WMA regulations around Atlanta area?

[gobblestopper12]

I've been looking around at possibly hunting some WMA's around the north GA area (Atlanta) to try and snag a doe before the end of the season here in GA. I've been in ATL for about 3 years with no luck of finding a club that has availability. The past 3-4 years, I've had to get my hunting fix by traveling back down to my hometown in south GA, so I figured I would start getting familiar with some of the WMA's in the area, but had a few questions.

I have heard you can only use a rifle on certain days, but haven't found any concrete information on this, can someone clarify? Can anyone with a hunting license just register to hunt a certain period, or do you have to apply and be granted certain access? If anyone could point me in the right direction as to how the process works, I would be very grateful.

Sorry for the novice questions, I have only hunted small tracts of private land back home, so the WMA scene is a new experience for me. I just want to gather all the information I can before attenpting.

Thanks!

 

[Full Draw McGraw]

The answers to all of your questions can be found here:

Georgia Hunting Seasons & Rules

Official Georgia Hunting regulations. Season dates, license info, bag limits and more. Deer and Turkey Season info.

www.eregulations.com

 

[Wanderlust]

https://forum.gon.com/threads/beginner’s-guide-to-hunting-public-land.666602/

Great place to start.

 

[bfriendly]

The answers to all of your questions can be found here:

Georgia Hunting Seasons & Rules

Official Georgia Hunting regulations. Season dates, license info, bag limits and more. Deer and Turkey Season info.

www.eregulations.com

This^^^ No short ez answer as you have many options. I Get a regs magazine from Walmart and read through it every year. There are lots of different WMAs to hunt, but they all have different dates…..that’s where it gets confusing!
There is a hunt at Pinelog the 14-17 of December, it’s Buck only. Pinelog is one of the closer ones to the Atl so it gets hammered hard! killing a deer out there is just about a miracle, but like miracles, they do happen once in a while.
Ft Stewart is another popular option and I looked into it a few years back. I thought my head was gonna explode! Really confusing, but I know I’ll get it together and get there one day. I have heard lots of great hunting goes on there……it’s on my bucket list.
Everyone here would love to help, but you got some research to do! The magazine is so ez to follow and I get a few each year……one for the truck, the throne, living room etc..I read them cover to cover each year and and add dates to my calendar if I even think I might go. Good luck!

 

[gobblestopper12]

Thanks for all the great answers, this is exactly what I needed.

 

[C.Killmaster]

Redlands opens for the week after Christmas for either sex, BF Grant has a either sex (bucks have antler restrictions) primitive weapons hunt in a couple weeks, and Oconee National Forest Outside WMAs has 4 either sex days around Christmas and New Year's.

Read the general WMA regulations on pages 40 to 43 and then read the entire section for whichever WMA you want to hunt. Federal areas are grouped together towards the end of the book.

 

[Deerhunting123]

For a easy doe. Hit Allatoona WMA north of the lake. There is a bunch of awesome spots to easily put some meat in the freezer and usually not to hard to bag something. It’s my last ditch spot if my other bigger WMA’s fail for my wall hangers.

 

[Waddams]

I found the Georgia hunting regs to be quite confusing at first. The posts above that the answers to your questions are in the linked docs above are correct. It can be challenging to figure out exactly what that book says though.

I'd recommend to look at the Georgia DNR map here:
Interactive Hunting Map - this shows you where all the WMA's are. Some have better deer populations that others. Probably just search/sift GON threads or look at the game check results for this and past seasons to see success rates there and pick one or two where there's better deer hunting based on the numbers.

Then find that WMA's specific information in the regs and check it's open dates, weapons allowed, etc.

Lather, rinse, repeat until you find one or two WMA's with dates open for your weapon of choice that the numbers indicate has better deer hunting histories.

Don't limit yourself to North Georgia. Down around Redlands and near there, and then out towards Elbert County - there are good options mixed in, all within day trip range of Atlanta.

 

[Full Draw McGraw]

@gobblestopper12
If you can be a little more specific about which WMAs you're interested in, or even which part of town you're coming from, i'm sure someone on here has some knowledge to share.
Also, are you rifle only or is bow/ primitive an option?

 

[gobblestopper12]

@gobblestopper12
If you can be a little more specific about which WMAs you're interested in, or even which part of town you're coming from, i'm sure someone on here has some knowledge to share.
Also, are you rifle only or is bow/ primitive an option?

I have looked at McGraw Ford, Clybel, Sheffield, and Allatoona. I live in Sandy Springs just north of the Buckhead area so they are all about 45 min to 1 hour away from my house. I would honestly prefer bow only, but would still entertain rifle only or mixed.

