WMA Question!!

HuntinJake_23

Senior Member
Had a buddy talk with DNR about hunting hogs when small game is in season and deer hunting is closed on WMA’s. The officer told him that if you carry a 22 mag for small game and hogs during small game season then you have to walk around with it unloaded until you sit down then you can load it, but once you get up again you gotta unload it. He said once you encounter a hog you can load your gun.

Any truth to this? I’ve been hunting WMAs my whole life and have never heard such. I know you can’t have a loaded gun on the roads and have to get a certain distance off the road before you can shoot?
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
I have never heard of any such. That sounds like untrue foolishness, but I'm not a DNR officer.
 

sb1010

Senior Member
It's not listed under unlawful activities on a WMA page 44 Georgia Hunting regulations 2019-2020
 

Dbender

Senior Member
As long as you are a legal distance from an open road you can walk with it loaded. Plenty of time to load a gun after you see a hog though.
 

deerpoacher1970

Senior Member
That's crazy,Georgia needs to pass a law like Tennessee you can haul your gun loaded in truck if you want to and if I ain't mistaken North Carolina has the same law.
 

aztecrider

Senior Member
Seems to me that approach would negate the ability to hunt for the small game while walking around after getting 50 yards from the road. I guess you could call the DNR and double check for the WMA in question.
 

Dbender

Senior Member
2wd
On wma you have to be 50 yds from an open road to hunt, that sounds a little crazy
What's crazy about that?
Some of these opinions are prime examples of why there are so many rules on wmas. I think the dnr should really revisit what calibers/weapons are acceptable for small game on wmas. Walking around with a 50 cal muzzleloader ready to blast anything, and simultaneously praying you don't get attacked by hog zilla while I'm sq hunting is a little unnerving.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
That's crazy,Georgia needs to pass a law like Tennessee you can haul your gun loaded in truck if you want to and if I ain't mistaken North Carolina has the same law.
No restrictions in NC that I know of, except on bear sanctuaries. In SC, your gun has to be unloaded and in a case while driving through a WMA. Don't ask me how I know that.
 

trad bow

wooden stick slinging driveler
I think maybe your buddy didn’t understand what the officer said. But just being a ranger or officer doesn’t mean they understand the law. Contact DNR for clarification.
 

Mr Bya Lungshot

BANNED LUNATIC FRINGE
Some Dnr hunt and eat pork too.
Some plant plots to be advantageous only to themselves but on public land by locking certain gates and opening others.

Some hunters camp right in the best hunting honeyhole and play the radio loud all night.
Sometimes you just gotta hunt and wait for it to go your way.
I am the latter sometimes.:huh:
Read the rules and don’t ask.
 

C.Killmaster

Georgia Deer Biologist
I would like to expand on that and say you cannot have a loaded rifle within 50 yds of roadway but you can have a loaded pistol in your vehicle and within the 50 yd limit if you have a valid CC permit.

I've always practiced walking 50 yds from the road before loading my rifle and vice-versa on the way back but I'm always carrying a loaded sidearm regardless of distance as long as I don't fire that sidearm within the 50 yd range. Please correct me if I'm wrong, thank you.

The law says you may not discharge a firearm within 50 yards of a road, it doesn't say you may not hunt within 50 yards of a road. You can have it loaded walking in, you just can't shoot it. Page 16 under unlawful activities in the regulations.
 

mtcur

Member
How about the guy that shoot the bear decoy on Cohutta a few years ago. The DNR gave him a ticket for hunting from the road because he saw the bear from the road.

(the 3 GWs talked it over and said he was going to give me 2 warning tickets. 1 for not enough orange, i had bought the orange at walmart, 2 for( hunting from the road) because i had saw the bear from truck he said it was pursing game with a vehicle. never heard of it. i thought i was legal. i am glad they were)
 

NGA44

Member
The law says you may not discharge a firearm within 50 yards of a road, it doesn't say you may not hunt within 50 yards of a road. You can have it loaded walking in, you just can't shoot it. Page 16 under unlawful activities in the regulations.

This is incorrect. Was hunting with 2 friends earlier this year and they were both ticketed for having loaded guns 15 yards off the road in the woods. They were actually unloading their guns when they were spotted. Hunting an unfamiliar WMA and didn’t realize they had walked far enough to hit another road until they were those 15 yards away from it. The WMA regs don’t agree with your statement.
 

C.Killmaster

Georgia Deer Biologist
Am I reading this wrong? Just to clarify, we are talking WMA's...
Unlawful Activities on WMAs
  • Man-drives during deer hunts. A man-drive is defined as an organized hunting technique involving three (3) or more hunters using a coordinated effort to drive deer or feral swine from cover to another hunter for the purpose of shooting.
  • Placing bait or wildlife food and hunting any game species or feral hog over bait.
  • Target practicing, except on an authorized shooting range.
  • Driving a vehicle around any gate, sign, earth berm, or similar device intended to prevent vehicular access.
  • Hunting within 50 yards of any road opened for vehicular access. (Possession of a loaded firearm within 50 yards of a road opened for vehicular access is considered hunting.)
  • Hunting within a posted safety zone or no hunting zone.
  • Consuming alcohol except at designated camp sites (this regulation does not apply on National Forest Lands).
  • Camping or operating a motor vehicle upon any permanent wildlife opening.
  • Using motor vehicles, signage, flagging tape, or any other method(s) to close or restrict access to roads, trails or any other access features.
  • Using metal detectors or collecting artifacts.
  • Using paintball equipment (this regulation does not apply on National Forest Lands).
  • Trapping except that special permits may be issued for certain WMAs.
  • Possessing alcohol while hunting on National Forest lands.
  • Possessing a cocked crossbow in a motor vehicle.
  • Possessing a firearm during a closed hunting season for an area, except on designated shooting ranges, unless such a firearm is unloaded and stored in a motor vehicle so as to not be readily accessible, except that any person possessing a Weapons Carry License that is valid in this state pursuant to OCGA §§ 16-11-126(f) or 16-11-129 may carry such firearm subject to the limitations of OCGA §§ 16-11-126 and 16-11-127, except where prohibited by federal law.
  • Possessing a loaded firearm (a gun is considered loaded if a shell is in the chamber or magazine, a percussion cap is on the nipple, or powder is present on the frizzen pan) in a motor vehicle, except that any person possessing a Weapons Carry License that is valid in this state pursuant to OCGA §§ 16-11-126(f) or 16-11-129 may carry such firearm subject to the limitations of OCGA §§ 16-11-126 and 16-11-127, except where prohibited by federal law.
  • A Weapons Carry License does not allow the holder to carry a loaded firearm, other than a handgun, in a motor vehicle on a WMA.
  • Hunt any big game species, feral hogs, or coyotes with dogs unless otherwise specified.

You're right, I had forgotten that it was different on WMAs. This is a prime example of too many inconsistencies in our game laws, if I can't keep it straight how can the average hunter? Thanks for pointing this out!
 
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