Mountain hunting

[basshappy]

NW GA (Lookout Mountain area) has a lot of deer in my opinion. I have seen plenty of bucks, does, and fawns the past 5 years.

 

[GSPEED]

It's not just North Georgia.

That’s about as good as I’ve heard it put and it’s exactly what’s happening here.

 

[Unicoidawg]

Speaking of the pigs, anybody found any this fall? Only had a couple on camera and found the least amount I can ever remember. They seem to have disappeared last winter. Figured maybe they migrated out. Usually these oak flats and ridges are covered with pigs on the good acorn years.

I rode up to Blairsville today and the grassy spots up 129 above Turners Corner are rooted up pretty bad from hogs. I'd imagine Boggs Creek and the surrounding area has some in the area. I hope somebody kills them all......

 

[C.Killmaster]

They don’t cater more strongly to the tree huggers. The tree huggers just yell louder, and show up/write in on open comment periods to a much greater degree than hunters. WE need to do better. Every DNR employee I’ve spoken with in the mountains wishes they could be turned loose to better manage the land.

You just hit the nail on the head. They get their way because they are organized and persistent and they show up in force to every FEDERAL public meeting or comment period. All the folks that only come to DNR public meetings are preaching to the choir.

 

[HuntingFool]

Stephens County is the same. Deer population has continued to decline every year around here. It is not just deer, it is turkey also. You could ride backroads and see deer and turkey in fields all the time around here. Now I never see either one.

 

[livinoutdoors]

It is a shame tree huggers that lean strongly towards one particular political party get more consideration with the federal government than conservationists. There needs to be logging in the mountains. Many of the wmas are owned by the federal government which caves to tree hugging bunny lovers. These are the same people that don't want any plant or animal harmed. They are too stupid too realize that is exactly what they are doing. There should be areas where old grove trees are left and trees are cut in others creating a different succession in habitat.

These are the people we should be reaching out to, as many are just misguided and would be a conservation ally if better educated. They want the same thing we want they just dont know how to get there.

 

[C.Killmaster]

These are the people we should be reaching out to, as many are just misguided and would be a conservation ally if better educated. They want the same thing we want they just dont know how to get there.

This is absolutely right. A lot of folks that financially support the tree hugger groups really mean well, but are being sold a bunch of bull. The term "wilderness" sounds great to the average person, but what they don't realize is that it's a habitat death sentence in fragmented landscapes like north GA where wild fires really can't develop the habitat like they would have historically.

 

[NCHillbilly]

This is absolutely right. A lot of folks that financially support the tree hugger groups really mean well, but are being sold a bunch of bull. The term "wilderness" sounds great to the average person, but what they don't realize is that it's a habitat death sentence in fragmented landscapes like north GA where wild fires really can't develop the habitat like they would have historically.

I think most people also completely discount the hundreds or thousands of years of sometimes intensive land management that the Native Americans practiced to manage the land for game. If you read accounts from early European explorers, the pre-Columbian southeast was far from a “wilderness.”

 

[Glenn]

In 2017 while living in North Georgia I read the same thing about the lack of deer and any deer sign for that matter. I decided to go look for myself on a couple “Mountain” WMAs.

Once I hiked in 3-4 miles and then straight up to a saddle in the 3,500-3,900 ft range I was blown away with the deer sign. Came close on the first day in shooting a huge 6 point.

I still think about those spots I found and wonder if they still hold deer. Just don’t know if I could get my North Florida legs back up there.

 

[GSPEED]

Social does blow up some areas temporarily but that isn’t the issue. The main problem is habitat. The National Forest is under federal control, and they don’t do timber work. No logging, no thinning, no controlled burns. The DNR throws up a forestry management proposal almost every regulation cycle but environmental idiots always apply enough pressure to neuter those plans. There is no early successional forest habitat.

