exactly how we want it.

• Really discouraging to hunt, shoot a deer then have the processors full. Also a local processor began charging $45 to gut.

• Trying to save money and processing some myself.

• Not enough processors in the area and too pricey.

• Living in Florida and with the laws regarding the spread of CWD, I usually will clean and debone my own deer, but sometimes I will use a processer if I am pressed for time.

 

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Misc. Comments

• I would like to see more hunts on Horse Creek WMA, especially toward the later part of the season.

• We’re glad GON has surveys and very useful information on various topics. A great magazine.

• Why no May season for hogs or coyotes at Bartram Forest WMA?

• I wish Georgia would have a program to allow me to introduce wild turkeys on my private property. I believe I have awesome habitat and do a great job controlling predators. I just don’t have any turkeys and never have.

• Season dates starting later and remaining open until the end of January.

• I would like blackpowder season to last at least two weeks.

• There needs to be more enforcement in southeast Georgia, patrolling and checking hunting licenses. There are poachers who try to outwit DNR rangers, and it really burns us up these poachers cannot be caught! Also, there are hunting clubs where there is an excess use of ATVs or side by sides damaging wetlands and swamps!  This needs to stop because our environment and our natural resources are important for future generations! More enforcement and better pay as these rangers put their lives on the line for our wildlife! Farmers need to be held accountable for the deer they kill on crop permits! They need to somehow have tags or either the deer processor needs to be held accountable.

• Killed four coyotes. Pigs are less of a problem, and I have a nice trapping system.

• Too many doe days.

• Why can’t deer season end on Feb. 28 like most everything else?

• I would like to see feedback if we instituted a program that bucks have four on one side or better for all bucks taken, with the exception for youth hunters. I still see too many seasoned hunters and adults shooting spikes and small 6-points, and we need to let them go to let them grow.

• Too many doe days and season is too long.

• Lack of upkeep on WMA land, turkey regs changes with no oversight into whether successful or not. Coyotes continue to be a serious problem, regardless of what the “pros” say. Sportsmen continue getting the short straw

• Reduce the amount of gun days. Allow bowhunting only to allow more buck survival.

• Hunters are their own worst enemy. Check out social media. They constantly argue about petty stuff.

• Feel poaching has hurt deer population in Georgia.

• The turkey season starts two months late in Dougherty County. Birds breed in late January and early February. It’s way over by mid April.

• Concerned about deer in Georgia coming down with CWD. Hopefully we can keep it out of the state, but we may be fighting a losing battle.

• We used to have lots of turkeys. Did not see any during the season. The state needs to adjust numbers and days. We also need to look at individual counties for trophy management and antlerless day hunting. Let’s improve some counties.

• Archery season starts too early. It’s too hot!

• Need to open season a little later in the year. Bow around first week of October and gun around first week of November with a five deer total limit.

• Do something about restocking turkeys!

• Please continue to keep us informed on any new products or methods to eradicate wild pigs.  They are problematic on our property.

• Glad to see plenty of turkeys this year headed into spring.

• Would like see more diy public-land hunts in GON, along with trapping how-to articles.

• Hunting over bait should be outlawed in Georgia!

• Boating restrictions on lakes should allow any size motor limiting to idle only if above hp limit. We have a 40 hp but can’t use it on High Falls or Lake Juliette due to restrictions. Penalize those who abuse the rules. The average person can’t afford different motors for different lakes. The lakes are losing money as it stands now. The state is losing income on state parks.

• We are non-resident landowners who would like to see the state establish a landowner license, preserve license or allow us to purchase a residence license.

• I wish they would change our seasons to start later. It’s still too hot in September when the Georgia bow season opens. I wished they would change our bow season to open the second Saturday in October and gun season to start the third Saturday in November and let our season run to the end of January with a primitive-weapons hunt the last week of January. I believe it will help with a lot more hunters getting into the archery side of hunting.

• Nobody abides by the two-buck limit.

• I am thankful for our long deer season and our two-buck limit.

• I believe we have such a strong balanced population in my area thanks to years of herd surveys and balancing the harvest and including the neighbors in the management plan. More folks should work with their neighbors instead of assuming.

• We have way too liberal a bag limit on deer that we are allowed to harvest (10 deer). We should look at lowering the limit to no more than four or five with only one buck.

• Doe days on private land need to be reevaluated. Several sections in Fannin County we have counted over 100 does; and this is on both east and west sides of the county, not in one particular section.

• Season is too long with too many either-sex days.

• Think we got too many doe tags and would like to see the season close on Jan. 31.

• Still concerned about turkeys.

• We need to look a pushing deer season back, I still have bucks chasing does and making scrapes in Colquitt County.

• I think rifle season should start Nov. 1 and end New Year’s Day and doe harvest should be limited to five does.

• Great acorns this year and very fun hunting season even during heavy winds in the rut. 

• I really wish we would take more does off our property, but because doe days do not start until the middle of the rut, no one shoots does, and then we don’t hunt much after the rut. Doe days should start earlier in the season in Upson County.

• Too many deer are being killed by crop permits, it has turned into a sport.

• Would like Joe Kurz WMA go back to minimum harvest requirement of 16-inch main beam or 15-inch inside spread. Noticed there were a number of really young bucks harvested this year with the 4-points-on-one-side rule. I hunt on private property near there, and there is great potential for bucks in this area.

• Deer season is way too long! Open Oct. 1 and close Jan. 1.

• I would like to see more WMAs open for primitive-weapons hunts. Most of them in the northern part of the state don’t have any primitive-weapons hunts at all.

• The temperature in the early part of the season is dry and hot, which does not allow for food plots to develop until mid-season.

• We need to be able to take electronic predator calls to WMAs during all seasons. I have a manual call dying rabbit and been busted every time I use it. Stuck two coyotes on Redlands, found another partially ate fawn when scouting during December break. I have seen way too many coyotes on Redlands and Clybel not to realize why the turkey population is way, way down.

• It has gotten so expensive to hunt. I don’t see how young folks can get involved.

• Corn is too high!

• Recommend firearms deer hunting start later and close mid January.

• Too many does are being harvested, should only be three does per year.

• Too many doe days in Franklin County.

• Gun season needs to be shorter. Stop doe days during November and I would think a one-buck limit would increase our age structure. Or raise antler restrictions.

• Many of us on our club would like to see bow season start on Oct. 1 each year and rifle season start on Nov. 1 and go through Jan. 31.

• I do not like the way that hunting is going. Each year technology makes it easier to kill deer. At what point is this no longer hunting? I see people bragging about the big bucks they killed that came to battery-powered feeders while the hunters were in fancy Redneck stands with portable heaters while they were playing games on their phones. It takes away the thrill of the chase to me. I would like to see hunting return to the way it should be, but I know there is no stopping this progression. It’s just a thought I have. I do not like baiting.

• Want to see more bonus WMA hunts.

• Too many coyotes and hogs!

• The vast majority of my bucks had broken tines. Perhaps the rut was more aggressive this year.

