Georgia’s week-long primitive weapons deer hunting season opens Oct. 15. More than 45,500 hunters took to the woods in 2015 with primitive weapons, bringing in over 9,000 deer.
During primitive weapons season, hunters may use archery equipment, muzzleloading shotguns 20 gauge and larger, and muzzleloading firearms.44 caliber or larger. Youth under 16 years of age may hunt deer with any legal deer firearm, including during any wildlife management area primitive weapons hunts.
“The primitive weapons season is a great opportunity for an early deer before the pressure of rifle season hits,” said Charlie Killmaster, state deer biologist. “All deer hunters need to be aware of the Georgia Game Check mandatory harvest reporting system, a valuable data collection tool that is new this season. Although every deer must be reported within 72 hours of harvest, those taken to a processor must be reported in advance with the confirmation number provided to the processor.”
While deer hunters have utilized a deer harvest record in the past (to record the date and county of kill), beginning this deer season, all hunters on both public and private lands must record their deer on the harvest record AND report their harvest using Georgia Game Check.
All deer must be reported within 72 hours of harvest. Deer taken to processors/coolers must be reported before the deer can be left at the place of business. Harvest record information is available online.
More than one million acres of public hunting land is available to hunters in Georgia, including more than 100 state-operated wildlife management areas.
Many areas offer special hunts throughout the season, including primitive weapons hunts. Dates and locations for hunts are available in the Georgia Hunting Seasons and Regulations guide.
Find the new, either sex interactive map by clicking here.
The season bag limit is 10 antlerless deer and two antlered deer; one of the antlered deer must have at least four points, one inch or longer, on one side of the antlers. Special regulations apply to archery-only counties and extended archery season areas.
All deer hunters, including archers, are required to wear a minimum of 500 square inches of daylight fluorescent orange above the waist during primitive weapons season. Scopes and other optical sighting devices are legal for muzzleloading firearms and archery equipment.
In Georgia, hunters must have a valid hunting license, a big game license and a current deer harvest record. If hunting on a WMA, a WMA license is required. Licenses can be purchased online.