Georgia game and fish [Vol. 4, no. 11 (Nov. 1969)]

VUL. 4, NU. 11 I NOVEMBER, 196 ~
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~GEORGIA
~GAME&FISH

November 1969

Volume IV

Number 9

CONTENTS

Hunting ... A Cruel Sport?

Charles Elliott 1

Forward Look For Turkeys Dean Wohlgemuth 4

Don't Say No to Doe Hunting!

Marvin Tye 8

Hunting Guide

Jim Morrison

Adjustment At Clark Hill Outdoor World . . Sportsmen Speak

Dean Wohlgemuth 12
14 15

Sportsman's Calendar

16

Tide Tables

17

Lester G. Maddox Governor
George T. Bagby Director. State Game & F1sh CommiSSion

COMMISSIONERS

James Darby Chairman
Vida Iia-lst District William Z. Camp, Sec. Newnan-6th District
Richard Tift Albany-2nd District
William E. Smith Americus-3rd District Charles L. Davidson, Jr. Avondale Estates-4th District

Clyde Dixon Vice Chairman Cleveland-9th District Rankin M. Smith Atlanta-5th District J. B. Langford Calhoun-7th District Judge Harley Langdale Valdosta-8th District Leonard Bassford Augusta-lOth District

Jimmie Williamson Darien-Coastal District

TECHNICAL SERVICES DIVISION
Jack A. Crockford, Assistant Director Leon Kirkland, Fisheries Chief
Hubert Handy, Game Management Chief

LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION Bill Cline
Deputy State Chief, Atlanta David Gould
Deputy State Chief, Brunswick
GEORGIA GAME & FISH STAFF
Jim Morrison, Editor
Dean Wohlgemuth Staff Writer
Marvin Tye, Staff Writer John Culler, Staff Writer
J. Hall, St aff Wr iter Ted Borg, Photog rapher

Georgo Gome ond Fish IS the official mon thl y magozine of the Georgia Gome ond F1sh Com m ission, published a t the Commi ss ion' s offices, Trinity . Woshington Building, 270 W oshington St., A t /o nto, G e o r gia 30334 . No odver liSing occepte:. Subscriptions ore Sl for one yeor or $2.50 for three yeors . Printed by Stein Printing Co mpony, At/onto, Go . Not i ficat ion of address change must include both old o nd new oddress ond ZIP code, w ith 30 doys notice. No subscription requests will be occe pte d w ithout ZIP code . Articles and photographs moy be reprinted. Proper credit should be given. Contribu l1ons ore welcome, but the editors o ssum e no res ponsibility or liobility for loss or domage of orticles, photograp hs, o r ill ustrotions . Se cond -closs postoge ,oad ot At/onto, Go.

Deer and Turkeys: Who Pays?
If you were asked how much it's worth to you to have the privilege of deer or turkey hunting in Georgia, what would your answer be?
If your answer is nothing, then chances are you aren't a deer or turkey hunter, and don't want to be one, so your answer is correct. By the same token, if you are not a big game hunter, you probably should not have to pay anything to support these activities of the State Game and Fish Commission-right?
No. You're wrong, and right, at the same time!
Stop and think about it. Just because you don't hunt big game now doesn't mean that you won't in the future, for a number of reasons. Maybe you don't hunt deer or turkeys now because there aren't any (or many) in the county where you live or hunt. Maybe you don't have access to privately owned lands with a huntable population of big game. Maybe quail or rabbit hunting hasn't declined enough yet from the encroachment of forests and thick brush where you hunt to discourage you enough to look for a more rewarding species to hunt with less frustration. Maybe you simply haven't ever tried deer or turkey hunting yet, and really don't know whether you'd like it or not.
If the philosophy was always followed by the State Game and Fish Commission of only spending as much money on a particular species as was put into the State Treasury by hunters who hunted that species or who wanted to, deer would probably still be extinct in Georgia. It's the principle of which comes first, the chicken or the egg, all over again. When there were no or few deer in most areas of Georgia, few hunters hunted them, or wanted to, with an abundance of easier quail hunting readily available at their fingertips. But when quail hunting began declining and deer became plentiful, thanks to the efforts of the State Game and Fish Commission working with the change in habitat brought on by the decline of agriculture and the rise of forest, many ex-quail hunters began switching to deer. For instance, there were probably only a thousand or so deer hunters left in Georgia by 1895 in only 20 counties, while the number jumped to 86,000 in 1962 and to 140,000 in 1967, concurrent with the resurgence of the deer population in all of Georgia's 159 counties to record levels.
But now that a successful restocking and management program has brought back interest in deer hunting to the number two spot in Georgia, ahead of quail and just behind squirrels, the question of whether deer hunters are paying their own way has become even more important.
In any county which has a deer population, wildlife rangers of necessity must spend more of their time than ever before protecting whitetails from game thieves who shoot deer from automobiles at night or who hunt them out of season or illegally with dogs. These problems increase in direct proportion to the numbers of the deer herd.
The presence of deer draws in many more hunters into a sparsely populated wooded county in a shorter period of time than is the case with any other species of wildlife. If the county is predominately privately owned land, additional problems arise for landowners, wildlife rangers, and other law enforcement officials caused by inconsiderate hunters who refuse to ask for permission to hunt, who may destroy private property, and who sometimes otherwise
Continued on page 6
ON THE COVER: One of Georgia's most elusive and beautiful ga~e species, the wild turkey. Gobblers display their "beard" of long st1ff black hairs hanging from their chest. With the purchase of Sape!o Island, Georgia's turkey management program should make th.e !'1g birds a major big game species within the next twenty years. Pamt1ng by Kent Pendleton. ON THE BACK COVER: The cause of the annual outbreak of buck fever in Georgia every November, the whitetail buck. This healthy heavyweight would be the prize of a lifetime for almost any hunter, but only a few will bag a trophy as big this month. Color photo by Ted Borg. PHOTO CREDITS: Ted Borg t. 5, 8, 9, 15r.; Charles Elliott 1, 2, 3; Jim Morrison t. c. 10i Bill Murphy I. 15; Stone Mountain Game Ranch b. 5; Dean Wohlgemuth b. 10, 12, 13, 14.

Recen tly, articles and editorials have appeared in some of the literature - and illiterature- of this country, advocating that legislation should be initiated to outlaw hunting and fishing on the basis that it is cruel, inhuman and violates all the laws of decency. It is murder, they say, to strike down a defenseless game bird or animal that can't strike back, or to knock a poor old bass or trout in the head after you first impale and exhaust it on that instrument of torture known as a hook. Naturally, the proponents of this philosophy are entitled to their own views. It may be possible that over the long haul, such a doctrine will come to pass as one of the facts of life. In this unhappy, mixed-up world, who can be sure of anything, anymore? What they say may or may not be true, but if the subject merits any discussion at all, we might point out one or two facts that perhaps the advocates of the no-kill-for-any-reason laws have overlooked. First off, at least in one respect humans are similar to wolves, tigers, cougars and coyotes. We are predators, and that means that we prey on the things we eat. This includes the domestic creatures- as poultry, cattle, sheep and pigs. We grow them for that purpose and then slaughter them for our daily ration of bacon and ham, mutton and lamb, steak, and a variety of meat products. When we do this, we are ending a life. If we pick a pea off the vine, or an ear of corn off its stalk, or a cucumber or tomato, we are in a sense, terminating its existence as such. It is logical that we harvest the surplus numbers of those things before they die naturally, or spoil or rot, saving only the seed that we may create a new surplus the next year. But forget the beans and potatoes: What would happen if we suddenly decided that to rob any creature of its existence is wrong and that we wiii no longer harvest the surplus of domestic stock? Cows in the pasture, sheep on the range, and the chickens, turkeys and pigs, turned out to fend for themselves, would do all right for a w;1ile. With abundant forage they would continue to multiply, and the over-population would soon eat itself out of house and home would eventually starve or become so weak that disease would wipe them out. Again- what would happen? Most of U'\ would soon find out that we do have ribs and that they show rather prominently with the skin so thin over them. Our hunger might lead some of us to become scavenge rs, like the jackal or the vulture. So for our own welfare and many other rea~om we must harvest the living things of the earth, including the game birds and animals.

