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Georgia

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Georgia County Finder

Answer six questions and get Georgia counties ranked by habitat fit, 2026–27 season dates, public land and Georgia Game Check harvest.

How the Georgia finder works

Georgia hunters report every deer and turkey through Game Check, and the Wildlife Resources Division maps the results by county. This tool scores all 159 counties using deer harvest from 2021–2025, spring turkey from 2022–2026, black bear from WRD's harvest summaries, USGS land-cover and elevation data, and the share of public land such as WMAs and the Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forests.

Season fit uses the 2026–27 Georgia regulations: archery, primitive weapons and firearms deer (archery-only, extended archery and southwest late counties), spring turkey, and the Northern, Central and Southern bear zones.

Species covered

  • White-tailed deer
  • Black bear
  • Wild turkey

Upland birds (ranked by county)

  • Forest grouse
  • Quail

Waterfowl and migratory birds (ranked by county)

  • Ducks
  • Canada and dark geese
  • Snow and Ross's geese
  • Mourning dove
  • American woodcock

About every species on the species page →

Data sources

  • Georgia DNR WRD deer harvest dashboard (Game Check, by county)
  • Georgia DNR WRD turkey harvest dashboard (Game Check gobblers, by county)
  • WRD North Georgia black bear harvest summaries 2024–2025; Central and Southern zone totals split by county area
  • https://www.eregulations.com/georgia/hunting
  • USGS PAD-US 3.0 (Fee); NPS parks and monuments excluded
  • USGS NLCD 2021 Land Cover (250 m resample)
  • USGS 3DEP elevation service

Georgia hunting FAQ

When does Georgia's 2026 deer firearms season open?

Oct. 17, 2026, running to Jan. 10, 2027 (Jan. 15 in seven southwest counties). Archery opens Sept. 12 and primitive weapons runs Oct. 10–16.

Which Georgia counties have the most deer?

Hancock, Burke, Wilkes, Meriwether and Laurens counties lead the Game Check harvest. Pick white-tailed deer to rank every county.

Where can I hunt bears in Georgia?

In the Northern Zone (the mountains and north Georgia), a one-day Central Zone hunt around Oaky Woods, and Southern Zone hunts near the Okefenokee, where dogs are allowed in most counties.

Georgia harvest leaders

The counties with the highest average reported harvest for each species. High totals often reflect large areas and many hunters; the tool above also weighs harvest per square mile, hunter success, habitat and access.

White-tailed deer (2021–2025 average)

  1. Hancock County: 3,446 per year
  2. Burke County: 3,226 per year
  3. Wilkes County: 3,157 per year
  4. Meriwether County: 3,029 per year
  5. Laurens County: 2,988 per year

Black bear (2024–2025 average)

  1. Murray County: 60 per year
  2. Gilmer County: 52 per year
  3. Lumpkin County: 50 per year
  4. White County: 49 per year
  5. Rabun County: 32 per year

Wild turkey (2022–2026 average)

  1. Floyd County: 283 per year
  2. Polk County: 246 per year
  3. Burke County: 228 per year
  4. Bartow County: 227 per year
  5. Hancock County: 196 per year

Ducks (USFWS 10-year average)

  1. McIntosh County: 14,146 per year
  2. White County: 5,618 per year
  3. Walton County: 5,588 per year
  4. Hart County: 5,113 per year
  5. Coweta County: 5,000 per year

Canada and dark geese (USFWS 10-year average)

  1. White County: 13,952 per year
  2. Hall County: 4,764 per year
  3. Colquitt County: 2,269 per year
  4. Walton County: 1,399 per year
  5. Forsyth County: 1,372 per year