Georgia WMAs trophy hunts

[coonhunter]

What would be your top 5 picks if you was trying to go after a mature real nice Buck?Im thinking about getting my Georgia license and trying to kill a nice Buck I feel like a can spend more time doing that than running up north or west for a week. Im already right on the Georgia line Hartwell and Elberton counties. I got some ideas already I got the Corp lines on Russell and Clark’s Hill .I know Hart has a history for Booners .

 

[Blackston]

I’ve always wanted to use the GA rut map and follow Georgias VERY broad rut across the state and hunt the rut for the majority of the season….. All of em can produce a GOOD N that time of year …. But if I had to pick I’d pick one near that big river that starts with an F

 

[slow motion]

Good luck whatever you choose. Hadn't hunted a WMA in a lot of years so I can't help but there's plenty to choose from. Please keep us updated.

 

[gma1320]

Find one you like, then pattern a good buck you want kill when he is on his early season pattern. Go after him at the beginning of bow season. He'll still be on thay pattern and have less pressure on him for the first couple of weeks of bow season. I personally like to start looking during turkey season to get an idea of what I'm after.

 

[Gl4di4torRr]

What would be your top 5 picks if you was trying to go after a mature real nice Buck?Im thinking about getting my Georgia license and trying to kill a nice Buck I feel like a can spend more time doing that than running up north or west for a week. Im already right on the Georgia line Hartwell and Elberton counties. I got some ideas already I got the Corp lines on Russell and Clark’s Hill .I know Hart has a history for Booners .

1. Pick a WMA. Quota hunt might be your best option.
2. Boots on the ground
3. More boots on the ground
4. Best of luck!

 

[transfixer]

Haven't hunted wma's in years, but 25-30yrs ago I would have said Chickasawhatchee wma, down below Albany, I would still bet on most in the southern half of the state,

 

[Long Cut]

I spent nearly 10 years of my life hunting for a +140” buck off a GA WMA.

I’d walk ~22 miles on the low end up to 65 miles was the most between the months of January to March scouting various tracts of public land.
Hang cameras and glass for bucks in August for Archery season.
Put in for Quota and check in hunts.
Would setup anywhere from 7 to 15 trail cameras across however many tracts I was hunting at that time..

I never did kill a buck close to 140”. Came very close, twice. No dice though.
This was mainly archery hunting, though. Had I been Rifle hunting I’d have a wall full.

I say all that to say. It’s possible absolutely wherever you go. However, it will be extremely challenging and time consuming.

Hope this helps.

 

[coonhunter]

Thanks for the reply’s

 

[buckpasser]

I’d go to the mountains. It seems like everyone that goes up there green and tries to kill a bear winds up with a big buck instead.

 

[bfriendly]

I spent nearly 10 years of my life hunting for a +140” buck off a GA WMA.

I’d walk ~22 miles on the low end up to 65 miles was the most between the months of January to March scouting various tracts of public land.
Hang cameras and glass for bucks in August for Archery season.
Put in for Quota and check in hunts.
Would setup anywhere from 7 to 15 trail cameras across however many tracts I was hunting at that time..

I never did kill a buck close to 140”. Came very close, twice. No dice though.
This was mainly archery hunting, though. Had I been Rifle hunting I’d have a wall full.

I say all that to say. It’s possible absolutely wherever you go. However, it will be extremely challenging and time consuming.

Hope this helps.

good stuff here! Only thing I disagree with is it’s NOT possible everywhere you go. If you work even close as hard as @Long Cut describes, you will discount most places or at least quite a few of them. That said, Georgia has great deer all over the state and lots of opportunities! I’ve had some really nice bucks on cams, but no 140s and my lazy behind certainly don’t put in the time or work it would take! Best of luck on your adventure!

 

[Buford_Dawg]

Concentrate on WMA's from I-20 south, much higher chance for a 140 class buck.

 

[dang]

Pick a big WMA (> 10,000 acres) that is close enough to you that you can spend a stupid amount of time on it. Every 10k+ acre wma in Georgia has a “mature, real nice buck” on it, depending how you view real nice. Picking a historically good wma is great but if it’s 3-4 hours from your place, you won’t be able to spend the time it truly takes and you’ll likely have to just luck into something …still possible. You’ll have virtually no pressure during bow season…keep that in mind too

 

[dang]

Also…most folks ain’t gonna list their five favorite WMA’s on the internet

 

[Gadestroyer74]

This lol

 

[RamblinWreck88]

Also…most folks ain’t gonna list their five favorite WMA’s on the internet

I wouldn't even list my 5 favorite squirrel-hunting spots on the internet.

 

[kingfish]

GON has a pretty comprehensive issue I believe in July that lists the best bucks killed in all the WMA's. I'd bet that you could come up with a pretty solid list of both quota and non-quota places. I don't hunt Georgia anymore, but that's where I'd start. Sounds like a great challenge, best of luck !!!

 

[Long Cut]

good stuff here! Only thing I disagree with is it’s NOT possible everywhere you go. If you work even close as hard as @Long Cut describes, you will discount most places or at least quite a few of them. That said, Georgia has great deer all over the state and lots of opportunities! I’ve had some really nice bucks on cams, but no 140s and my lazy behind certainly don’t put in the time or work it would take! Best of luck on your adventure!

Well with the caveat of the particular region I hunt, just about any WMA held at least one 130-140” buck.

You couldn’t beat me with a stick hard enough to disclose that on a public forum, though

 

[Long Cut]

Here’s a couple ghosts from the past. All 4 from different tracts of public. They’re all long gone, don’t bother looking.

One toted an arrow from me and lived (somehow), one ducked an arrow unscathed and all 4 haunt me to this day.

Unfortunately my old phone took a bath in the Hooch and I lost all of the others I’ve had the pleasure of chasing on WMA’s over the years.

 

[Dutch]

Also…most folks ain’t gonna list their five favorite WMA’s on the internet

This.

Oaky Woods has some big deer. I see several every year in our fields.

 

[Dustin Pate]

Concentrate on WMA's from I-20 south, much higher chance for a 140 class buck.

I have spent a massive amount of time on public, also. In the last 20 years I have seen, either in person or on camera, 3-4 deer that I know would go over 140. "Mature" deer can be found on any WMA in the state, but you'll have to change your mindset on what that will be. I have killed many mature bucks off public that had decent racks. I'm more proud of those deer than most any of my big private land deer.