How long will deer and turkey hunting will survive in Early and Miller Co. Ga?

[Son]

35 years ago when our lease first began, we had about 2500 acres or woods surrounding our lease of 1000 acres. Eventually we added another 650, and 250 acres. Now we're back down to the original 100 acres. The 650 is cow pasture now. The 250 was bought and they wont lease to me. 125 acres we once had is cow pasture and crop farming. At one time we had wooded areas connecting all the way to the Chattahoochee river. Those connections are now very slim. In fact, for deer to come to us from other wooded areas, they must leap frog from one small wood lot to another. Of course at night many will strike out across open ground to shorten the trip. Now we hear cows mooing, phones ringing at some farm and dogs running all over the place. I get photo's of dogs with tracking collars, and the German Shepard in the photo. Was getting photos of a couple bull dogs, no colars. DNR is worried about the turkey population, they should be worried about loss of habitat.

 

[slow motion]

Sorry for the loss of your land you hunted on. Been through it a few times. You lose a little bit of yourself each time it happens.

 

[nickel back]

One day hunting will be in the past unless your super rich.....count on it

 

[ddd-shooter]

Habitat loss is the single greatest problem we face as hunters. Period.

Too bad we don't really do much about it as a group

 

[Boondocks]

It will be just fine here.It will always be fields and woods.It is plenty of good habitat over here by the river.

 

[Gator89]

One day hunting will be in the past unless your super rich.....count on it

Driven by the G factor.

 

[Blackston]

I will ALWAYS hunt as long as there is woods ( I’ve been an outlaw before )

 

[ddd-shooter]

I will ALWAYS hunt as long as there is woods ( I’ve been an outlaw before )

That's the problem. Woods.
And we don't live in a vacuum. Your neighbors selling their woods matter to your critters, and their neighbors and so on...

 

[Son]

Old property owners pass on, their land is divided and sold. That's what has happened around us the last ten years. Many family members who get some of the land, don't care about keeping it. They want the money. Only thing saving our hunt club is the timber co. They have planted, thinned, clear cut in parcels and replanted. They have worried me though, our property has changed timber companies about five times since I've had it. Our property is sometimes flooded, then sometimes it's dry as a bone. There's no happy in between

 

[chrislibby88]

Sounds like my land. Me (and my wife’s family) own some woods and old fields that are overgrown surrounded by houses, large ag fields, and roads. There are “rivers” of woods that run through the fields and behind the houses and along the hwys. We have tons of deer. The deer will be fine in the broken habitat, they thrive with the edges, thick wood lots, and green ag fields. Unfortunately this is terrible turkey habitat. We have a few birds hanging on, but not enough to responsibly hunt.
I use public land for turkey hunting, and supplemental deer hunting so I don’t overhunt, or over sit, my land.

 

[bfriendly]

Son it ain’t just Early and Miller counties. The counties that haven’t been divided or going thru similar changes are few and far in between. I’ve seen WMA Borders change over the last few years……some increase and some decrease, but changes are on the way. As a total public land hunter, I’ve seen my own adventure change direction several times. We all adapt wether or not we want to.

 

[300 ultra mag]

Carroll county is the same way. The county’s property taxes have got so high that almost all of the timber companies land has been sold to developers. They tax all the larger tracts of land so much that nobody can afford it. They started taxing me for atv trails on my raw land, saying that it was site improvement.

 

[Gbr5pb]

Cherokee too! No one can afford to pay taxes on larger tracts anything big enough for hunting will be divided and sold to developers

 

[gma1320]

Carroll county is the same way. The county’s property taxes have got so high that almost all of the timber companies land has been sold to developers. They tax all the larger tracts of land so much that nobody can afford it. They started taxing me for atv trails on my raw land, saying that it was site improvement.

Douglas has gotten to be terrible as well. All my family land has been sold due to the outrageous property taxes. The wife and I were looking in to Carroll or Heard county but I'm under the impression that that is going to be a no go at this point as well.

 

[Nicodemus]

Between the Hooch River Swamp and Big Pond, there will always be good hunting in Early County .

 

[furtaker]

Between the Hooch River Swamp and Big Pond, there will always be good hunting in Early County .

Nic, who is in your avatar?

 

[Nicodemus]

Nic, who is in your avatar?

That is my Uncle William Davis. Taken during the War, and I`m trying to find out if he survived. From what I know so far, he wasn`t anybody to fool with.

 

[300 ultra mag]

Douglas has gotten to be terrible as well. All my family land has been sold due to the outrageous property taxes. The wife and I were looking in to Carroll or Heard county but I'm under the impression that that is going to be a no go at this point as well.

If I was you I would be looking in Alabama that’s where I’m looking for land at now. I had thought about heard county but all the development from Carroll and Coweta county is headed that way.

 

[reflexman]

South east alabama has tons of land ngood hunting just stay away from dothan its a big town now.

 

[gma1320]

If I was you I would be looking in Alabama that’s where I’m looking for land at now. I had thought about heard county but all the development from Carroll and Coweta county is headed that way.

Yes sir that is the plan