JIMMY JACOBS OUTDOORS COLUMN

60,190 Deer harvested by archers in 2012, according to the Georgia DNR

113,566 Bow hunters in Georgia last season, according to the Georgia DNR

Georgia’s white-tailed deer hunting starts Saturday with the opening of the archery season. The deer herd has been undisturbed for more than seven months. The deer will be less wary and offer prime opportunities for bow hunters to bag some venison.

John Bowers, chief of game management for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said quality of the deer herd should be very good this year. Natural foods have been abundant because of spring and summer rains, providing the deer with plenty of healthy forage.

Archery hunters may find it hard to top 2012 results, despite the promising conditions. David Campbell of Marshallville achieved a new state-record typical bow-kill last season in Lee County. The buck’s rack scored 173 5/8 using the Pope and Young Club scoring system for archery kills.

Abundant food for the deer can be a two-edged sword for hunters. The whitetails are healthy, but don’t need to move around to find food. Hunting the deer becomes more difficult when the animals don’t move often.

The regular archery season continues through Oct. 11. Hunters may harvest deer of either sex during the regular bow season.

Bow-hunters may continue to hunt through the firearms and primitive weapons seasons, but must follow the regulations applying to those seasons.

Only archery hunting is allowed in Clayton, Cobb and DeKalb counties, as well as in the portion of Fulton County north of Georgia 92.

Most of the state’s wildlife-management areas have managed archery hunts for deer. Some are open to archers through the entire season.

Georgia deer hunters may harvest up to 10 antlerless deer and two antlered bucks per season. One of the bucks must have at least four points on one side of its antlers.

Visit gohuntgeorgia.com/hunting for more information and complete details on regulations governing archery hunts.