Per the eReg's guide, I see that McGraw Ford is archery only from Sep 10-Jan 1. If I wanted to try and take a doe this Saturday, would the most proper way to go about it be that I would show up around 1 PM, scout around a bit, and then pick a tree to hunt that afternoon? Or should I try to use On X the best that I can to scout a spot or two out, then roll with it,? If anyone has hunted here before, I would be grateful for some insight as to how to pin-in process works. I tried to call all four WMA's this afternoon, but it sends me straight to voicemail saying that their office is closed. I would assume I arrive at the sign-in kiosk, pin-in, and go hunt?

I also don't want to step on any feet on the active hunters out there, but this would be the first time I set eyes on the tract and the first time I've hunted a WMA in North GA.

Me and my dad would hunt turkeys occasionally at Ft. Stewart when I was younger, and I do remember that process being pretty stringent as far as gaining access to a piece of land and having a firearm. IIRC, I had to get a specific Ft Stewart license, as well as register my firearm with them in order to bring it onto base. Just wondering if other WMA's require certain different things as such that are out of the ordinary that I am overseeing.

Thanks for all of the replies guys!

 

[Waddams]

Clybel is only open for specific deer hunts and I think they're all over until next season? Small game still has dates left I think, can wander around, scout it out, and it's got hogs you can take with small game weapons.

McGraw looks like it's archery only, open until Jan 1. I've never hunted there. Have no familiarity with it.

Sheffield same as McGraw.

Allatoona regs say it's open for firearms until Jan 1.

You'd need to check the statewide regs to see the dates for each for when it's buck only, either sex, antler restrictions if any, etc.

 

[Full Draw McGraw]

I20, east of downtown has a couple of good options open for either sex hunting until the end of season too. Oconee and Cedar Creek Little River Area are both open until 1/8, archery only, and have good populations. They're probably a bit further away from you than Sheffield though.

 

[Milkman]

Also start applying for WMA and State Park quota hunt points every year.

 

[35 Whelen]

When hunting a WMA do not go by statewide regulations. Read, then re-read the regulations for that specific WMA.

 

[Sixes]

Going in blindly, you would have a lot better chance on Allatoona with a rifle than you will on McGraw Ford with a bow unless you are some sort of Fred Bear or Tim Wells.

Bowhunting late season is a tough go

 

[dusty200001]

The answers to all of your questions can be found here:

Georgia Hunting Seasons & Rules

Official Georgia Hunting regulations. Season dates, license info, bag limits and more. Deer and Turkey Season info.

www.eregulations.com

This is a fact

 

[sb1010]

Paulding Forest has hunt this weekend. The last day Sunday is either sex.
Dec 8 - Dec 11

Just edited last day is Dec 11 Sunday

 

[shootemall]

You can check in/ sign in online, otherwise you have to drive to the kiosk and sign in there on a clip board. I prefer online because sometimes the kiosk is out of the way.

You mentioned your calls went to voice mail. I hope you left messages. The DNR has been good about returning calls, and finding the right person if the person responding doesn't know the answer.

The WMAs are a great resource, but know that they are crowded, and if you walk in on someone, you should try to move to the next ridge etc. Not everybody will extend this courtesy, but relocating has helped me find honey holes I would have otherwise missed. Don't block gates, and the secret to never leaving the woods empty handed... is bring some litter out with you, it's always there. Good luck, post pics when you get one!

 

[Waddams]

The WMAs are a great resource, but know that they are crowded, and if you walk in on someone, you should try to move to the next ridge etc.

Slight off topic - I hunted public land for about 5 or 6 years from the time I started hunting until I got my first public land deer, which was this year. I rarely ran into other people though. Maybe that was part of the problem, I was hunting in spots deer didn't like and hunters smarter than me already knew it, LOL!

Going during the work week if you can helps. Getting a little farther out from Atlanta helps. Look up the WMA maps, finding parking, edge habitat on aerials, examining topo for attractive topo features, historical aerials for hardwood vs. pine areas - do all that before you go but have 3 or 4 spots located to go scout for recent sign before you set up. Getting there and not having an idea of where to start heading will lead to a lot of time wasted in the woods in the wrong spots (aka - don't do what i did when i started!). If you don't find sign, keep scouting instead. It also helps to have multiple spots in case one is occupied, you have backups ready to go.

 

[RamblinWreck88]

1. Download the rule book as already posted

2. Use the interactive map already posted to find all hunting opportunities/public land within whatever range you define and write these down.

3. From this list, look up every single piece of public land in the rule book to see if they have an open season upcoming. Put these into two categories: 1. This year, 2. Next year.

4. Dig deep on the ones that still have an opportunity for you to hunt:
a. Search the property you're interested in on these forums to get some insight, but don't expect to get any spots this way
b. E-Scout to look for terrain features, edge habitat (lots of info on these forums about what to look for)
c. Look up the USFS road access maps to get the full story on access points to the spots you want to check out.

5. Scout all the spots you can. Note where you will sit/hang a stand, as well as how you will get there. Have several backups.

6. Be there, be still, be quiet.

It's a simple process, but the hard work is all on you. No matter what, you will learn a lot. Best of luck to you.