The very wild, alert beauty of game species of birds and animals is a result of hunting, both by man and other animal predators. Even though most hunting today is for sport, wildlife adds millions of dollars of food to the diet of Americans.

Hunting JS one of man's grec1 test 1 y Just dS 1t IS benefit c1l to humane;, 1l , in
m 1nv Wdyc; nt c Jry f r the urv I of wi!dl,fc l'> w l<n w Jt tr, t f e of
encro;'lchmg er,vrunmefltdl pol/ut on
wh1ch showc: ltttfe 'Jr no ref r1 t r the value ot wildllft 1n thf' rr dcrn wo ld

Because of hunters and their dollars, whitetail deer are more numerous in Georgia today than in pre-colonial days . Wildlife refuges established by them protect millions of song birds and other forms of wildlife, although non-hunters pay little or nothing for wildlife protection.

If allowed to go unchecked, many of our species which are now wild, alert and beautiful creatures, multiply and eventually become so numerous that there is not enough food to go around and the clan dies off. Then they serve no useful purpose to man or nature- with the possible exception of the worms, or as decaying matter to help enrich the soil. It must be harvested, just as domestic creatures must be harvested, if a game species is to remain healthy, wild and strong - or even exist.
Our game laws are predicated on the theory of reaping only the surplus, leaving enough so that reproduction will keep each species in balance with its food , cover and other natural conditions.
The taking of this wild harvest furnishes millions of Americans with billions of hours of vigorous, wholesome outdoor living, while they are actually doing a favor to the deer, quail, rabb its, bass, bream and other wild creatures.
One of the justifications upon which the anti-kill sect rests its case is th at with guns, bow and a rrows a nd such , we cause much sufferi ng. These people probably do not realize that anim als and birds and fish do not have the same concepti on of life that we as humans do. When we lose someone close to us, the chances a re th at we gri eve over the loss for as long as we live .
Nature has so provided its wild cla ns with a sense of life and de ath and destin y that is vast ly different from ours. They accept the inevitable. If a hawk catches a quail, or we . as hunters, take one or two out of a covey. the remainder of the birds have no sense of loss or grief. Brooding o r pining away would only dull their senses a nd m ake

them more susceptible to their enemies, a nd in a world as competi tive as theirs, they would not li ve lon g. So th ey accept and immediately forget and continue their own fight for survival.
Red Palmer, of Douglasville, Ga., who manufactures and m arkets the Cap-Tur Gun, a rifle that shoots hypodermic needles instead of bullets an d is used in game management practices all over the world, told me that he had seen enough animals die on the African veldt to know that nature has provided every animal with a built-in system of sedation against shock, and that in its final moments it does not suffer. This is his theory of what happens:
An a ntelope or gnu or gazelle is pursued by one of the big cats. The prey uses every iota of its speed and strategy and dodging abilit y to escape. Then when it finall y realizes there is no hope and that it is in the final moments of its life, it collapses into a severe state of shock , so th at there is no fea r or no pain.
Red claims he has enough evidence on this to write a book.
Here is a noth er and even more farreaching point ge ne rally ove rlooked by those who claim th at the sportsma n with a gun is a ruthless k iller and woul d wi pe out all ex istin g wildl ife. Consider this:
Spo rtsmen alone pay the bill for the protecti on and increase of all wi ld creatu res. includi ng th e song birds. T here is no money se t up for th is va-;t program out of ge ne ral app ropriation funds. Fees paid for hunt ing and fishing licenses in to the state game departments, and for duck stamps to the federal agencies, makes up the only money avai lable for

the enforcement of the regulations, and the establishment of management area<; and re fuges where bird s and animals arc under strict and constant protection, a nd for th e support and care of all wildlife, including the songste rs.
The hunter is the only American taxpayer subspecies who ever willingly agreed to pay any tax - and even insisted on it. Not only individual sportsmen, but game and conservation clubs all over this nation, suggested and got solidl y behind a tax on arms a nd ammunition, with the proviso th at all monies collected from this ta x be refunded to the states to se t up sanct uaries and wildlife refuges and m anagement lands where the proper protecti on of creatures would be assured , a nd for resea rch that would help both th e game and non-game birds and an imals.
Thi s tax from the hun ters - the ki llers of ga me, if you will - amoun ting to mill ions o f dollars eac h yea r, has been the salvatio n o f many wild li fe species whi ch . wi thout it , m ight now be vanished from the A merica n scene.
So we sec tha t th e pic ture is not so sim ple a o ne as ma n walki ng into the woods and gunning down a beautiful bird or animal, or a fh.hcrman on a stream or lake. jabbing a hook into a colorful fish a nd dragging it unceremo niously from its aquatic home _Hunt ing and fishing cannot by any stretch of the imagination he cataloged as cruel, inhuman sports, for they touch all facets of wildlife existence, being in many ways nccc-;<.ary to the survival of our wild creatures. just as they arc ph ysica ll y, mentally and spiritually hcncfi cial to man himself.

By Dean Wohlgemuth

1 This f lo ck of w d turkeys is sma

mpared

t o what the e~ly ettlers found n Geo g

lncre ed emp 1 s on turk 'Y p ~L I, 1 by t 1e

stte Ca'lle and F < Lomm

~ ,.. l t n1

b ck turkey 1n ~ood r Jmbers r' the to

2 Tllee' on y c~e w v to staLk t~ ke

The Wild b1 d, must be trJp~ A u 1.

the ;e hu, P net G~ feed ng arc

then the t 1rds ar re ed w~

there < >n~ hdb t t ut o turkey

Tl Cornm1 on p r t 1rte~ v

<tc Kmg 1n ~ew or rrr turkey

vogram I'll 3r to t"r o ondu t r

f 1r t~ pa t 20 v 1

de

Some game species are popular with hunters because of their abundance and the ease with which they may be found. Others are popular because of the great challenge they offer the hunter. In the latter category, nothing could be more true of the wild turkey. Although his following is not vast, those who seek this wary bird are indeed ardent.
Perhaps part of the reason for the fervor of the turkey hunter can be chalked up to the tradition set by the pilgrims on the first Th anksgivi ng Day ... but not really. The thrill of outsmarting a wily old gobbler is reason enough for this bird's popularity. Most hunters consider him harder to take than deer. Thus, he's recogni zed as a "big-game" species.
The major reason that more persons don't hunt turkeys is probably a Jack of them. Turkeys are prett y widely scattered in the Peach state. There arc huntable populations of turkeys in only 35 of Georgia's 159 cou nties, but very few

other sections really have many turkey. A species that needs remote surround-
ings, the turkey finds few areas to his liking. While there a re quite a few areas remote enough, most of them do not have habitat sui tabl e enough for the turkey to ex ist.
When the first settlers arrived in Georgia, there was an immense number of turkeys in the state. Huge flocks of over a hundred birds each were quite a common sight to the settlers.
Hunting pressure, plus a change in habitat has reduced these vast numbers of turkeys to the small population we have today.
H bitat conditions were ideal iu those days. There were great areas of virgin forest, made up of hardwoods and longleaf pines. Most of the trees were huge, crowding out most of the smaller saplings, leaving much thinner undergrowth than is now prevalent.
This fo rest land nad a heavy cover of natural bluestem grass, l'eeause the Indians frequently burned over the under-

