Georgia Deer Season 2024 [All You Need To Know!]

Hunting is used to controlling the number of deer and keeps them below what the area can support, as well as to keep them from competing with other animals for food. With the revenue from hunting licenses and equipment sales, programs have been funded that focus on habitat restoration, population research, and hunter education. Here is a complete guide for this big game including dates, bag limits, regulations and more.

Georgia Deer Hunting Season

White-tailed quota hunts are conducted in particular regions of Georgia on specified weekends; these hunts may be available to all hunters or limited to those less than 16 years old. These hunts have quotas and require applicants to submit their information in advance. The hunting experience during a quota hunt may be superior since it is often conducted in remote locations.

Bag Limits in Georgia 

• With no antlers above the hairline are considered antlerless.

• Taken during a “Buck-only” hunt or season must have antlers protruding over the head hair.

Schedule by counties:

Find the complete list of deer season in Georgia by specific counties:

Dates for GA (Counties List-1):

Below is the list of counties for the above seasons’ dates.

Dates for GA (Counties List-2):

Note:

•       The minimum permissible antler size in the Georgia counties of Hancock, Harris, Meriwether, Montgomery, Randolph, Talbot, and Troup is 15 inches outside the pointers.

•       Antlered bucks in Dooly and Macon Counties must have a spread of at least 15 inches.

Below is the list of counties for the above seasons’ dates.

Dates for GA (Counties List-3):

Below is the list of counties for the above seasons’ dates.

Dates for (GA Counties List-4):

Below is the list of counties for the above seasons’ dates.

Dates for GA (Counties List-5):

Below is the list of counties for the above seasons’ dates.

Dates for GA (Counties List-6):

Below is the list of counties for the above seasons’ dates.

Extended Archery Season

Below is the list of counties for the above seasons’ dates:

Barrow, Bibb, Chatham, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Columbia, Decatur, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Muscogee, Paulding, Rockdale, and Seminole

Chattahoochee and Oconee Deer Schedule

License & Permits

• A valid Georgia hunting license is needed to go on a hunt.

• State hunting permits are available online, over the phone, and at various retail locations around the state.

• Visitors to the state of Georgia interested in hunting must first get a Non-Resident Hunting License.

• Both a big game additional license and a harvest record license are required for deer hunting (currently free).

• It’s possible to substitute a combination license for a standard hunting license.

• Be sure to read the fine print and find out if any restrictions or prerequisites apply, such as age limits or whether discounts are available for youth or the elderly.

• A Georgia hunting license cannot be obtained without completing a hunter education course by any hunter born after January 1, 1961.

• Courses provided by wildlife organizations in other states that educate hunters are recognized.

• Youth under 16 years old are not permitted to hunt without the presence of a licensed adult.

• After completing a Hunter Education course, youth between 12 to 16 may go hunting alone.

• Hunter education courses are available online and in-person, and Georgians may sign up for them at GoHuntGeorgia.com.

• Hunter education courses taken in other states may be accepted by Georgia for non-residents.

Harvesting & Tagging

• Harvested deer should be field dressed (gutted and cleaned) where it was killed.

• After capturing, the hunter must report it via the Go Outdoors GA app, online at GoOutdoorsGeorgia.com, or by contacting the designated phone number.

• Those without smartphones may check in within 24 hours via phone or online and write down their confirmation number to include with their harvest report.

• Label the deer with your name, the date, the county of harvest, the sex, and the check-in confirmation number if you want to give it to someone else. Use this tag as evidence that you legally harvested a deer and sent in the necessary paperwork.

Penalties associated

In the event of a violation of Georgia’s hunting restrictions, out-of-state hunters from other WVC member states may face the same penalties as Georgians.

A wide range of punishments may be imposed, from fines to prison time and even the loss of the right to hunt in other WVC countries.

For hunting violations in Georgia, you might face the following fines and penalties:

Note: This is not meant to be an entire list but a basic guide. Additional violations and associated punishments may exist but are not specifically mentioned here. Hunters who get in trouble for breaking the law should know and abide by all applicable restrictions.

Regulations

• Georgia allows bow and arrow and air gun deer hunting.

• Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, and Fulton counties in Georgia allow archery game with statewide bag limits.

• Barrow, Bibb, Chatham, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Columbia, Decatur, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Muscogee, Paulding, Rockdale, and Seminole have extended archery period. Statewide bag limits and other laws apply.

• In the Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forests, bow hunters must follow the same either-sex dates as gun hunters during firearms. National forests allow only antlered deer hunting.

• Bowhunting is allowed throughout primitive and firearm, except in archery-only counties and WMAs. Either sex may be taken during these seasons unless otherwise noted on WMAs. Bow-and-arrow hunters during primitive weapon and firearm must wear 500 square inches of fluorescent orange.

• Youth under 16 may use any legal rifle during the statewide primitive weapons deer season and in designated wildlife management areas (WMAs).

• Both antlerless and antlered deer are capped in a single shooting season, and one must have specified antler traits to be lawfully taken.

• In certain areas, antler-bearing bucks face tighter rules (Dooly, Macon, Hancock, Harris, Meriwether, Montgomery, Randolph, Talbot and Troup).

• A buck must have a 15-inch outside antler spread or four 1-inch points on each antler to comply.

• Must be reported to Georgia Game Check within 24 hours.

• “Buttons” and other antlerless deer may only be shot during the season. “Buck-only” shooting seasons and hunts target male deer with long antlers.

• Can’t remove their heads until they’ve been processed or stored.

• Transporting a deer taken by another hunter requires the hunter’s name, address, phone number, hunting license number, and Game Check confirmation number.

• When a whole or field-dressed deer is dropped off at a cold storage or meat-processing plant, the hunter’s name, date, county of harvest, and animal’s sex must be conspicuously marked. Game Check confirmation numbers are necessary.

• Can’t be taken from lakes, streams, or ponds.

• It’s unlawful to hunt from a transmission tower platform. Before hunting on power lines, gas lines, railroads, or other rights-of-way, get the landowner’s permission.

• Georgia hunters may only bring back skinned and boned deer meat, skins, antlers, skulls, teeth, and taxidermy from out-of-state. The deer’s body, except the head, should be left where it falls.

• Since 2002, the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division has monitored for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), but no instances have been discovered. The CDC doesn’t recommend screening deer for CWD before eating them. Call your local Game Management office to schedule a $40 CWD test. Leave at least four inches of the deer’s neck intact before removing the head.

• Hunters should field dress their deer on the same property where they were killed, return any undesirable corpse pieces (bones, skin, trims, etc.), or dispose of them like household rubbish to avoid infection.

• Hunters should only use synthetic or natural urine bearing the RHSA Deer Protection Program Checkmark.

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John Lewis

John Lewis, the passionate founder of HuntingSeasons.org, is committed to promoting responsible hunting and a profound love for the wilderness. With years of expertise, his platform serves as a reliable guide for hunting enthusiasts, advocating ethical practices and nature preservation.

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