Archery season for deer hunters kicks off Saturday

ATLANTA — Archery season for deer hunters begins Saturday and runs through Oct. 14, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division.

State officials say deer season is the most popular season for hunters in the state. Last year, more than 122,000 archers bagged more than 66,000 deer statewide.

“This statewide framework provides landowners and hunting clubs great flexibility to meet their management objectives,” John W. Bowers, assistant chief of WRD Game Management, said in a news release. “However, it is the responsibility of landowners and hunting clubs, individually or collectively, to set site-specific deer harvest regimes within this framework to meet their deer management goals.”

From the official news release:

Statewide archery season runs through Oct. 14, but special regulations apply to archery-only counties and extended archery season areas.

Hunters should refer to the 2011-2012 Georgia Hunting Seasons and Regulations guide available at www.gohuntgeorgia.com/hunting/regulations for the most accurate information.

Georgia is considered a top destination in the country for non-resident hunters and continues to draw tens of thousands of hunters from across the country each year. The state’s quality deer hunting opportunities and the close to one million available acres of public hunting land serve as the main appeal.

Georgia offers more than 90 state-operated wildlife management areas.

Many of these public lands offer specialty hunts, including primitive weapons hunts, adult/child hunts and ladies-only hunts. Dates and locations for these hunts are available in the 2011-2012 Georgia Hunting Seasons and Regulations guide, and WMA maps are available at www.gohuntgeorgia.com/hunting/wildlife-management-areas.

Hunters are allowed a season bag limit of ten antlerless deer and two antlered deer (one of the two antlered deer must have a minimum of four points, one inch or longer, on one side of the antlers).

To pursue deer in Georgia, hunters must have a valid hunting license, big game license and a current deer harvest record. If hunting on a WMA, a WMA license also is required.