Small Town News

Monroe Co. great for archery deer hunters

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Monroe County Outdoors

If you enjoy hunting deer with a bow and arrow, there is no better place to live than Monroe County. Sportsmen and women that reside here can enjoy one of the longest archery deer seasons in the country and most liberal bag limits found anywhere in the country. If that isn't enough, hunters can hunt thousands of acres of public lands located with easy driving distance of their homes.

The statewide Archery Deer Season runs from Sept. 11 - Oct. 8. However, in the Peach State, archers can hunt deer throughout both the Primitive Weapons and Firearms Deer Seasons. With the Firearms Deer Season closing on New Year's Day, that provides local archery enthusiasts with more than two-and-a-half months of deer hunting opportunities.

On top of that, you can legally bag a dozen deer this season. That's right 12 deer. Only two of these deer can sport four points on one antler. A point is considered to be a projection that is at least an inch long.

If you are lucky enough to bag that many, you might need to buy an additional freezer to hold all of the delicious venison you and your family will be enjoying in the coming months.

As the population of Monroe County and the rest of the state continues to grow, hundreds of acres of prime deer habitat is being converted to homes. As a result, hunters are finding it increasing more difficult to find places to hunt. However, Monroe County hunters are blessed with the fact that there is an abundance of public hunting lands situated with less than an hour drive of their home.

To begin here in the county we have our own Rum Creek Wildlife Management Area. One section of the WMA is set aside strictly for archery hunting. This tract has been named the Berry Creek Archery Area. On this wooded tract located north and east of Plant Scherer archers can hunt deer from Sept. 11 all to way to Jan. 1. Before hunting this area, however, you need to sign in at the Rum Creek WMA Checking Station. While there pick up a map. Georgia Power has constructed a new ash pond in the southwest corner of the property. This necessitated a change in the boundary of the Berry Creek Archery Area.

The main portion of the Rum Creek WMA will be open for Archery Hunting Sept. 11-28 and Oct. 3 - 6. Hunters are also required to sign in before hunting this area.

The Rum Creek WMA is but one of 111 state wildlife management areas scattered across the state. Most of these areas offer archery deer hunts. All it takes to hunt these lands is a valid $19 Wildlife Management Area License. This is a pretty good bargain when you consider that this license gives you a pass to roughly a million acres of hunting lands.

Another one of these areas is the Big Lazer Creek WMA. Located just south of Thomaston in Talbot County, this beautiful 7, 200-acre WMA offers prime deer hunting. The archery hunting dates for Big Lazer are Sept. 11 - Oct. 8.

Thousands of acres of federal lands are also available to archers. You won't need a Wildlife Management Area License to hunt these lands. Across the Ocmulgee River close to East Juliette archery hunters can hunt the sprawling Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge from Sept. 11 - Oct. 3. Before embarking on a hunting trip to the refuge, make it a point to call the refuge headquarters at 478-956-5441 for all of the requirements to hunt there.

The U.S. Forest Service has also opened the Oconee National Forest for archery deer hunting. The lands closest to Monroe County border Georgia Highway 83 in Jasper County. The dates of this hunt are Sept. 11 - Oct. 8. Call 706-485-1776 for details.

For a complete listing of all federal and state lands where archery hunts are offered this season, pick up the 2010 edition of the free Georgia Hunting Seasons and Regulations Guide at your local license dealer. You can also view the guide online by visiting the Wildlife Resources website at www.gohuntgeorgia.com.

Terry Johnson j, s the retired Program Manager of the Georgia Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program. He is currently Executive Director of TERN (The Nongame Wildlife Section's Friends Group) and conducts wildlife research and survey projects, presents programs and writes about wildlife. Email him at TJWoodDuck@aol.com.



Copyright 2010 The Monroe County Reporter, Forsyth, Georgia. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2011 The Monroe County Reporter Forsyth, Georgia. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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