growth, allowing new grass to grow. Actually, this was a byproduct of the burning as far as the Indians were concerned ... their reason for burning off the undergrowth was to enable them to find chestnuts and other nuts. Nonetheless , they created a turkey paradise.
This utopia will never again exist for the turkey, although in certain parts of the coastal plain section of Georgia, some controlled burning is done in timberlands. Plantation owners have learned that controlled burning is one of the most important methods of managing for quail production. Also, the timber industry uses fire as a managem\!nt tool. to remove small, useless undergrowth.
Farther north in Georgia. however, there seems to he a "Smokey Bear Complex," says Hubert Handy. chief of game management for the Georgia Game and Fish Commission. General public opinion is against burning of any sort, believing that such actions arc detrimental to forestlands. For this reason. dense thicket:-. exist in woodlands of

most of middle and north Georgia ... conditions which just aren't suited to
turkeys. Every available bit of land is put to
pine trees to grow pulpwood. The ground is covered with a blanket of pine needles, thus is unable to . grow food for wildlife. Timber is cut frequently, and such rapid rotation of trees does not allow for great size, but rather produces a sterile environment for wildlife, Han-
dy pointed out. . Yet, perhaps there is hope that more
such lands will be control burned. Each year, the Tall Timbers Research Station at Tallahassee, Florida, holds a seminar on the use of fire for forest management. The many noted, qualified experts that speak at these seminars gradually are convincing more and more timber managers that the wise use of fire leads to better timber and wildlife production.
It's difficult for many to realize that fire can be carefully controlled and can be beneficial to woodlands yet, says Handy, " the Smokey Bear Complex will have to be changed if we are to have good woodlands management. We'll have to get away from that idea, because it simply is not true. Controlled burning is a tremendous aid in timber and wildlife
m a n a g e m e n t ." He said that timber managers are
gradually beginning to realize the value of controlled burning and that it must be used if we are to be good stewards of the land, and produce wildlife and tim-
ber. It must be pointed out, however, that
if fire or burning is to be beneficial it must be carefully controlled. Fires set carelessly or maliciously do millions of dollars worth of damage to habitat, de= stroying homes of all wildlife.
Proper burning is done by marking out woodlands in a checker-board pattern, with each block separated with a firebreak to prevent the fire from spreading beyond control. Alternate squares are burned on alternate years. The fire is kept low enough, and under careful control, so as to remove undesirable underbrush without damaging
large trees. At present, turkey flocks in Georgia
are confined to river and creek bottoms with their heavy swamps and some game management areas in North Georgia, or some coastal lowlands and extensive swamplands in South Georgia.
Turkey populations have reached such a low that natural reproduction just isn't sufficient to make up for the annual loss to illegal hunting and natural predation in most of these areas. Unless the average hunter can resist the impulse to shoot any turkey he sees in the woods, season open or not, restoring the big birds will be impossible. By the same token , good support of cases made against turkey poachers by wildlife rangers will be required from local
6

T

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STAT E
GEORG IA
1951 TURKEY POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS
BY COUNTY
L EGEN D
= AB SENT = PRESENT - NOT HUNTABLE POP
PRESENT- HUNTABLE POP.

<(

<(

ID

ID

<(

<(

-'

-'

<(

<(

STAT E
GEORGIA
1968 TURKEY POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS
BY COUNTY
LEGEN D
= A BSEN T = PRESENT- NOT HUNTABLE POP.
PRESENT- HUNTABLE POP.

L

0

R

D

A

L

0

R

D

A

Little change in the turkey population during 1988 turkey map similar to the 1968 deer map.
the past 20 years is reflected in these maps, It's no accident that both deer and turkey
showing the distribution of the wary bir~s. population patterns correspond closely to rivers Note that there are only slightly more areas with ' and creeks and their adjacent swamplands,
turkey populations in the 1968 map, as which provide heavy protective cover from compared to the areas with turkeys in 1951. predators, as well as hardwood species of timber
Then compare these with the 1951 and 1968 which provide winter food. The construction distribution maps of deer population~ on of large reservoirs or the drainage of swamps
page eleven. 20 years of turkey stockmg, . or channelization of streams breaks this
management and protection should make the invaluable travel lane for wildlife.

county sheriffs, grand juries, district attorneys, and judges. Unfortunately, laxity on the part of hunters and law enforcement officials .in the past has contributed to the decline of turkeys in
Georgia. Only in a few sections are there
enough turkeys to open for hunting, and these now have an open season. Much of this is on private plantations, but a few management areas are open to the public each year for hunting. Most of this is spr.ing gobbler hunting.
This is a gloomy picture for the Georgia turkey hunter. Yet, the Game and Fish Commission hopes that the

future has a brighter glow. Some 20 years ago, the Commission began a concentrated effort to bring back deer herds to the state. In that score of years, growth of the herds has shown remarkable improvement, and now there are deer in every county in the state, with hunting seasons now open each year in 126 of these 159 counties. The most of remaining counties will probably open in a few years.
Now, with the deer situation well in hand, the Commission plans on turning its efforts toward restoring turkey populations to suitable areas around the
state.

A giant step in this direction came with the acquisition of Sapelo Island by the Game and Fish Commission. This island wildlife paradise at present has no turkeys, but wild birds will be trapped elsewhere and brought in to establish a good population here. Sapelo will be used as a sort of hatchery area to raise turkeys in the wild for trapping and restocking across the state, in areas which are able to provide proper habitat.
The turkey program will be very similar to that of bringing deer back to Georgia. Turkeys will be stocked, then the counties receiving turkeys will be closed for at least five years . ... longer

if necessary ... so that the turkeys may reproduce enough to increase their numbers in that county to make a huntable
population. This is the only way in which turkeys
can be re-established. Like many other wildlife species, and perhaps more critical than most, the turkey must be introduced as a wild bird. Experiments conducted in the stocking of 10,000 pen raised turkeys in Georgia proved that stocking of such birds was a dead loss. It just isn't possible for pen raised birds to survive in the wild in significant numbers.
Wild turkeys, trapped elsewhere, have

been stocked in the areas of Clark Hill,

Middle Georgia and the North Georgia

mountains, and have produced turkeys

in huntable numbers.

Turkey seasons are now .held on the Clark Hill Game Management Area and

in the Georgia mountains in most years

on the Johns Mountain, Blue Ridge, Chestatee, Chattahoochee, Lake Burton

and Warwoman game management

areas. All are spring gobbler hunts, and

all are open to the public.

Many a Georgia hunter has wondered

why, when conditions appear to them to be so similar in Florida and Alabama,

that Georgia turkey hunting does not

more favorably compare.

To the eye uneducated in studying

wildlife environment, many things are

not visible. There are considerable differences in the habitat, and this is the

prime factor in the difference between

Georgia and these two neighboring states.
In Florida, for example, there are

thousands of acres of savannahs with the low grasslands of the type that

existed in Georgia when those white set-

tlers first came ... the kind of condi-

tions that made turkeys abundant here

then. Also, there is more oak forest there, especially live oak and water

oaks. In addition, Florida's Game and Fresh

Water Fish Commission has a 100,000 acre area which .is used strictly for rearing turkeys which are trapped and re-

stocked in various areas of the state. This huge turkey "factory" assures that there will be good turkey stocking sup-

plies.

Alabama has a great deal more land

in hardwoods than does Georgia, the

kind of timber that produces the desired habitat. Extensive commercial pine forests dominate Georgia's woodlands.

While it is true that these states have

more turkeys, it is also true that they

have less land on which the public can

hunt than in Georgia. This is particularly true in Alabama, where large plan-

tations or lands leased to hunting clubs,

have excellent hunting . .. but only to the favored few privileged to hunt them. Georgia has more of its turkey range

open to public hunting. So while Georgia may not have great
hunting for turkeys, it does have some,

and that in itself is something of a mark

of distinction.