• I think doe limit should be lowered to six and could be killed anytime of the season. That way processing plants would not be slammed Thanksgiving week. We can’t hardly find anywhere to take them for processing when either-sex days are so limited.

• Need to start back logging on national-forest land so deer will have something to eat and cover for fawns to survive.

• Last season was the worst turkey season of my life, and this has been the worst deer season, and I hunt on very low-pressure properties.

• Later weeks of season was hampered due to loggers destroying access roads. Oh well.

• Make non-residents have one buck tag.

• Why do we have a harvest of 10 does a year when we don’t see only one or two per year? I understand we need to kill some to help insurance companies, but this needs to change to maybe five or six per year.

• Game warden might need to run the robo buck in Hart County, was told of two poaching incidents close to home.

• Really enjoy GON. Very informative. I reside in Florida, and I have never seen anything as great as GON.

• Northern deer season needs to go into February.

• Archery either-sex hunting should be allowed on U.S. Forest Service lands north of Highway 515 in Union County. Most of these Forest Service tracts are surrounded by private property, and most of them are over populated with deer.

• Season needs to go to mid January.

• Looking forward to turkey season (very supportive of the limit of two), hoping the state addresses the growing black bear population and allows baiting in the coming years. I live in the mountains, and we are ate up with bears.

• Deer season dates need to be looked at. Would like to see like what the midwest states do. Season seems too long and not much action after Dec. 1.

• I wish Pike County would extend the rest of the season all the way through Jan. 31 for bow hunting! Thank you and God bless!

• Liability for damage on adjacent property a strong deterrent to conducting prescribed burns to enhance wildlife.

• Hunters need to focus more on predators when deer season is closed. I’ve taken more than 300 coyotes off my property in the last five years hunting the stinking things. Georgia has a serious problem with coyote, and hunters need to focus on it.

• It would be a major improvement in Georgia’s deer herd and its trophy status to have two years of bowhunting in Georgia to allow the bucks to reach their true potential.

• I still think the southwestern counties need a longer season. We have a later rut than most of the state. It’s not unusual to see spotted fawns well into the gun season in Clay, Randolph, Quitman and Early counties. I’m sure the same is true for counties farther south. The secondary rut is just now starting to kick up in Clay County as of Dec. 28. I’m seeing bucks harassing this year’s doe fawns on multiple properties. DNR should consider extending the season.

• Trying to find new properties to lease is very difficult, and the growth I’m seeing in Coweta County means possibly loosing our lease in the near future, so finding a new lease is hard when resources to look are short in demand.

• Still bummed about the late start to turkey season. By the time the season opened, the gobbling was pretty much over. What fun is hunting turkeys when they are silent? I was deer hunting today and saw a flock of seven longbeards, so birds are plentiful on my property, but DNR won’t let me manage to my flock level.

• I own 90 acres in Jefferson County, and that is where I hunt. I live in South Carolina and am required to purchase a non-resident hunting license to hunt my own property. I already pay property taxes on the property and should not have to purchase a non-resident license!

• Wish season would end the last day of January.

• Need to cut back the allowable doe limit, we have seen an impact in our area in recent years! End the season Jan 1! Increase public land hunts! Stop the poaching! I know our DNR men and women are stretched to the limit but seems local law enforcement could take up some of the slack!

• Baiting should be illegal again before CWD is in our area.

• I assume the trapping question was based on predatory animals! I’m all for killing coyotes and hogs while I am in the woods, but I’m not at camp, and with two-hour drive, I can’t trap animals.

• Close buck season for one year and lower the doe harvest down to six. Too many small bucks are being taken. Need to give the bucks a year or two to grow.

• Season is too short.

• Deer season is still too long. Bring back split for small gamers.

• I really wish DNR would put a bounty on hogs like they do in Texas. I also would like to see a longer rifle season or an extended archery season through the end of January.  I think the deer population can stand it in most counties.

• Concerned about diminishing number of hunters, but glad most hunters seem to be more selective than they once were (not shooting the first buck they see).

• I still question baiting. I am in favor of growing food plots and managing the deer herd. That’s a hobby for several in our club.

• Our property is being actively advertised for sale. We don’t yet know if our hunting lease will be renewed either by the current owner or an eventual new owner.

• Stop allowing baiting. Aside from potential CWD issues, an entire generation may assume that simply placing a feeder and a cell cam is the way to hunt. More than likely they will never comprehend the importance of scouting, deer sign, wind, natural food and water sources.

• Hogs, hogs and more hogs. Seems like the more I trap or shoot makes more come! Messes up food plots and feeders, which are in fences now.

• I think we should go back to having doe days on opening day of gun season.

• Would like to see doe days for the Northern Zone the same as Southern Zone. We have too many does.

• Need to hire some more wardens in each county. Too many deer are being taken and not reported.

• I’m not a survivalist just a realist. Please get all young people involved in hunting and basic survival skill training. Keep up the great work.

• Would like to see the season go to the end of January for the entire state. Would like to see the state develop a upland release program like other states where growers are paid to raise quail and release on public access land. A program like this would offer more opportunities for dog owners and new hunters.

• The weather had our rut in southeast Georgia out of whack. It was spread out and wasn’t a really condensed time like we have noticed in years past. We witnessed does being chased before bow season opened and still have does being chased at the end of December. I believe weather is a large factor in that, although I’m not positive that’s the entire reason. Also, buck movement was changed due to logging occurring on our property for a portion of the season.

• I would like to see more folks addressing the coyote issues and teaching others to trap.

• Please lower the does that can be killed in mountains. Doesn’t matter if we have one doe day or 20. We only need to harvest two bucks and two or three does up here.

• WMAs should be open the whole year for use. They could be used for hiking, photography of wild animals, riding UTVs but not tearing up the roads and riding bikes. They close Oaky Wood WMA and lock the gates. There is no reason to do this. I have not seen a ranger at Oaky but twice in the last five years. If they do not patrol, what is the reason for locking it up. We pay money for access so all WMAs should be open for legal use.

• There has become way too many developers buying property to build because it has been too easy for them to make money doing it. Too many tax breaks designed for growth which they take advantage of. Increasing population in the South so there goes the habitat, and it is gone virtually forever.

• Wish I lived closer. I’m 83 years old. Wish you  had reciprocal hunting license with Florida.

• I’d like to voice my opinion on the current scheduled deer season for Decatur County. I was seeing spotted fawns in early September. I’ve taken four does this year, this is a 200% increase for me. Our season should be delayed by one month. Our prime rut is around Jan. 3. Also, I’d like to see some type of requirement that you have to harvest at least one doe per buck. I truly doubt that this would make a huge difference, but we need to help the herd.

• I would love to trap or have someone trap on the property we lease, but living in Florida, I do not have the time to set traps and work them for a week, and I have not been able to find anyone who wants to trap on the property without charging me an arm and leg.

• Number of does allowed to be harvested should be determined based on population of a given region. I believe 10 does per hunter is excessive in our area.

• Need to reduce deer bag limits.

• I would like to see the harvest limit lowered back to five per year, two bucks and three does, period.

