Georgia’s Deer Firearm Season Opens October 18
Georgia’s 2025-2026 deer firearm season begins Saturday, October 18, allowing licensed hunters to harvest deer with approved firearms.
The season for most counties runs through January 11, 2026, offering hunters a defined window for safe and regulated harvests.
Legal Firearms and Harvest Regulations
Hunters may use centerfire firearms chambered for .22 caliber or larger expanding bullets. Additionally, weapons permitted during the state’s primitive hunting season remain legal throughout the firearm season.
State regulations permit hunters to take up to 10 antlerless deer but no more than two antlered bucks per hunter.
- Of the two antlered deer, at least one must have either:
- Four or more points at least one inch long on one antler side, or
- A minimum outside antler spread of 15 inches
Licensing and Reporting Requirements
All hunters must hold a Georgia hunting license, a Big Game License, and carry a current deer harvest record.
Deer harvested must be reported within 24 hours via the Georgia Game Check system, available through the Outdoors GA app or by phone at 1-800-366-2661.
Safety and Regulations Advisory
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) urges hunters to consult the updated 2025-2026 hunting and fishing regulations guidebook before heading afield.
Despite hunting’s long-standing role in wildlife management, it carries inherent risks. Last season, eleven firearm-related hunting accidents were reported.
DNR recommends adherence to their four firearm safety principles known as ACTT:
- A – Always treat every firearm as if it is loaded
- C – Control the muzzle of the firearm at all times
- T – Target; be certain of the target and what lies beyond it
- T – Trigger; keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire
Population and Conservation Context
More than 200,000 hunters participated in Georgia’s 2024-2025 deer season, resulting in approximately 220,000 deer harvested.
Regulated hunting is critical for maintaining deer population health and mitigating damage to agriculture. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are a prolific species whose populations, if unmanaged, can lead to habitat degradation and crop loss.
The Hunters for the Hungry program also facilitates using harvested venison to aid food-insecure communities.
Chronic Wasting Disease Monitoring
Georgia maintains a Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management area in the southern part of the state, affecting Lanier, Lowndes, and Berrien counties.
Hunters are advised to have deer harvested in these counties tested for CWD before consumption, as the disease poses a significant threat to cervid populations and ecosystem stability.
Continuous monitoring helps contain CWD spread, protecting both wild and farmed deer herds in Georgia.
Additional reporting and sources from: Georgia’s deer firearm season starts on Oct. 18