Yet, should things go as well for the

turkey as they did for the deer, and as

well as the Commission hopes, perhaps

someday in the not-too-distant future ,

Georgia outdoorsmen will have topnotch big-game bird hunting available

to them.

But don't expect turkeys to be as

numerous and widespread as the deer.

There is still, and always will be, a good

deal less land where the turkey can

find a good home.

,.._

7

DON'T AVND o oe unting
By Marvin Tye

The first deer I ever killed is etched vividly in my memory. During that season and the two previous seasons I had hunted a total of seven days, seen perhaps fifty does and two bucks, and had not shot at any of these animals. One of the bucks had antlers that had not broken through the skin and thus was an illegal target. The other was too far away to be sure of a killing shot.
Like most hunters, I wanted to bag a big buck. Does were something to be protected for the good of the deer herd, I thought. No true sportsman would shoot one of them. Then my opinions on the matter began to change. Actual experience had shown me that does were much more numerous in the areas where I hunted than bucks. At least they were more easily seen. Wildlife biologists told me that hunting deer of either sex in some instances helped to control the deer herd.
On my first hunt with a bow and arrow in a new area where doe hunting was to be allowed for archers, I was determined to take the first legal deer that offered a good shot. As so often happens in a situation like this, even does were hard to find. On the second morning I spotted three does running by my stand at a distance of about 30 yards. This was not the kind of shot you dream about, but it looked as though it might be the best I would get on that trip, so I picked the largest deer, figured the lead as best I could, drew my bow, took careful aim and released. My arrow penetrated the deer's brain and brought it down on the spot. Quite a bit of luck was involved in that shot. but I felt pretty proud of it, the first I had ever taken at a deer with any weapon in my three year deer hunting career.
That doe provided my family with a lot of choice venison. If it had not been bagged by a legal hunter, the deer might have been killed by poachers or wild dogs and been wasted.
I still prefer to bag a big buck than a doe of any size. In fact , if I had my choice of taking a half dozen does or one trophy-size old buck I would choose the buck without question. If my hunting ti me is limited though, I welcome the opportunity to take an occasional doe .
What happens when only bucks are hunted? If this situation exists for a long enough period, the available food for the deer will be depleted to the extent that large numbers of deer will be small and di sease ridden . The fact that food mi ght be available nearby does not matter. Many studies, some using radio tran smitters, have shown that southern

WhPn a rnntro/led number of deer
ot ther s x r hunted an rea will n t b trippt.d vf brvw, e Good habita t
a cJ /, J!thy rJeer are the result

Whe n poachers and free ranging dogs are kept under control, healthy deer of either sex can be found on any area with sufficient natural food.

When too many deer are found on an area, overbrowsing results . Leaves are stripped from the trees as high as the deer can reach.

whitetail deer will not travel for long distances to seek food. Artificially feeding the deer is unfeasible since deer will not eat food that they are not used to eating, and the expense is prohibitive. Once a deer range is dam aged , it takes man y years to build it back tc the point where it will support the number of deer that originally used it.
Studies have shown that it is impossihl e to keep an expanding deer population healthy by bagging bucks only. This procedure will work for a number of years afte r dee r are stocked in a new
area. In fact, the bucks only law was
established to protect newly established deer herds.
Although this situation was once dc-.irahle in most of Georgia, the picture
is 1ow changing in many parts of the
stat_ \rchers are allowed to take one
doc . ~ '. n ;" one huck du ring the bow
season ( .'~toher 1-25 in any county

where gun hunting is allowed . In many Georgia counties and on a number of wildlife management areas, hunters using firearms are now allowed to take antlerless deer on specified days each season. However, attitudes are hard to change. It is hard for the man who has hunted bucks only for a number of years or all of his life to adjust to the practice of htnting deer of either sex.
If the public follows recommendations of Georgia's trained game biologists , hunting deer of either sex will not be allowed by the State Game and Fich Commission on any area where there are not enough deer to warrant it. On other areas, to protect the range, a certain number of antlerless deer must be taken each year. There are simply not enough deer taken each year to keep the population at a healthy leveL since buck only hunting holds the male deer population down while the female population continues to rise.

The ideal situation in game manage-

ment is to have the surplus deer har-

vested by hunters. If Georgia's full deer

hunting potential could be realized,

either sex hunting could be allowed all

over the state. The hunter is being

cheated out of this by poachers, and

free ranging dogs. They are getting his

share.

Georgia has great potential as a deer

hunting state. The deer population could

possibly be doubled and the bag limit

and season length increased if poachers

and wild dogs could be eliminated.

Wildlife rangers are working to keep

poachers under controL but these efforts

are not all that is needed. The attitude

of the people living in areas where

poaching and other forms of illegal

hunting arc practiced must be changed.

Only then can sound management tech-

niques be implemented and Georgia's

full potential attained.

>->

In just 17 years between surveys by game biologists, both the range and numbers of Georgia's deer herd have expanded fantastically, beginning with the heavy cover and hardwood timber of rivers and swamps, then spreading up and down the streams before filling in the less dense areas between streams or swamps and their protected travel lanes to escape from poachers and dogs. These
maps clearly illustrate how drainage of Georgia's swamps and clearing of stream banks would have choked off the rapid expansion of the deer herd into many Georgia counties. When deer were stocked in most counties, they first went to the river swamps, slowly spreading out as their populations increased, making stocking unnecessary in many areas. These wet bottoms in many sections of Georgia's sprawling industrial pine forests provide the only source of hardwood winter mast available to deer, turkeys, squirrels and many other species of wildlife. As a result, they thrive in the river swamps and stream banks. By the same token, the effects of reservoirs that flood river bottoms and game habitats can be seen on the 1951 map.

T

N N

N.

<t <t

S'I'.\T i
(;, ~( ) k ( if J \
1951 DEER POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS
BY COUNTY
LECt.NU
c:::J ABSENT c::J PRESENT - NOT HUNTABLE POP c::J PRESENT - HUNTABLE POP

L

0

R

T

N N

N

c

D

A

ST.\TI
C~EOI~t ll 1-\
1968 DEER POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS
BY COUNTY

LEG~:~Il
c:::J ABSENT c:::J PRESENT- NOT HUNTABLE POP c:::J PRESENT - HUNTABLE P0P. c:::J OVERPOP.- RANGE DEPLniON
EVIDENT

Does provide sport for those who must limit their hunting time and are not able to stay afield long enough to bag a trophy buck. Bagging a doe requires skillful, accurate shootmg and IS a challenge, especially for the archer McDonough native David Almand, now wildlife biologist of the Federal Extension Service in Washington , bagged this doe with his first shot on h1s first bow huntmg tnp near MontJcello. Most hunterc; aren't as lucky, or skillful'

0

R

D

A

By Dean Wohlgemuth

You're planning your deer bunting trips for the fall, and you figure on taking in one of the managed hunts. Your eyes come to rest on the back cover of tbis issue of Game and Fish Magazine, where the schedule of managed bunts is listed. As you study the list, one area is brought to your attention, the Clark Hill area. That's a good area, you say. You've heard a lot about Clark Hill from other hunters. Perhaps you'll try it tbis year. In looking more closely, you discover that this year there is no "buck-only gun hunt," and you wonder why. Clark Hill has always been one of the state's top managed areas, and has always had a buck hunt. Always, that is, since the area was first opened in 1958. If you've been to Clark Hill in recent years, you've undoubtedly noticed the

browse line ... the obvious line on the trees, perhaps five or six feet above ground, below which there is little or no foliage. Above that, foliage is plentiful. This indicates there are many deer on the area, and that they have pretty well eaten the available food within their reach.
If you bunted the area, you most likely found there were plenty of deer all right, but most of those you saw were does .
Looking back over the figures of the harvest on Clark Hill, some facts come to light. For the first three years since the area opened, there were no doe hunts, just bucks only were hunted. The number of deer harvested increased steadily each year.
Then, in 1961, some doe hunting was allowed. Still, many more bucks were taken . .. to be specific, 87 bucks as

compared to 45 does. The following year, 1962, produced
only 62 bucks, a sharp decline, while a few more does, 49, were taken. In 1963, more does than bucks were harvest, 57 does and 54 bucks. The trend continued ... In 1964,78 bucks and 111 does were taken, and in 1965, 80 bucks and 129 does.
The kill on bucks slowly increased, but the increase of does was greater.
The Clark Hill area is unique, in that the herd is more confined than on other areas. A peninsula out into Clark Hill Reservoir, this area is bordered on one side by the lake, and on the other side by a major highway.
In addition, good roads and flat land in the area make it readily accessible to the hunter. Over a period of years of buck-only hunts, the number of bucks as compared to the does declined.

