Archery Deer Season Starts Saturday

Hunters utilizing archery equipment will get the first opportunity at bringing home a deer beginning this Saturday, Sept. 9, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division. Last year, 139,043 archery hunters harvested just over 50,000 deer. Statewide, hunters can use archery equipment throughout the entire 2017-2018 deer season. 

All hunters must report their deer harvest through Georgia Game Check, including hunters under 16 years of age, landowners, honorary, lifetime, and sportsman license holders. Hunters will need to obtain a free deer harvest record each season.  Before moving a harvested deer, hunters are required to immediately enter the date and county on the harvest record, and within 72 hours, must complete the reporting process through Georgia Game Check , OR hunters can go “paperless” and report through the free Go Outdoors GA app (you can report through the app even with no connection. Once your phone gets a signal, it will automatically sync your information).

State-managed public hunting lands are funded through a combination of state license fees and matching federal funds from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Wildlife Restoration Program.  Hunters account for $977 million in retail sales in Georgia each year with a $1.6 billion ripple effect and almost 24,000 jobs.

Many public lands offer specialty deer hunts, including primitive weapons hunts, adult/child hunts and ladies-only hunts. Dates and locations for these hunts are listed in the 2017-2018 Georgia Hunting Seasons and Regulations guide. Georgia offers more than 100 state-operated wildlife management areas for the public’s use.

To pursue deer in Georgia, hunters must have a valid hunting license and a big game license. Licenses can be purchased online, by phone at 1-800-366-2661 or at a license agent