• I wish the season was a couple weeks longer, especially for the western counties like Carroll.

• I would like to see more trophy regulations statewide.

• Georgia DNR needs to improve reservoir bass fishing in Georgia. Our lakes are not nearly as good as Alabama and Tennessee.

• We need to be proactive and aggressive to ensure CWD is kept out of Georgia.

• 76 years old and still love to hunt and fish. Have cabin on lake Jackson. Love GON.

• They need to end the 15-inch minimum antler requirement in Macon and Dooly counties. It has run its course and is no longer viable. Return to state regulations regarding antlered deer.

• Over the past  years, we have had problems with poachers illegally hunting, vandals knocking over a large box stand and thieves stealing cameras and feeders. We got the poachers on camera, and the sheriff arrested him!

• Hunting is great in Georgia. We have the right season length and limits.

• Love GON.

• Would like to see a third buck added with 4 points on a side and decrease doe harvest by two.

• We need as a state to lessen the harvest amount to eight, one buck and seven antlerless.

• Please lower doe harvest limits and only one buck.

• There seems to be a healthy deer population of mostly does and small bucks. Just not as many quality bucks as in the past. We also manage our property for quality bucks by not shooting young bucks.

• Teach hunters to pass up the younger, small-racked bucks

• Would like more either-sex days in northern counties since I am out of state and have limited days to drive down and hunt with my lifetime license and hunt mostly for meat, not antlers.

• Some WMAs allow bowhunting after primitive-weapons season, and on others, even though there may be a couple firearms deer hunts, there is no bowhunting opportunities. Why is that?

• I think we need a longer bow season and a shorter gun season.

• Something needs to be done with hogs. Should open WMAs year-round for archery hog hunts, day and night!

• Bear sighting increases yearly in Wilkinson County.

• Public lands such as Redlands are overhunted for deer and turkey. Way too many people. Trout fishing should be better regulated. People follow trout trucks and most fish are gone within 24 hours. Allowing night fishing in streams is poor management.

• More regulations on turkey hunting

• Deer processor records should be turned in, and they should be held accountable for not getting game registration numbers. 

• We need a quality-deer program here in Fannin County and on our national forest land. Too many bucks not reaching their full potential.

• Enjoyed being in the woods as always, regardless of negative buck harvest.

• I do believe that there is a significant problem across Georgia. I own two of the properties that I hunt, and I have neighbors whose houses are near my property that slip in and out often. There is little respect for landowners. Constantly folks ride through my hunting property on buggies even after I have given them a plat, showing them the boundaries. I have worked hard to prepare a place to hunt and poachers are routinely a problem.  One 80-year-old man moved his ladder stand from my property to the edge of his property facing mine.  He hardly has enough room to stand on his property before climbing his ladder. I did not plant my powerline plot this year because another neighbor’s kids slips in to hunt, too. They will tell me that it was not them when I confront them, although I have their pics on my trial camera. It is a mess.

• Wished they would close the doe days up north. Also go to statewide antler requirements. Keep dove opener on Labor Day. Make gator hunting by choice. No draw.

• Pretty good season. I have a healthy herd.

• Would like to see more larger WMAs open for an extended archery season.

• I don’t think the state should allow baiting. It’s a factor in spreading disease among deer, and it’s not good for the turkeys.

• Need to be more flexible with doe days. If you set a season limit on does, why would it matter what day you harvested them? Doe harvest should be allowed any day during the season.

• I would love to see a fifth question on the rate your deer season survey: Did wild hogs affect your deer season? Destroy no till plots, push deer away from prime habitat, root up turkey brood habitat, etc. And what can we as hunters do to help eradicate the problem.
• As a new resident of Morgan County, I need to find a place to turkey hunt. There are no turkeys on my 33-acre parcel.

• Hogs, coyotes, coons and other deer/turkey killers are destroying hunting in Georgia. DNR and politicians are blind to needs of wildlife and how to fix.

• I think the forest service not allowing does to be taken on Chattahoochee National Forest the last two years has helped our population in northeast, Georgia.

• Personally I need to do more predator and feral pig hunting to control their populations. It’s getting bad in all the areas I hunt.

• I would like to see the current system for selling licenses be amended to have more license dealers available for those of us with little computer skill or access.

• Why doesn’t High Falls Lake get any of the 3.4 million fish stocked  in 2022?

• I did hunt a WMA, and hunting success was poor. More hunter-access points were needed, as well as places to park.

• I believe a farmer who obtains permits for shooting deer in the summer should have to lease their land for hunting or show where they killed deer during the hunting season. We have several who shoot deer all summer long and do not consume them, leave them to rot.  And then do not let anyone hunt their property. This is ridiculous in my opinion and a waste of meat!

• I appreciate the interaction from DNR. My family and I are blessed to be able to hunt the state of Georgia.

• Need to figure out a way to get rid of hogs. Stop the permits on crops, they shoot a ton of bucks. I’ve witnessed it even though suppose to be doe only.

• We should go to a one-buck limit and eliminate baiting.

• The deer season in the mountains needs to start and end later in the year.

• Hogs are becoming a bigger and bigger problem every year. I think the DNR should do more to help solve this problem.

• There should be reduced license fees for out-of-state seniors.

• I’d like to see some or more cooperative agreements between state and private-property owners for hunting use for disabled hunters. I can only walk about 200 yards, especially carrying hunt equipment. And if I put an animal down, I need to be able to drive right up to it to pick up. I end up, currently, just a couple hundred yards off a roadway in the few fairly level areas to public land. Not much selection of areas you can hunt in my situation. I hear everyone talking about young hunter recruitment, but you should want to keep us old guys, as well. After all, we’re still a number for your tabulations.

• I love hunting and fishing in Georgia.

• Great coverage by GON. I get a lot of information about hunting in the magazine.

• We love GON, keep up the good work guys!

• I want to acknowledge how much I like the fact that a lot of the WMAs I hunt have either added a hunt day (now five days) or shifted the hunts to start on Thursday and end on Sunday. This opens a lot of opportunities for weekend-warrior type hunters like myself who don’t have much time off from work. It is much appreciated.

• Need to reduce doe days and dog hunting.

• Coyotes and pigs are growing in population.

• We keep the deer fed on our hunting club, and it is really paying off with increased sightings and the opportunity to harvest mature bucks.

• Something needs to be done to improve the dove population.

• Need to introduce more deer on northeast GA WMAs. The hunter success is terrible. Sad when you can kill more hogs or bears than deer.

• Change all counties to trophy only! If you need meat, kill does!

• The herd looked good this year. Several fawns dropped with one doe having her third set of twins in as many years.

• DNR does a great job.

• The DNR needs to find a way to eliminate feral hogs and also find the cause for the decline of turkeys.

• When deer hunting started in Georgia a long time ago, you could only shoot a buck. That was wrong, should have been a doe. Do you think the state knows any better now?

• Hunting seasons are too long and who needs to shoot 10 does?

• We need to control wild hogs and coyotes.

• Deer baiting is a cancer on our sport, please reconsider. It causes way more problems than it fixes.

