This tract of Georgia Power land that the state manages offer some good deer hunting prospects
Winter 2025
Article and photos by Jimmy Jacobs
The Georgia Wildlife Resources Division manages a total of 110 tracts in the state that are open to public hunting. These are spread all over Georgia, but many are not actually owned by the WRD. Th U.S. Forest Service, Corps of Engineers and private enterprises make much of the land available for the state to manage. Among those entities is the Georgia Power Company.
One of their tracts that is of particular interest is the Blanton Creek Wildlife Management Area in the west-central portion of the state. This Georgia Power-owned 4,800-acre property is located in Harris County, tight against the Chattahoochee River. There are a couple of reasons that Blanton Creek stands apart from other WMAs.
First, it is managed as quality hunting land. With regard to deer hunting, all of Harris County has regulations mandate that the only bucks that can be taken must have at least four points of one inch or longer on one side of their rack, or have antlers with an outside spread of 15 inches or wider. That later option can be judged at a distance by the fact that such a rack would extend beyond the tips of the deer’s ears. Additionally, hunters can harvest does. These same rules apply on Blanton Creek.
The second factor influencing the quality of hunting on Blanton Creek is that firearms hunts have quotas. And, in recent years, those quotas haven’t been filled up. In the 2023-24 season, hunters claimed just 228 of the possible 400 slots for the two, three-day firearms hunts. One of those occurs in October and the other in November.
The only exception to the quota rules is for a two-day Specialty hunt early in October. During that firearms hunt, only youths of 16 years and younger, ladies, disability license holders, returning Georgia veterans, honorary license holders, and hunters over the age of 65 may participate. That session only requires hunters to sign-in. In 2023 that hunt drew 25 hunters, with one doe and two bucks killed. The low number of does taken on all of the hunts probably results from hunter passing up on them to wait for a buck.
Bucks must have at least four points on one side of their rack to be legal on Blanton Creek.
During the first quota hunt in 2023-24 (the last year for which complete stats are available) 107 hunters took 15 does and 10 bucks. That was a success rate of 23.4 percent. During the second hunt in November, 121 hunters bagged seven does and 17 bucks. That worked out to a success rate of 19.8 percent. During that season, the average success rate for hunters to harvest a deer on our WMAs was 17.6 percent, which put Blanton creek above the average. Bare in mind as well that all the bucks taken were very likely sporting racks of 7 or more points.
Archers have more liberal opportunity for targeting Blanton Creek’s whitetails, with their hunts running from September 9 to October 15 (minus the dates of the specialty hunt mentioned early. Bow and arrow hunts require only signing in. Last year 161 archers signed in, taking only seven does.
The bottom line is Blanton Creek WMA has great habitat for whitetails, and firearms hunter have above average success on hunts there. Due to the regulations that apply, if you do harvest a buck, it will be a good one and the mount will be worth hanging over the fireplace.
For more information about the lands and waters that Georgia Power and their parent Southern Company make available to Peach State outdoorsmen and women, visit their website by clicking here.
Jimmy Jacobs is the editor of Georgia Outdoor Adventures, as well as being editor/publisher of On The Fly South. He also is a member of the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association. He makes his home in Marietta with his English setters, Luke and Lulu. He can be contacted at jimmyjacobs@mindspring.com.