I’m just giving my options here not trying to start an argument. Even if the Forest service aloud logging again no one bid on because of timber prices and its too much time and work to get the timber out here in the mountains. Can only speak of where I’m at which is Rabun but I see th Forest service doing controlled burns every spring and some of the places look good and there’s still not a track anywhere. Everyone acts like there was a clearcut around every curve of the road years ago but that’s not how it was, now yes we had clearcuts and some were pretty big and some small but we’ve never had great habitat and never will. But even back in the 70’s you could see way more deer sign than you will now even though if you look at population count back then it was supposed to be a lot lower. You’re correct in saying that the DNR doesn’t have control over forest management but they do have control over regulations since they stopped doe days .

No one will say we have plenty of deer in the high mountain areas. No one.

Some of those counties have small pockets of highly dense deer populations around the settlement. Though still not as many as we used to.

We need better habitat

That’s because you can bait on private property. I live a mile out of town here since the mid 70’s and in the last 15 years or so we see deer that before we never seen any.

Yes but dnr decided to give the private land more doe days. We needed that about as much as we need Joe Biden as president. Last year with zero acorns alot of the deer came down off the big mountains to adjacent private. It appeared there was a ton of deer. Fast forward to this year thankfully we have a great acorn crop high to low so they are spread out and folks will complain again and say there are no deer. Hopefully the good acorn crop will keep the deer off the private lands and not to many does will be taken.

Starting to see more deer here In Rabun but they are all either on private or right next to it. To your point if we got better habitat the DNR would just open up doe days again. Then we would be right back where we’re at now.

Also the coyote boom.
Also the black bear boom.
Also extended doe days.

Better habitat would help with all of those

This with with extending deer season though December,crossbows in archery season, too many tags,baiting,habitat. Deer don’t have a chance.

They don’t cater more strongly to the tree huggers. The tree huggers just yell louder, and show up/write in on open comment periods to a much greater degree than hunters. WE need to do better. Every DNR employee I’ve spoken with in the mountains wishes they could be turned loose to better manage the land.

The DNR had a public meeting here in Rabun earlier this year about regulations changes and we only found about it a few days before the meeting. That’s intentional. They can send me emails several times a year to remind me to renew my license but not anything about these meetings. I agree 100% that we need to do more but don’t have any ideal how to get people organized to do anything. If anyone has a way to start let me know and I’ll do whatever I can to help. I’m sure individuals at the DNR wants to help but as an organization they aren’t doing anything. Next year the DNR will have there meeting for there 10 year plan so if we want any say so we had better get organized somehow. Another 10 years of what we have now will put a stop to public hunting as a lot of us are aging out and younger hunters that are going to hunt have money now a days and will pay for leases or go on trips to Midwest.

Stephens County is the same. Deer population has continued to decline every year around here. It is not just deer, it is turkey also. You could ride backroads and see deer and turkey in fields all the time around here. Now I never see either one.

I don’t remember the exact number of deer checked in Stephens last year but I think it just over 400 so the Dnr added 22 doe days and if I understand correctly they payed the Hunting Public to come to Lake Russell to promote Georgia public hunting.

It's not just North Georgia.

This says it about as good as possible. The Forest service,DNR and state legislation with the insurance companies have no interest in hunting or hunters as we’re only 4% of the population. They are slowly taking our rights a little at a time. I have a grandson that is 10 another that’s 2 and another on the way that’s not going to hunt because of the way our public land is being managed. Public hunting land has become like public restrooms.

 

[TonyP62]

GSpeed yeah that Hunting Public crap didnt impress me. You are correct though too many variables today and hunters are slowly going away. I will still hunt the mountains because i enjoy the scenery. Got drwan for Ft Yargo hunt next week so maybe i can put a couple in the freezer.

 

[GSPEED]

GSpeed yeah that Hunting Public crap didnt impress me. You are correct though too many variables today and hunters are slowly going away. I will still hunt the mountains because i enjoy the scenery. Got drwan for Ft Yargo hunt next week so maybe i can put a couple in the freezer.

Good luck