• WMA rules and regs difficult to decipher, especially sign-in procedures

• Where we hunt we only have three doe days, always last two days of Thanksgiving week and Jan. 1. DNR says we have a deer problem, we don’t  understand why so late as most of the does are surely pregnant, so we usually don’t shoot any. We would like our doe days be opening rifle weekend, before they become pregnant.

• I really had a great deer season, timed the rut just right and saw a lot of different bucks chasing does. It was really exciting.

• As a Ferile Swine Trapper and Custodian for GACD/NRCS, ferile swine we know is a significant issue. Property owners need to understand that and have a trapping plan or contact someone who can do a ferile swine maintenance/trapping program on their property.

• Please limit the firearms season to begin after Nov. 1.

• Something needs to be done with the bear population in Towns County. It is terrible, we have been seeing more and more in Hancock County, had a boar and sow on our property for the last three seasons. I also think on land that is being trophy managed and counties with antler restrictions, we need a cull buck tag, getting to be a lot of mature bucks that are big 6-points and normal on one side and long spike on other.

• We need controlled burns done on more of  CNF.

• I think we need more coyotes to control the overpopulation of deer in Georgia. I propose a coyote breeding program for release into areas with high deer densities. Once the deer population is brought back under control, eliminate the criminal practice of hunting over baiting. Which is not hunting at all. And is driven by retail corporations to sell more feeders, bait and the latest gadgets to get people to spend more money. It has also led to the unchecked spread of diseases and is a detriment to the natural health of our ecosystem.

• Make all counties QDM with only youth allowed to killed deer less than 8 points.

• Everybody needs to get a trapping program going, or they will be wondering why they’re not seeing the game they use to see.

• Move the start of deer season back to the last week of September.

• I hope DNR reevaluates the rut and makes some better predictions based on hunter’s feedback and comments.

• We have too many hunters from out of state who care nothing about deer conservation or number of deer that are killed. Private-land owners are bringing people in and killing huge amounts of does and small bucks. This cannot be good for hunting in Georgia.

• I would like to see an extended archery season for us to get one last chance at a buck at the end of the year. In the past several years, I have found new scrapes being made and rubs at the end of January.

• Very happy with the work of the GADNR.

• We definitely have a coyote problem that I believe is affecting our deer herd.

• It’s obvious the goal is to reduce the deer population. May eradicate the deer population entirely

• Please add some articles on hogs, what to do, where to hunt them, what to do if they’re ruining your deer property, when to kill, who will process them, trappers, any information would be helpful.

• People need to stop killing young bucks and shooting more does. Too many does, hope to get a couple before season ends.

• The season needs to go back to closing on Jan. 1 statewide. Season is too long.

• Need a fall turkey season!

• Government needs to do a better job of managing our National Forests.

• Need to trim down how many deer and turkeys can be killed.

• Lower the crappie limit to 20, people are always taking way over limit.

• Looking forward to starting some timber-stand improvement projects on my other property to improve hunting. Be cool to see some articles about habitat improvement.

• I think gun season needs to start a week or two earlier to catch the rut.

• Enjoy the magazine! Great pics and informative articles.

• GADNR needs to reduce limit to one buck. Also the season should be either sex the whole time to encourage the shooting of does. If they are allowing you to kill 10 does, why would you manipulate the dates?

• Need to cut back on tags for killing does.

• Kicked up a wild covey of quail while deer hunting, would like to see more.

• I believe law enforcement needs to be more vigilant in checking hunters’ harvests both in the field and where animals are processed. I hear and I’m aware of multiple reports of unethical hunters who purposely abuse the harvest reporting requirements/system. Processors should be required to have a harvest number that matches the reported deer along with proof of the deer’s sex. Hunter quarters buck, then take it to processor reported as a doe for final processing with no fear of being turned away or reported.

• Hunting land has become almost impossible to find. Trying to compete with Florida hunters is becoming more and more difficult.

• Afraid not going to have a place to hunt for my three grandsons.

• I would love to see buck tags reduced to one per hunter and more education on trapping would be great.

• Need more post deer season access to WMAs for hog and predator hunting.

• Need to able to use centerfire rifles during small-game season for hog and predator hunting.

• Would like to see some anterless, primitive-weapon seasons in January to extend the season a bit and help in population control where appropriate.

• Twelve deer in Georgia is too many, reduce that number to six.

• Would like to see more bowhunting opportunities on WMAs.

• We have a lot of messed-up racks on our 1,000 acres. What causes this?

• Would be nice if things returned to the way it used be several years ago when a non-resident landowner could purchase a resident license, as long as it was used with hunting on their own land. I spend thousands each year on various taxes that are pumped into the Georgia economy. Not to mention, over $300 a year for a NR license, so I can hunt on my own land. I have been doing this for over 30 years. I love Georgia, but it doesn’t seem fair! Long-time, non-resident, tax paying landowners are not the enemy. On the contrary, they help to boost the economy, in many small towns. They should not be treated like cash cows! What do you think?
• Would love to see season extended two weeks.

• I wish the WMA program were easier to access and figure out. It’s so confusing.

• As a working father of two, I have little time to spare to run a trap line. I will say that given the opportunity, I would like to rid the woods of varmints, but trapping doesn’t currently conform with my job. Also, with regards to bowhunting, why does the season close with the gun season statewide, metropolitan areas being the exception? As a bowhunter, I would love the opportunity to have more days to hunt like the metro areas, maybe I just need to travel to those specific counties to get more stand time.

• The doe days in our area should be moved to the last of the season. We trophy hunt our land and no one wants to shoot a doe before the rut. As a result, we only have one doe day at the last of the season, resulting in not many does being killed. Our buck-to-doe ratio is out of whack.

• I would really like to see a 15-inch, 8-point rule statewide.

• Hoping that the new regulations proposal for southwest Georgia is implemented. We need a later season due to the rut.

• Why are we calling in deer kills? Looks like this $$ could be spent on better things related to Georgia wildlife.

• I would of liked to have a longer deer season due to the hotter temps we had this year, or a later start with more time on the back end. It was hard to get out and enjoy deer hunting a majority of the season because it was so hot.

• Something I will address with DNR next time they have open comments is to allow for two weeks of additional blackpowder hunting after the regular modern firearms season has ended.

• I like your specialty hunts for vets, kids and seniors over 65. I’m 72 and go to the ones that have good weather. It would be good to have one closer to the rut like mid November. I need to look closer at your private-land permission hunts.

• I believe the limit of bucks in a season should be two bucks as it is but both bucks should be required to have at least a 16-inch spread and 4 points or more on one side to help bucks mature.

• I wish the whole state would go to QDM. Makes for a healthier herd. Bucks and does do better because of it.

• I would like to see more people trapping predators. Or have a bounty on coyotes to provoke more people to kill them. Also would like to see more quality bucks taken, more trophy counties.

• When will we see the results of adjusting the turkey season, 3-5 years, 5-7 years, 10 years?

• Twelve deer tags a season is excessive in my opinion.  Wish the state would reduce the number.

