BY THE NUMBERS
2.8 Percentage of annual Georgia deer harvest taken with muzzle-loading firearms
10,500 Annual estimated muzzle-loading deer harvest, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources
45,000 Number of muzzle-loading deer hunters in Georgia
The Georgia primitive-weapons season for white-tailed deer opens Saturday. Hunters may use only muzzle-loading firearms during this weeklong season.
Primitive-weapons enthusiasts often are thought of as hunting re-enactors who dress in buckskin to pursue deer. Such hunters use flintlock or percussion-cap firearms that are replicas of weapons from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Those replica rifles have firing hammers offset to the side of the barrel, are difficult to use and ordinarily are accurate for shots of less than 100 yards. Hunters using these firearms must get much closer to the deer to ensure a killing shot.
Hunters using such firearms have to be dedicated to their sport to overcome the inherent disadvantages the weapons present.
On the other hand, the introduction of in-line muzzle-loading rifles in the past couple of decades has opened the sport to more participants.
These newer guns have a firing mechanism that is behind the barrel, making them resemble modern firearms. These rifles are easier to use and less cumbersome to handle. The guns also are accurate to 150 yards.
Hunters may continue to use archery gear during the primitive-weapon season. Additionally, youth less than 16 years of age are allowed to use modern firearms during this season.
Muzzle-loading shotguns must be 20-gauge or larger, and rifles must be .44 caliber or larger for deer hunting. Hunters may harvest deer of either sex during the primitive-weapon season, but have to adhere to the season limit of 12 deer, only two of which may be bucks.
Smithgall Woods and Tallulah Gorge state parks host special primitive-weapons deer hunts, as do 41 state wildlife-management areas. Most of these run concurrently with the primitive-weapons season, but some are held later in the year. Go online to georgiawildlife.com/hunting for full details.