A large part of the reason .is because the bucks were hunted much harder than does. Longer seasons are held for buck hunts than doe bunts. This is necessary to conserve the herd.
Yet after a time, the balance in this confined area has become somewhat upset, and there are too few bucks. This, of course, has an effect on the breeding of the deer.
For this reason , to bring back the balance, the State Game and Fish Commis~ion decided against a buck-only hunt this year to restore the balance between male and female. So Clark Hill bunters this year may take either a buck or a doe on two bunts, one an archery hunt Nov. 17-22, and the other a two-day either sex gun hunt, Nov. 24-25. The gun bunt will be limited to 300 hunters, to be determined by a drawing. Information on applying for this hunt is available in the

Sportsman's Calendar section of this magazine.
Some bucks, of course, will be barvested tbis year on the either sex bunts. In fact, it's very likely that there will be as many or even more bucks killed as does.
However, the bucks are most likely to be young button bucks, still too young for breeding. The older bucks, needed for breeding purposes, will be a lot less likely to be taken during such bunts. If these older bucks can be conserved for the next couple of years, then the breeding balance, the ratio of bucks to does, should be restored. Then, too, the harvest will be carefully controlled since only a limited number of hunters will be allowed on the area for the gun hunt, and hunter success is considerably lower on archery bunts than on gun hunts.
There's a second reason for the metb-

ods of harvesting deer on Clark Hill this year. All summer long, biologists trapped and marked deer on the area, with tags and tattoos, then released them.
When the bunt is underway, they'll carefully record bow many marked deer and how many unmarked deer are taken. Then, using the ratio of marked and unmarked deer, they'll calculate just how many deer there are on the area, since they'll know what percent of the marked deer were killed.
The either sex bunt is limited to two days, rather than the six days normally set for buck hunting, to further control the number of deer to be taken. Since doe and young deer are more easily taken , and since access to the area is good and the herd is confined, the harvest would be too great if more time and more hunters were allowed.
Clark Hill has long been one of the
continued on page 15

Lamar Dorsey strings hts bow before headmg into the woods for hts tree stand.

Richard Parker of Atlanta I .a .s ee stand set high tn a pine, and wriggles into i t for the afternoon hours of the archery hunt on Clark Hill.

I e 1ormer presil e

he Georgta

Bowhunters Association, Parker checks

out room to make a shot from his

tree stand during the Clark Hill archery

deer hunt last year.

12

Joe Smallwood, right, area manager of Clark Hill
Game Management Area, checks the weight on a buck taken during the 1968 archery hunt on that area. Bucks with antlers are getting scarce.

Well, you can't hit 'em all But the author, though grinning over /osmg some shirt tat/ because he missed a shot, is sttll wondering when he's going to ge a deer t he bo
Paul Parker has a captivated audience as he checks to make certain all his tackle is in order for hunting. The Clark Hill area has been a popular one for archers for several years.
13

continued from page 13
state's most popular areas for archery hunters, partly because of the good number of deer . .. and archery hunts are almost always open to either sex hunting, so this is a good means of hunting an area where the ratio of bucks is down. The accessibilit y of the area is another point the archers favor.
Nearly everyone who has been to Clark Hill has seen a few deer feeding, in broad daylight, on the power line right-of-way, looking from the checking

Thi s happy hunter, Sam Cnsler of Chamblee, got his deer the hard way . . the author heard the wounded deer bounding out of the woods, then s, w it plunge into the lake. Seconds later, the hunter d1ved 1n after his quarry, and eventually managed to retrieve the animal. The large percentage of females on the Clark Hill area make it advisable to harvest a goodly number of doe deer. Ranger Hugh Ferguson checks in this one.

station. Deer tracks all over the area

demonstrate that there are plenty of

deer there.

And while chances right now of taking

a good buck are not really bad, a couple

yea rs of adjusting the deer herd is very

probably going to increase those chances.

You can bet that the Clark Hill area

still has a good future ahead of it as one

of the state's most popular deer hunting

areas!

~

Not just grown- ups enjoy
(; Gan1e &Fish ...

Keep it up and be sure many of us are with you.
W. R. Peavy Warner Robins, Georgia

Letters will be subject to standard editing and must bear the writer's name and address. Short letters will be given preference. Occasionally, when th ere is valid reason, th e writer's name may bf omitted upon request.

DEER
have enjoyed reading Game and Fish for three years and I will continue to read them as long as I live in Georgia. Please keep up the good work.
I would like to see more articles on deer and how to prepare them after the kill. If I ever killed one, I'm sure I couldn't clean him correctly.
Jim Causey Savannah , Georgia
The free publication "Field Dressing A Deer" can be obtained on request from the State Game and Fish Commission, 270 Washington St., S.W., Atlanta, Ga. 30334.

TROUT STAMP
Please register my approval for the purc hase of a $2.00 trout stamp and the elimination of the $1.00 per day fee collected by the Commission on managed trout st rea ms as suggested by Commissioner Bagby.
Dan Strobins Carrollton, Ga.
THAI'JK.S
I would like t o say a few words about Georgia Gam e an d Fi sh . To those of us who have moved t o Georgia in the last three or fo u r yea rs, t his magazine has been a great he lp.
I i'lm especially interested in the strong f1gh vou have made to keep our tidelands free " m slime and also the Piedmont timber u as well as t he channelization of some 1 rs.

SUNDAY HUNTING
I think the Sunday Hunting law is unfair, as all hunters buy licenses to hunt, but only bow and arrow hunters are allowed to hunt on Sunday in Georgia. It's not right. Either all types of hunting should be closed down on Sunday, or th e gun hunters should be allowed to hunt with the bow hunters.
Most hunters work all week and their only day off is on Sunday, and a lot of them may be like me. They would like to hunt with a bow, but can't hit the side of a barn with one. Failing eyesight is another drawback. In my case I do good to hit with a rifle.
You may print this statement in "Sportsmen Speak" in your magazine if you like.
I would like to hear comments from other sportsmen on this su bject.
let's hear it. l. Winburn Monticello, Georgia

GIVE YOUR KIDS ABREAKI
Make checks payable to Georgia Game and Fish Commission 270 Washington Street Atlanta 30334 One year $ 1.00, three years $2.50
Georgia's 19th century Blue Law on Sunday hunting was omitted from the 1969 revision of the State Criminal Code. It made hunting with "gun or dog" illegal on Sunday, but didn't cover bow hunting, a fairly recent (but ancient) sport in Georgia. However, the General Assembly at this year's session also passed a law making firing a gun on Sunday illegal except for law enforcement officers, self defense, and firing on an authorized firing range. This has the effect of permitting bow and arrow hunting and hunting with dog, and even of carrying a gun on Sunday, until it is fired. Like the old Sunday hunting law, it is anticipated that many grand juries will refuse to prosecute cases under the Sunday law, altho ugh many will. Before going hunting in a strange county, it's a good idea to check with the sheriff about the local situation.