• Clubs need to involve professionals in evaluating their herd. The real knowledgeable hunters are becoming extinct.

• DNR needs to help assist large landowners in creating habitats and food plots to encourage large deer growth.

• I believe we need to lower deer kill limits (one buck and three does). I think DNR needs more staff.

• Do away  with buck-only days the first weekend of the season and up the limit on bucks to three.

• I think our deer herd is in good shape.

• Concerning deer or fishing, I don’t think anything needs to change.

• Would like to thin out the coyotes in our area. The rabbits and quail have all but disappeared. The turkey population seems to remain solid with many good toms and large flocks of hens seen regularly. We have been getting lots of pictures of black bears in Jasper County over the last three years. I’ve hunted this property in Jasper for 35 years and had never seen a bear until 2020. Seems the middle Georgia bear population is expanding north.

• Maybe start bow first of October and rifle first of November and run season until the end of January so we have a cooler season.

• I think the whole state of Georgia should have a quality-buck rule. No bucks under four points on a side.

• Need to stop baiting.

• The deer on the property I hunt changed their movement pattern due to stumping and grading happening on the property joining mine due to solar panels being installed.

• I had the opportunity to get selected for the Nov. 3-5 Clybel deer quota hunt, and I believe there were too many hunters selected for the hunt. Everywhere I hunted or tried to hunt, someone either was hunting on top of me or there was someone at every spot I tried to hunt. I even had one guy sit 100 yards behind me and shoot at a deer, then proceeded to come to the base of the tree I climbed and ask me if I saw which way the deer ran. Another instance is my friend walked into the woods where he hung his stand one morning and someone climbed the tree next to his and stated, “Sorry man I didn’t see your stand, and I’ve been here for a while now.”

• The turkey limits were recently changed. If the turkey population is a concern, then why is there such a short coyote season on WMAs? The turkey population is great here due to coyote hunting. Also, not every WMA needs to be a quality buck property. Some people hunt for food, not horns, and the doe tags don’t add up with allowed doe days.

• I have not seen any antler-size improvements in Randolph County since the implementation of the quality-buck rules. If any thing, I see less mature bucks. I have also noticed that counties like Dooly no longer rank as high in GON as it once did prior to their implementation of quality-buck rules. I think this type management has failed. I would love to see GON examine what quality-buck rules has really accomplished.

• Why is out-of-state license so expensive.

• We do have a few one-horn deer running around. First year hunting area, waiting to see what it looks like next year. It’s always the left side that’s missing.

• Still would like to see Georgia go back to some kind of physical tagging system, especially for bucks.

• I really enjoy the GON magazine. The articles and stories are very informative.

• Would like to see dove on my property. Also would like to attend a hog seminar if I can this year.

• The state regulations seemed to have many errors in it this year. Would like to see this get cleared up before they send them out to the public.

• Life is good. Do not like to gripe. Just glad that the Lord blesses me with the ability to enjoy his great world!

• I would like to see some content on the Truck-Buck process/rules.

• The money from fishing and hunting licenses needs to stay in the wildlife budget. Politicians need to keep their greedy hands out of it.

• Would like to see an antler-size restriction.

• The turkey populations in Camden County are still on the decline.

• We need an armadillo program like the coyote one y’all have.

• I deer hunt my own property, would like to enter some quota hunts in the future. I have been a bird hunter all my life. Dove and quail, ducks. No doves anymore, quail are sparse, duck hunting lakes are too crowded.

• Georgia needs to put a bounty on coyotes to encourage more active hunting of these destructive nuisance animals.

• Deer season needs to start later because it’s too hot to bowhunt.

• Good deer season with a lot of crazy weather during gun season.

• Hannahatchee WMA needs to be 4 points on one side for all bucks to give people a chance to harvest a nice buck and help the population since this WMA is open for gun all season.

• Growing incidents of confrontation between public-land hunters and owners of private lands adjacent to public lands. Some of these think that they have some kind of control over activity in the nearby WMA or National Forest.

• Baiting is killing deer hunting. Makes me lose interest in hunting Georgia and I spend more time out of state hunting true fair chase. Lazy deer hunters cheating the resource because they don’t know how to hunt.

• I would like to see the state of Georgia have an early wood duck season same as teal season, similar to Florida and a few other states. I would also like turkey season to go back to normal, all the birds were gone by the time it came in just about. Maybe the state gets together with Ducks Unlimited and starts a few new projects and creates some more habitats and public ponds to hunt, just a suggestion.

• I don’t think there are enough doe days in Pickens County.

• I would like for there to be stricter regulations or closer monitoring on guide services operating in Georgia, especially on leased land. Seems as if an “if it’s brown it’s down” mentality has been taken by some due to clients paying large amounts of money to hunt.

• I wish they would remove the antler restrictions and make it so that you can kill any antlered buck. Not many people see big bucks all the time.

• I feel Georgia should have a non-resident trapping license that is affordable or included in the non-resident package. Many non-resident lease holders would trap to improve predator mortality but are not willing to invest in the equipment and then an additional license just to improve habitat with NO interest in selling the furs.

• Love the local magazine, the fact that it’s all in Georgia makes it more interesting.

• This deer season was fantastic in my part of Georgia; I really enjoyed it, and I feel like we are headed in the right direction with deer management. Cannot wait until next season!

• End hunting over bait.

• I would like to see regulations changed to more bucks and less does. I don’t think anyone needs 12 deer.

• I’m concerned about runoff from the dumping of waste on farmland under the pretense of “amendments.” While I enjoy catch and release, I see families enjoying the day together catching fish for eating, as they should. The summer of 2021 I started catching fish with sores on them. I’m hoping that it was unrelated. But I’m really hoping that DNR has the funding to monitor the fish for pollutants. I’ve seen stupid stuff done in the state I escaped from. It takes a long time to clean up.

• Counties where it is law to kill a buck with four points on one side or a spread of 15 inches should be changed. If you hunt legal, it leaves too many inferior bucks to breed and you wind up getting poorer quality in the long run. Montgomery Count is a good example. We all know that any buck will breed, and I do like to hunt legal and use the inferior buck for family youngsters or a friend who just wants some meat.

• Need to quit cutting down so many mast trees and set aside more land for conservation, not houses.

• Many thanks to my favorite website and mag, GON!

• CWD and hogs are two good reasons to back off of deer feeders.

• We started feeding deer all year.

• I miss Glenn Solomon and his articles on small waters, rivers and streams. Such a talented writer gone too soon.

• Wished White County had more doe days.

• Gun season needs to start no earlier than last Saturday in Oct. or Nov. 1 and run to Jan. 31 in the Southern Zone. We see scraping and signs of breeding into early March. Cams show antlered bucks into late February/early March.

• Georgia DNR does a great job in my opinion. Georgia overall produces quality bucks every year and deer numbers are generally strong.

• I wish our whole season was shifted forward a couple of weeks. Meaning that it starts later and goes to the end of January. Also, I wish we had more than a week of muzzleloader.

• I think the number of does per year is way too high.

• Love your magazine,  don’t change anything.

• Hog overpopulation is an issue.

• Need more time for bowhunting on WMAs, not just during the hottest part of the season.

• Continue to focus on predator control, and I would be in favor of investing the requirements for trophy management.

• Would like to see incentives for landowners to trap. Would like to see the state more involved in the eradication of feral pigs. Corral-type traps purchased with hunting license money that could be rented. These are way too costly for the average hunting club.

• Shorten general gun and make muzzleloader season longer, reduce the bow quota.

• The season dates on the west side of Georgia need to be shifted three to four weeks later to catch the end of January. This would make archery season a little cooler and give a better chance late in the season for a good buck.

• I don’t have a good idea on how to solve the problem but something needs to be done to get people to stop shooting small bucks. I had a hunter on the neighboring property tell me he shot a doe and the 5-pointer that was trailing it “because he needed the meat.” That is a sorry excuse from a grown man who should know better. There are plenty of does and no reason to shoot a 5-pointer for meat. It makes it hard to stay motivated to cultivate big deer when the neighbors do not have the same mindset as you do.

• Whitfield County needs more doe days, the whole county has had dead deer from vehicle collisions scattered everywhere since October.

• Would love to hear more about how people get kids into hunting and fishing. I have two young children who I would like to get involved in hunting/fishing and some articles about how folks introduce kids to these experiences would be great. Thanks for putting out great content!

• Coyotes are out of control.

• We have way too many raccoons, armadillos, hogs, varmints/predators, and this is really starting to affect everything from turkeys to even deer. Should be no limits.

• I hunt Talbot County, a quality county. We have a ton of spikes. No big bucks were killed this year, we had some legal ones, but nothing big.

• Start rifle season two weeks later and make it end two weeks later. Our rut typically starts late December and continues through mid/end of January, depending on the weather.

• I think more and more people are trophy managing as far as antler growth, but aging the buck on the hoof is most important. This is what we need more of if we want to harvest a truly big-scoring buck. We do have a problem with neighbors killing the ones we let walk. Georgia would be one of the best states in the nation for trophy bucks if we all could manage this way!

• I don’t have the answer but as we all know, we need more youngsters in the field.

• Do more gun raffles from sponsors!

• I wish doe days in my area started when gun season opened.

• While I understand the benefits of baiting and how it increases hunter recruitment, it is causing a good bit of harm to this sport and way of life. I still cannot mathematically comprehend how the vast majority of deer processing facilities are full for two-thirds of modern firearm seasons and somehow the state maintains the position that the numbers of the deer herd are not declining. I have hunted my entire life and have never experienced the killing that we see now. I hunt two historically great counties for deer in terms of numbers, and each year the sightings dwindle even further. The harvest numbers (we are not capturing a large portion of them) are not sustainable, and I fear this passion for deer hunting that so many Georgians have will eventually come to an end due to mismanagement and over-harvesting of the herd.

• Coyotes and raccoons still playing havoc on turkeys. Hogs getting out of control.

• Please increase out-of-state tags prices. In Montana, it costs $1,500 just to apply for the lottery, not even guaranteeing a hunt. Also, non-residents should only be allowed one buck and three doe tags. It is unfair to the residents that non-residents have the same access to our beautiful natural resources. Please fight for Georgia residents. Show that our elected officials care about us and not how much money the state makes from non-resident hunting licenses.

• I only hunt deer and squirrels. I only take what I need for my family until next season.

• We really need to determine why the wild turkey population is in decline.

• Non-resident licenses are too expensive, especially with no senior citizen consideration. Doesn’t seem like the state of Georgia appreciates the money we spend in the state and the impact on local businesses.

• I think we need to cut back on turkey limits again to one gobbler in the spring and maybe a one-day hunt in the fall for any kind, hen or gobbler.

• We need to up the harvest number allowed on turkeys! They’re everywhere and huge!

• Just wasn’t my year.

• I have talked to a lot of people and most would like to see more wintertime trout stocking. Other states have stocking programs in the winter. I know we do have the DH streams, and that is great, but if we had more stocking, it would help us for after deer season is over.

• We need to close Hannahatchee WMA for a season to let he deer rebound. Make it open for a week and not the whole season. I love having a WMA open season long for deer hunting, but this one needs a break.

• I would participate in a coyote trapping class/seminar, if available.

• Very pleased with everything. Wouldn’t mind banning feeders to cut down on the risk of CWD spread in our state.

• Never have I seen as many deer killed and left rotting on the side of the road or by dumpsters. DNR needs to hire more wardens. My warden covers three different counties, all large ones. The state could use some of their budget surplus to hire some help.

• Do away with baiting. It has ruined deer hunting. No fair chase anymore.

• Out-of-state license is way too high for landowners from out of state.

• Bring back the either-sex days in rifle season.

• I know that the issue with Yellow Jacket Shoals had some publicity. There is something very similar going on from Flat Shoals to Joe Kurz with no hunting allowed. Also there is another issue with the right of way at Flat Shoals Bridge on the Flint River with a homeowner who dumped a very large amount of gravel blocking the makeshift boat ramp. I feel like our access is being stripped a little at a time, and before you know it, all of it is gone. Thanks for your time.

• Will the extreme cold of Christmas week reduce dillos, fire ants, etc?

• Glad to see the trapping questions on the survey. That will be interesting to see data from there and how it relates to hunter success/satisfaction.

• We need to lower the deer harvest to one buck and two does for non-residents and two bucks and five does for residents, as well as lowering the turkey harvest to one gobbler for non residents. Since we have lowered the harvest number for residents, many non-residents use our state as a kill state!

• It would be nice if a guest was allowed to accompany on a quota hunt. This is primarily for safety reasons.

• I believe that the antler restrictions need to be improved on.

• Need more done for predation control. Turkey population is being devastated by the problem at hand.

• We had plenty of bullfrogs and freshwater eels 50 years ago. We never see either one now. I wonder if there’s ever been a study about their disappearance.

• Don’t like two different opening dates for turkey season (public land vs private land).

• Wish we had statewide antler restrictions, and I wish we had more public land. The new VPAs in my area are a blessing, it would be awesome to have more in Polk County.

• Need more trophy-buck regulations. Drop down to one buck per year versus two or something to get more mature bucks in Georgia.

• Armadillo population is expanding rapidly in north Georgia, which puts more pressure on grouse and turkey production. Curious what others are seeing.

• Our club does need to be more aggressive on predators.

• Concerned about CWD slowly making its way south.

• I think trail cameras should be illegal on WMAs. People claim whole areas are theirs year-round. Also, Pine Log is open for doves, but the gate to the dove fields are closed. That’s a long walk with bucket, gun, shells, etc.

• For some reason a lot more deer were killed by vehicles than any other time that I can remember. My route to work looked like a butcher shop.

• Dove season starts too early in south Georgia.

• I feel like that if Georgia would go to a one-buck rule, it would make it a lot easier for people to kill a mature buck in this state.

• Looking forward to turkey season and working on food sources for next deer season. Property is really maturing and in good condition. Too much tree cutting in areas around our property.