ALCOVY PROJECT GETS FURTHER STUDY
The controversial proposed Alcovy River Watershed Projects will get further study from federal and state conservation agencies.
In a meeting at Athens, the heads of the three agencies most directly involved agreed to create a special task force to conduct the study, composed of representatives from interested bureaus of the U. S. Department of the Interior, the State Game and Fish Commission, and the Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"One of the principal items of discussion in this conference had to do with possible damages to fish and wildlife and other natural resource values in the project area if the current plans envisioned in the project proposal were to be implemented," read a joint statement released after the meeting.
Representing the Soil Conservation Service at the meeting was C. W. Chapman, State Conservationist of the SCS, and his assistant, A. D. Searcy. The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and other Interior Department agencies were represented by C. Edward Carlson, regional director of the Bureau. Game and Fish Commission Director George T. Bagby and Assistant Director Jack Crockford represented their agency.
The Athens meeting resulted from objections to the Aleovy Projects and their possible effects on Lake Jackson and seenie and natural values of the Alcovy itself made by the U. S. Interior Department to the existing plans, which had earlier been protested by several Georgia conservation groups and agencies.
Agreeing to the Interior Department request for more study of the Project plans before asking for congressional

Shoals of the A/cavy River
approval , SCS Director Kenneth Grant wrote the Interior Department: "We feel that your recommendation for a reevaluation is a reasonable one. Accordingly, we are ready to take the leadership in a reevaluation which would seek to determine:
(I ) Those areas which the Georgia Game and Fish Commission and the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife believe must be preserved.
(2) Necessary modifications of the project plans to accomplish sueh preservation.
( 3) The effect of such modifications on the feasibility of the plans, particularly on the level of flood protection and benefit-cost ratios.
(4) The acceptability of such modifications to concerned interests, particularly the sponsoring local organizations."
Any subsequent modifications of the plan will be presented to the sponsoring organizations for consideration.
-Jim ~fo rrison
COMMI SS IONER S REAPPOINTED Governor Lester Maddox has reappoi nted two veteran members of t he State Game and Fish Cornmissior to new se ven year terms.
Maddox adm 1n 1ster d the oath of office to Leonad Bassford of Augusta, left and Jimmie Williamcor of Dari~, cen ter
Bassford rep Fscnts th :oth Congress onal Distr1rt on thc> Comm1ss on Thr> own r of an August"l tPxtriP by p-odurt company E:la~sford s "" d a cha rma" of the Comrn 1954
Willi Jrn r r pr~ s x ro1.,tal G on th \or>'m dea 1er h IS r>'ayo of Dar1 1 c lat1v li<J E.rn ,tV r
i'Jotl1 rr r nd f1 h ' n nd known 1 t r r1 t

JASPER DEER FESTIVAL SET
Jasper County's third a nnu al D ee r Festival is set for Nov. 8, and MonticelloJasper Jaycees are hard at it in preparing for the big day.
Two top prizes to be awarded that day will be for the largest raek and for the heaviest deer killed in Jasper County. The biggest raek mu st be taken during the first week of the deer season , which opens in Jasper County Nov. I. The heaviest deer may be taken during archery season as well, which is Oct. I through 25. A prize will be given for the heaviest buek and the heaviest doe during bow season, and another prize for the heaviest buek during the first week of the gun season.
Other prizes include: the longest beard grown during the week; the hunter who travels farthest during that week from his residence to hunt in Jasper County; and for the youngest hunter to take a deer during the first week of season.
Other prizes, to be given in a drawing, include a Winchester Model I 00 rifle, .308 caliber; an Oldtime hunting knife; electric thermal socks ; and a camouflage suit.
A parade is planned, with several school bands , to kiek off the day's festivities. A number of displays will be erected on Monticello's town squ a re. A Western music program is scheduled for I 0 a.m., and a barbecued chicken dinner will be served, beginning at II : 30 a.m.
A noon program will include a guest speaker, announcement of prize winne rs and crownin g of th e fes tival queen . More music is scheduled for 3 p.m . Other special entertainment is in the planning stages.
Jasper County ha" thou sands of acres of land open for hunting, includ ing 20,000 acres of Oconee National Forest lands which are open to the public. Also, some I 0,000 acres of Georgia K raft Co. tim ber lands wi ll be open to the public upon request of permissi on to hu nt.
H unters are reminded by the State Game and Fish Commission that they mus t obtain permission of landowners before hun ting on private property. All hu nting laws and regu lations will be strictly enforced.
Permission to hunt on Georgia Kraft land should be obtained from the area manager of eaeh of the company's 42 areas in the state. A li st of these managers and their addresses may be obtained from H. E. Horney, Georgia Kraft Co. , P. 0 Box I55I , Rome, Ga.
- Dean Wohlgemu th

Deer and Turkeys: Who Pays?
outrage the local community. An equal problem is that of th e
legitimate, law-abiding sportsman finding a place to hunt where he will be welcome and will have a good opportunity for successful hunting. With the increase of landless sportsmen living in urban areas with more leisure time to hunt and more money to spend on recreation, this problem will mushroom. Its effects can already be seen all too clearly in the highly populated and industrialized Northern states, where the demand for hunting has exceeded the supply of public hunting land many years ago.
What is the answer to these complex problems of more deer and more deer hunters, and less hunting land open to the public?
The common answer is simply ... money.
Money so that the State Game and Fish Commission can provide the pub-
lic with more places to deer hunt.
Money so the Commission can afford to
raise turkeys on Sapelo Island and to

stock them in suitable areas all over Georgia as deer have been stocked in the last 20 years. Money so additional wildlife rangers can be hired to protect deer and property owners from two and four legged predators. Money to hire game biologists to help the state and the federal government, timber companies, and private landowners more effectively manage deer and turkey habitat, and to unlock the hidden secrets of deer reproduction and harvest through hunting by the use of research projects. Money to publish maps of hunting areas, and articles on when, where, and how to hunt big game species.
How much money? That depends on how much improvement you want in big game programs, but if 140,000 licensed deer hunters in the 1967 season had purchased the $5.00 deer stamp
proposed in the House Bill 833 ap-
proved by the House Game and Fish
Committee at the last session of the General Assembly, approximately $700,-
000 would be available for new big game programs. If all or a major part
of this money were placed into match-

ing fund federal aid programs that provide three dollars of federal money for every dollar of state money, this amount could provide a whopping windfall for Georgia big game hunters of up to two million dollars a year or twice the purchase price of Sapelo Island! At the same time, money paid by non-deer hunters and fishermen now would be freed for projects of more direct benefit to them. Most of the Western and Northern states already have big game stamps.
At the moment, an interim study committee of the Georgia House chaired by Representative Howard Rainey of Cordele is looking into the possibilities of passing the deer stamp and a trout stamp into law at the January session of the General Assembly. The proposal has already been endorsed by Game and Fish Commission Director George T. Bagby, who has made a strong case for putting some money muscle into Georgia's wildlife conservation program. Now it's up to Georgia's big game hunters to decide. How much does your hunting mean to you?-J. M.

port man's
alendar
SEASONS OPENING
THIS MONTH
BEAR Season-Nov. 1, 1969 through Jan. 3, 1970 in Brantley, Charlton, Clinch, Echols, and \\'are counties.
BRANT Season-Nov. 17, 1969 through Jan 25, 1970. Bag Limit-6 Daily, possession limit 6. No goose season this year.
DEER Season- Oct. 15 or Nov. 1 through Nov. 15, 22, 29, 1969 or Jan. 3, 1970 or Nov. 1, 28 and 29, Dec . 26 and 27, 1969, depending on are a regulations. Write for free copy.
DUCKS, MERGANSERS AND COOTS Season- Nov. 20, 1969 throug:1 Jan. 15, 1970. Bag Limit-Ducks: 3 Daily, including no more than 2 wood ducks, 1 canvasback, or 1 redhead, 1 black duck, and 3 mall ards. Possession limit 6, including no more than 4 wood ducks, 1 canvasback or 1 redhead, 2 black ducks, and 6 mallards. Mergansers: 5 Daily, including no more than 1 hooded merganser; possession limit 10, including no more than 2 hooded mergansers. Coots: I 0 Daily, possession lim it 20.
GROUSE, RUFFED Season-N.w. 20, 1969 through Feb. 28, 1970. liaR Lin :,_3 Daily, possession limit 6.
YIARSH HEN Season Ser1. 20, 1969 through Nov. 28, 1969.