• Wild hogs and coyotes are a nuisance and problem.

• I’m sure he is busy but I would like my game warden to have more of a presence in our area.

• Prostituting the resources for media and personal glorification.

• The state should put a bounty on predators and the state pay for the trapper.

• Georgia could do more to manage its buck population. Florida hunters have ruined so many areas and turned off locals from hunting. Their $$ will always keep them here, but we have to start some type of trophy system. DNR should go to the processors and witness how many 90-lb. deer they bring in. I’m tired of people complaining about it.

• Reduce buck harvest to one buck.

• GADNR please be more understanding toward the dog clubs left that are trying desperately to do it right and are respectful to adjoining landowners.

• Need a shorter gun season and longer bow season. I would like to see size regulations and bag limits on blue and channel catfish.

• Delay gun season until November.

• Why is trapping in the  same  category  with  deer hunting? I’m  also a  very avid dog hunter for  coon and squirrel. There are plenty of  dog hunters who will  help  with  any  unwanted  game, especially after deer season as the raccoon season doesn’t go out anymore.

• I think something needs to be done about the coyotes.

• No doe days after Dec. 10.

• I would like the season extended another week or more.

• Stop baiting.

• As a side note, I hunted three WMAs without success. Big Lazer during the first bonus hunt, never saw a buck, though a doe did come so close that I had to tell her “BOOGA BOOGA” to get her to go away. Sandhills East near Butler, never saw a deer or hog, though there was plenty of hog sign, and I spent a few hours walking around Lanahassee WMA, more out of curiosity and scouting than in any serious hope of seeing game. It was still very dry, and their food plots were obviously well taken care of, but nothing was growing in them.

• I would like to see dove season brought back to the Northern Zone and open before the Southern Zone. I would also like to see dove hunting on WMAs to include Labor Day.

• Timber companies should control burn, not poison. Timber companies are destroying hardwood bottoms leaving chaos and ecologic damage.

• More doe days on private land, and a 4 points or more antler rule on one side for both antlered deer you can kill would help our buck population tremendously. I hunted a lot on public and private and only saw one 3-plus-year-old buck, of course while driving so I at least got to see one up here. The hunters around here shoot anything with horns, so it’s gotten tough to see decent bucks the past two years.

• Out of state license cost is ridiculous.

• Would love to see QDM statewide.

• Deer population is great. Turkeys have disappeared.

• I really appreciate getting your magazine and look forward to it every month. Keep up the good work.

• I would like to see the season to the end of January with the last two weeks archery and quality buck only. Consideration to allow for one bonus quality buck for a fee set by the Department.

• I am concerned about the effects of CWD on deer hunting in the future.

• We have turkeys back, haven’t seen them in years.

• National forest lands need to change their herd management. Very few doe days combined with not antler restrictions results in young bucks never reaching maturity. Need to add antler restrictions and keep a closer eye on doe populations. I typically see far more does when hunting there.

• It seems the season is warmer than when I was a kid. I remember in October we would have very cold days and would kill hogs. Maybe move the season back some.

• I really appreciate GON and the great job you do for hunters in Georgia!

• When are they going to push the deer season back in Early County? The rut does not coincide with the dates.

• I would support an effort from hunting organizations in Georgia to lobby and pass legislation that would put a bounty on coyotes to assist landowners in hiring professional trappers. I have several trail cameras throughout my property, and they reveal the abundance of coyotes that have a dramatic impact on fawn, turkey and quail mortality.  Coyotes are not native to Georgia and should be controlled like any invasive species, whether plant or animal.

• Would love to see more restrictions on antler size and lower limits on how many doe tags.

• Why does north Georgia have a longer season than south Georgia doesn’t seem fair, especially when it comes to buck contest.

• Let’s keep the Coyote Cull every year, but these hogs are ridiculous. The DNR needs to put more emphasis on killing these hogs in Georgia. Once they take over your stand, your deer are gone.  We ought to have hog culls every year. There should be a number we can call and have someone from DNR come to our property to trap them.  Slaughtering them is what needs to happen. We have big deer in Georgia, but you won’t see them in the area I hunt because of the Florida hunters.  They shoot whatever walks. It’s a shame. Thanks.

• I would like to see more hunter/game warden interaction. They are here to help our rights. Being part of a club has made me realize that I would rather spend money on property of my own to be alone. I don’t hunt to hang out with folks. I spend time with my son and provide meat for my family.

• Everyone talks about having the rough and tough outdoor experience and the animals giving its life for our survival and so on, and then take it to a processor because they don’t know how to do it or it’s too gross… for them!

• I’m hunting property that had been in my family for six generations. I have never been on public land and understand why they need some of the laws, but why do I need to wear orange while hunting my property? If someone is trespassing, they are not going to wear it, so why would I help them see me? And why is it so hard to get trapping license? Why am I paying more and more for hunting and fishing licenses each year when it doesn’t benefit me and my property? Why do we get our licenses done by another state and waste that money and job position?

• WMA’s in northwest Georgia are thousands of acres are only open certain weeks of the year. Public lands should be open to the public for the statewide season.

• Thanks GON for another great year of your magazine.

• I would love to see a trout season brought back to many of the waters in Fannin County that have been switched to year-round fishing over the years. There is a tremendous amount of pressure on the fisheries now that so many people have moved into and visit the area. While there is still some good fishing here, the overall quality has seemed to be in a decline over what it was in years past.

• I think we have too many does. Everyone wants to hunt bucks, and the doe population is getting too big. I think we need one season with doe only.

• Need more bear days in Houston County.

• We’re extremely lucky to live in a state that values hunters (and fishermen). We have lots of opportunities, a long season, over the counter licensing and generous bag limits. What’s not to love?

• Georgia is a great state to hunt in.

• I would like to have my wife and kids more hunts in November and December rather than all of the options stacked in early October. The way it is they don’t get to enjoy but one, maybe two hunts. Find out majority of school holidays and plan more of the ladies/kids hunts by those dates.

• Keep up the great work for Georgia outdoor enthusiasts. You all have a great publication, and I look forward to getting my magazine every month.

• Why let hunters take 10 does, no one needs 10 does. Limit doe harvest to four.

• I’m still against hunting over bait, but that’s never going to change with lobbying by the manufacturers that sell the bait.

• Need to move buck-only days to the end of the season so we stop shooting pregnant does.

• CWD worries! It will totally change the landscape of deer hunting in Georgia.

• I think Georgia should learn from Kentucky, Kansas and other states that grow bigger bucks.  We have the chance to grow bigger and more mature bucks if we studied other states approach to harvesting bucks. Longer archery and shorter rifle seasons.

• Please change Talbot county QDM buck limits to one buck no limitations and one QDM.

• Deer season comes in too early. Need to shorten deer season by two weeks statewide.

• Seeing too many coyotes.

• Georgia should allow night hunting for feral hogs on WMAs.

• Cut the deer harvest record down. Too many deer are being killed. Just my thoughts.

• Go to a year-round open season on furbearers and predators. The Georgia woods are run over with coyotes, bobcats, opossums and raccoons.

• I like to hunt public land, and as I am getting older and finding it more difficult to get around. Would like to see more accommodations for the use for older hunters to use electric or gas powered bikes and/or ATVs to help carry in stands and retrieve game off of public land. I am over 60 and don’t have the strength that I had when I was younger.  Each year I am hunting public land less and less because of the struggles to get around.

• We need to go to a one-buck limit in north Georgia, at least where there’s more hunters. We need to have no more than a three-week buck season. Then we could get the numbers under control and the quality back up where it needs to be. I hunt in Kentucky, and this works great for them.

• Look at providing more public land. Drop deer harvest to five deer total.

• Increasing lease fees and fuel costs are hurting many clubs. Reduced trips/days afield.

• I still wish they would lower the doe harvest numbers, or doe days. I know that I am in the minority with my opinion.

• I wish burning would not be allowed during turkey nesting season.

• I bait deer, I also spend time and money putting in my food plots. I believe that with baiting now legal that it has made a lot of fellow hunters lazy, and they don’t put in the time to secure long-term feeding for our deer herds.

• It would be great to start the season a few weeks later for bow, give an extra week for muzzleloader and end the season around the end of January.

• I think an area on your website for people to post land for lease would be nice and helpful.

• Turkey numbers are horrible in northeast, Georgia. This has got to be fixed, even if that means shutting down the season for a couple of years. At this rate, my kids will never know what a wild turkey gobble sounds like.

• Need stricter laws in place for killing small bucks. There are plenty of does to remove.

• Hogs and aggressive timber harvesting have been the primary problems on our lease this year.

• Cannot afford to lease property. Retired on fixed income.

• I think Georgia should cut back on buck harvest to one with 4 points on one side, even if it’s only for a few years. They can always change it back. All hunters should be required to take a doe before you are able to take buck.

• We love GON! The deer hunting, specifically the chance at mature buck, is better than I have ever seen it in my 30 years of hunting.

• I think blue catfish should be introduced to Lake Lanier.

• Extend deer season in southwest Georgia. The rut lasts into February.

• I have noticed more good deer coming out of Carroll County, where I live. I have purposely not hunted a 30-acre parcel I own to allow deer to get comfortable there. Trying to manage it alongside some city-owned sprinkler fields.

• I believe with strong conviction that deer hunting with dogs is an overlooked hunting application which should have more emphasis on regulations!

• Wife broke her leg so I didn’t get to hunt much.

• Baiting has caused poor hunting. Your not teaching children how to hunt when you go set by a corn pile. This baiting is also going to bring CWD to Georgia, with all the deer eating out of the same bin or corn trough spreading diseases

• My personal opinion is that Georgia needs to either shorten its firearms season such as states like Kansas or have a lot more doe-only days. Georgia’s buck-to-doe ratio is way off the charts. Most of the processors I visit were loaded in bucks of all ages but very few does.

• I haven’t hunted in years. I enjoy reading the GON every month and online. Thank you for a great read!

• Way too many predators. Coyotes, coons, hawks, crows, hogs. Turkeys are non-existent.

• Two many small bucks, not enough does.

• Make the website more user friendly. Update the magazine, more exciting and more info about comprehensive game management. In other words, how many deer should we kill per acre, trapping varmints, hog hunting, food plots (what and when to plant, etc.), etc. All the things that effect today’s hunters.

• I think Georgia has potential for huge deer. I just wish they would go to one buck and even maybe an antler restriction in all counties. I think we could produce huge deer if people would let them grow. And maybe changing these laws would do us some good.

• In depth articles on how to trap raccoons, coyotes and other predators would be appreciated.

• Too many neighbors killing too many does.

• On my hunting property, which  is my personal land and my home, I keep my two deer feeders full of corn all year long, and it has paid off in having plenty of deer.

• I’m overall happy to live and hunt in Georgia. I believe the season and the bag limits are good. Over the past few years, I’m seeing more and more decent bucks. My only gripe is the private land dog permit. I disagree that 250 acres is enough to run dogs.

• The most bothersome issue to me is the privatization of river stretches. Waterways should be open for anyone to float and/or fish provided it is large enough to float a kayak.

• The hunting would be so much better in Georgia if we had a shorter gun season. I bowhunt only on my properties, and it has  make a world of difference. For example, every state with the best deer hunting has a short gun season. That’s why we have a lot of hunters going out of Georgia to hunt.

• Upset with the new turkey season. My whole hunting community is upset with it. I don’t think it was well thought out at all.

• The state has done an excellent job of managing wildlife, and the deer population seems to be stable and strong.

• Propose to make Lee County QDM to match Macon County.

• I would like to see the bonus hunts for deer revised to allow for a better deer age structure.

• Enjoy the magazine, keep up the good work.

• I would like to provide some context regarding why I don’t trap coyotes on my property. As an experienced trapper, I have caught many coyotes in the past 20 years. I think you would agree that a lot has changed in the last few years.  Last year my wife hit a deer with her relatively new SUV in January, and it took the repair shop three months to get radiator support brackets so she could drive her car. She was not happy during that time because she had to drive to work, shopping and church in the farm pick-up truck that I haul chicken manure for the garden in. I particularly like dove hunting in September, and I typically plant 10 acres of sunflowers and 40 acres of brown top millet to attract doves. It is always a struggle to prevent a lot of deer damage to the sunflowers when they are in the 2- to 6-inch stage. The deer will walk down the row, and it takes a lot of 2-inch sunflower plants to fill a deer’s belly. After the sunflowers get 2 or 3 feet tall, a few plants will fill them. Last year was particularly bad. Lack of rainfall at planting time reduced the number of seeds that germinated and the deer seemed to eat a lot more. DNR refused my request for a depredation permit, indicating that my sunflowers were not a commercial crop. Normally deer haven’t done too much damage after the sunflowers bloom and head out. I was surprised in mid August last year when I found that 50% of the remaining plants had the heads eaten off. September dove season was very disappointing because there were few sunflower seeds for the dove to feed on. In late September, after some discussion with friends who deer hunt on this property, the rules for deer hunting were changed.  Instead of trophy management, a policy of “if it’s brown, it’s down” was implemented, as well as some other changes. Most of the deer seen opening weekend of deer season received a free ride to the processor. Then the deer pattern changed. About 99% of the pictures on the trail cameras were nocturnal and not during legal hunting hours. One of the changes is that this property is now a coyote sanctuary. There are no fences to keep them out. Instead of posted signs, there will be “Coyotes Welcome” signs, although I haven’t quite figured out if the coyotes can read English. Maybe I can get them printed in Coyotese. The shelter (housing) on the property is excellent, and if you see me picking up road kill, the free food will be an added attraction. They may even be allowed to vote in the next election.  These common sense changes are all in name of diversity.  After all, they are just predators looking for a better life for themselves and their families. With any luck, they might just eliminate some white-tailed deer.

• One problem that happens a lot is the small bucks that I see during the summer and fall when hunting season starts, they don’t live very long. People need to let these young bucks walk if you want to see a bigger one.