Bag Limit-15 Daily, possession limit 30.
OPOSSUM Early Season-Sept. 27, 1969 through Jan. 24, 1970 in Coweta County only. Regular Season-Oct. 18, 1969 through Fe b. 28, 1970. Bag Limit-None.
QUAIL Season-November 20, 1969 through Feb. 28, 1970. Bag Limit-12 daily, possession limit, 36.
RABBITS N. Ga. Season-Nov. 15, 1969 through Jan. 31, 1970. N. Ga. Bag Limit- 5 daily. S. Ga. Season-Nov. 20, 1969 through Feb. 28, 1970. S. Ga. Bag Limit- 10 daily.
RACCOON N . Ga. Season-Oct. 18, 1969 through Fe b. 28, 1970. Bag Limit-One ( 1) per person per night.
SQUIRREL Season-Oct. 15, 1969 through Feb. 28, 1970.
TURKEY S. W. Ga. Season-Nov. 20, 1969 through Feb. 28 , 1970 in Baker, Calhoun, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, and Thomas counties. S. W. Ga. Bag Limit- Two (2) per seaso n.

MANAGED DEER HUNT SCHEDULE

PRIMITIVE WEAPONS

Dates
Nov. 10- 15 Nov. 2 1-22

Areas
Suwanoochee (E ither Sex) Chickasawhatchee (Either Sex)

ARCHERY (EITH ER SEX)

Dates

Areas

Nov. 17-22 Dec. 1-6 Dec. 15-20

Clark Hill Allatoona Bullard Creek

Dates In Season Oct. 15-Jan. 3
Nov. 17-22 Nov. 24, 25, 26 Nov. 24-28 Nov. 24-29
Dec. 1-6 Dec. 5-6, 19-20 Dec. 15-19

BUCK ONLY
Areas
Altamaha and Lake Seminole
Brunswick Pulp and Paper Company (Special regulations apply to each tract of this area)
Arabia Bay
Allatoona (QH 500)
Cedar Creek Piedmont Exp. Station
Blue Ridge, Bullard Creek, Chattahoochee, Chestatee, Coleman River, John's Mt., Lake Burton, Lake Russell, Oaky Woods. Swallow Creek, W arwoman
Waycross State Forest
Chickasawhatchee (QH 300 each 2 days) Suwanoochee (permit required, no fee )

Dates Dec. 29-30 Dec. 30

ANTLERLESS ONLY
Areas Cedar Creek (QH 1,000) Piedmont Experiment Station <QH 400)

Dates Nov. 24-25 Dec. 6
Dec. 20 Dec . 29

EITHER SEX
Areas
Clark Hill (QH 300)
Blue Ridge (QH 600), Chattahoochee (QH 500), Coleman River (QH 300), Lake Russell (QH 500)
Suwannoochee
Lake Burton (QH 300)
Fo r details see the booklet "Georgia Game Management Areas" available at no charge from the State Game & Fish Commi ssion.

QUOTA HUNTS PERMITS
On all areas with a quota hunt (QH), th e participants in hunts limited to a certain number of hunters will be determ ined by a drawing held at the Atlanta o ffice on November 14, 1969. Participants will be drawn from all applications receiled in the

Atlanta office of the State Game and Fish Commission bearing post marks from November 3 through No vember 8, 1969. Only applications which include the $5 permit fee for each applicant by check or money order will be accepted and no more than 5 persons may apply as a group . Only one member from a group need apply. If other members of the group apply, all members of the group will be disqualified. All names drawn are final and no refund will be isissued to those persons whose names are drawn . Those persons whose names are not drawn for the hunt will have their $5 fee refunded. A person can only make application for one of the quota hunts. Any person who makes more than one application will be disqualified from all area hunts. .
Hunters must buy their appropriate State hunting license before buying a permit for a hunt. Hunting licenses are not sold at the checking stations or by wildlife rangers, but must be obtained from one of the more than 2,000 license dealers throughout the state.
SMALL GAME MANAGED HUNTS SCHEDULE
(For detailed information of each individual area, write the State Game and Fish Commission, 270 Washington St., S.W.) No permits required, except Butler Island ducks.

DATES Reg. Season
Nov. 20-Jan. 15
Sat. only

AREAS

SPECIES

Lake Seminole, All (except

Whitesburg,

raccoons)

Allatoona,

Altamaha (except

Butler Island),

Cohutta, Grand

Bay, Brunswick

Pulp and Paper

Co. (except during

dog deer hunts)

Altamaha (Butler Waterfowl and

Island)

Dove

Dec. 8-Feb. 28
Fri. & Sat.

Lako Russell

Dec. 12-Feb. Swallow Creek

28

Coleman River

Fri. & Sat.

Dec. 12-13, 19-20
Jan. 2-3

Chestatee

Dec. 12-13, 19-20
Jan. 16-17 Feb. 6-7

Lake Burton

Dec. 3-24

Piedmont Exp.

J an. 3-31

Sta.

Wed. & Sat.

Dec. 3, 6, 10, Cedar Creek 13, 17, 20,24
Jan . 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, 28 , 31
Wed. &Sat.

Dec. 12-13, 19-20
Jan . 9-10.

Chattahoochee

Dec. 3, 10, 17, Bullard Creek 24,3 1
Jan. 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21 , 24, 25, 31

Nov. 24-29 Suwanoochee

Dec. 12-13, 19-20
Jan. 2-3
Nov. 24-29

Blue Ridge Arabia Bay

Dec. 3-24 Jan . 3-31 Wed. & Sat.
only
Dec. 10-24 Jan. 3-31 Wed. &Sat.

Oaky Woods Clark Hill

Dec. 12-13, 19-20
Jao. 5-10

Warwoman Alapaha

All except Raccoons
Grouse, Squirrel, Rabbit
Squirrel Grouse
Squirrel, Grouse
Quail, Squirrel, Rabbit, Doves (In Season) Quail, Squirrel, Rabbit, Doves, Ducks (In season)
Grouse, Squirrel, Rabbit
Quail, Squirrel, Rabbit, Dove, & Snipe (In Season)
Squirrel, Quail, Rabbit Grouse, Squirrel
Quail, Squirrel, Rabbit
Quail, Squirrel, Rabbit
Quail, Squirrel, Rabbit, Doves Ducks (In season)) Grouse, Squirrel
All (In season)

Nov. 27, 28, Waycross State

29

Forest

Dec. 11, 12, 13

Quail, Squirrel, Rabbit

ALTAMAHA WATERFOWL AREA (DARIEN)
Butler Island Managed Blind Duck Hunts: Saturdays only, Nov. 20, 1969 through Jan. 15, 1970. Hunting hours sunrise to 12 noon, E.S.T. After Nov. 1, applications to hunts not filled in the October drawing will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. For information on which hunts are filled, call the State Game and Fish Commission at Brunswick, area code 912, 265-1552.
All letters of application must specify the date requested with a second choice if desired in the event the first date is filled. All applicants must enclose a fee of $5 per day per person in check or money order payable to the Georgia Game and Fish Commission. Applications should be addressed toP. 0. Box 1097, Brunswick, Ga.
BLACKBEARD NATIONAL WU..DLIFE REFUGE
Archery hunt for deer; either sex; bag limit-2 deer: Nov. 26-29, 1969; Dec. 30, 1969-January 2, 1970. Raccoons may also be taken on the above hunt periods. Applications for the Nov. hunt must be made by Nov. 19, and for the Dec. hunt by Dec. 22. Write to the Refuge Manager, Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, Rt. 1, Hardeeville, S. C. 29927.
SEASONS OPENING NEXT MONTH
DOVES Season-Dec. 6, 1969 through January 15, 1970. Bag Limit-18 daily, 36 in possession.

T IDE TABLE

NOVEMBER, 1969

NOV.-DEC. 1969

DECEMBER, 1969

HIGH WATER

LOW WATER

Day

A.M. HT. P.M. HT. A.M. P.M.

GEORGIA COASTAL WATERS HOW TO USE THESE TABLES

HIGH WATER

LOW WATER

Day

A.M. HT. P.M. HT. A.M. P.M.

1. Sat. 12:18 5.7 12:42 6.8 6:36 7:18
2. Sun. 1:12 5.7 1:30 6.6 7:36 8:18 3. Mon. 2:12 5.8 2:30 6.6 8:36 9:12
4. Tues. 3:06 6.1 3:24 6.6 9:36 10:00 5. Wed. 4:06 6.5 4:18 6.8 10:24 10:42 6. Thurs . 4:54 7.0 5:06 7.0 11:12 11:30 7. Fri. 5:42 7.5 5:54 7.1 ... 12:00
a. sat. 6:24 7.9 6:36 7.3 12:06 12:48
9. Sun. 7:06 8.3 7:18 7.3 12:48 1:36
10. Mon. 7:48 8.5 8:00 7.3 1:36 2:18 11. Tues. 8:36 8.5 8:48 7.1 2:24 3:12 12. Wed. 9:24 8.4 9:36 6.9 3:06 4:00 13. Thurs. 10:12 8.1 11:30 6.7 4:00 4:54 14. Fri. 11 :18 7.8 11:36 6.5 4:54 5:48 15. Sat. .... . . 12:18 7.4 5:54 6:48 16. Sun . 12:42 6.5 1:30 7.2 7:06 7:54 17. Mon . 1:54 6.6 2:36 7.1 8:18 9:00 18. Tues. 3:00 6.9 3:42 7.0 9:24 9:54 19. Wed. 4:06 7.2 4:42 7.0 10:24 10 :48 20. Thurs. 5:06 7.6 5:36 7.0 11:18 11:36
21. Fri. 6:00 7.9 6:24 7.0 . . .. 12:12
22. Sat. 6:42 8.1 7:06 6.9 12:18 1:00 23. Sun. 7:24 8.1 7:42 6.8 1:06 1:42 24. Mon. 8:00 8.0 8:18 6.5 1:48 2:24 25. Tues. 8:36 7.9 8:54 6.3 2:30 3:06 26. Wed. 9:12 7.6 9:30 6.1 3:06 3:48 27. Thurs. 9:54 7.3 10:12 5.9 3:48 4:24 28. Fri. 10:30 7.0 10:54 5.7 4:30 5:06 29. Sat. 11:18 6.8 11:42 5.7 5:12 5:48 30. Sun. ... . . 12:00 6.6 6:00 6:36

The calculations are for the outer bar. Find th e reading for the desired tide . In the table below find the number of minutes to add to correct for t he place you are going to fish or swim. The outer bar calculation, plus this correction , gives the correct reading for the point
desired .

Adjust For Daylight Saving Time By Adding One Hour

CORRECTION TABLE

The t imes given are for Savannah River

entrance (Tybee).

Hrs. Min .

Savannah Hig h

0 44

Savannah (Low) .

57

Hilton Head, S. C.

0 10

Thunderbolt

0 20

Isle of Hope .

0 40

Warsaw Sound

0 00

Ossabaw Sound

0 OS

Vernon View

0 35

Coffee Bluff . . . . . . . .

0 55

Ogeechee River Bridge

3 50

St. Catherine Sound

0 25

Sapelo Sound

0 00

Brunswick Bar

0 00

St. Simon Pier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 25

Frederica Bridge

0 50

Mc Kay Bridge

0 50

Brunswick East River .

0 50

Turtle River Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 55

Turtle River, Crispen Is .

1 10

Humpback Br idge

1 00

Jekyll Po int . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 30

Jo inter Island

.. .

55

Hampton River Village Creek Ent.

0 20

Village Fishing Camp

0 45

Tay lor Fishing Camp

. . . 1 00

Altamaha Fishing Park , Everett , Ga . 4 00

Two-Way Fishing Camp , S . Altamaha 2 00

NOV. DEC.

Last Quarter
2 31

New Moon
10 9

First Quarter
17 16

Fu II Moon
24 23

1. Mon. 12:30 5.7 12:48 6.4 6:54 7:30

2. Tues. 1:24 5.8 1:42 6.3 7:54 8:18

3. Wed. 2:18 6.1 2:30 6.3 8:48 9:12

4. Thurs. 3:12 6.4 3:24 6.3 9:48 10:00

5. Fri. 4:06 6.8 4:18 6.4 10:36 10:42

6. Sat. 5:00 7.3 5:18 6.5 11:30 11:30

7. Sun. 5:54 7.7 6:08 6.7 ... 12:18

8. Mon . 6:42 8.1 6:54 6.8 12:18 1:12

9. Tues. 7:30 8.3 7:48 6.9 1:12 2:06

10. Wed. 8:24 8.3 8:36 6.9 2:06 2:54

11. Thurs. 9:12 8.2 9:30 6.8 3:00 3:48

12. Fri. 10:12 8.0 10:30 6.7 3:54 4:42

13. Sat. 11:12 7.6 11:30 6.7 4:48 5:36

14. Sun.

12:12 7.3 5:48 6:30

15. Mon. 12:36 6.7 1:12 6.9 6:48 7:30

16. Tues. 1:36 6.7 2:12 6.6 7:54 8:30

17. Wed. 2:36 6.8 3:12 6.4 9:00 9:24

18. Thurs. 3:42 6.9 4:06 6.2 10:00 10:18

19. Fri. 4:36 7.1 5:06 6.1 10:54 11:06

20 . Sat. 5:30 7.3 5:54 6.1 11:48 11:54

21. Sun . 6:18 7.4 6:42 6.0 .. 12:36

22. Mon. 7:00 7.4 7:24 6.0 12:36 1:18

23. Tues. 7:42 7.4 8:00 5.9 1:24 2:06

24. Wed. 8:18 7.3 8:36 5.8 2:06 2:48

25. Thurs. 8:54 7.2 9:12 5.8 2:48 3:24

26. Fri. 9:30 7.0 9:48 5.7 3:24 4:00

27 . Sat. 10:06 6.8 10:30 5.7 4:06 4:36

28. Sun . 10:42 6.6 11:06 5.7 4:48 5:12

29. Mon. 11:24 6.4 11:54 5.8 5:30 5:54

30. Tues. . .

12:06 6.2 6:12 6:36

31. Wed. 12:42 5.9 12:54 6.1 7:06 7:24

To report violations or if you need assistance in the Coastal Area-Ca ll-State Game & Fish Comm iss ion . Brunswick , Georgia , P. 0. Box 1097, Phone 265-1552 , Savannah 233-2383 , Richmond Hill 756-3679 .