DMU Richmond, Georgia

Richmond County straddles Georgia's Fall Line, the geologic boundary where the Piedmont transitions to the Upper Coastal Plain, making it a zone of mixed terrain. The Savannah River defines the county's eastern edge and creates extensive bottomland hardwood corridors, swamp margins, and oxbow sloughs. Upland cover is a patchwork of planted loblolly pine, mixed pine-hardwood, and scrubby second growth. Most of the county's interior is urban or suburban Augusta, leaving hunting-worthy habitat concentrated in river bottomlands, forestry-managed tracts, and the two small WMAs. Elevations are modest, ranging from roughly 100 to 300 feet.

High relative to rural Georgia, particularly on the two small WMAs, which draw considerable pressure from the large Augusta-area hunter population given the scarcity of public land. Phinizy Swamp WMA sees heavy waterfowl and archery deer use and is noted as one of the more pressured duck holes near Augusta. Private-land hunting, where it exists, tends to involve smaller parcels with limited access. The county's predominantly urban character means fewer overall hunters than agricultural counties, but the WMA-to-hunter ratio is unfavorable and weekends on public land are crowded.

Statewide bag limit: 12 deer total per season, maximum 10 antlerless and 2 antlered bucks. One of the two bucks must meet quality-buck criteria (at least 4 antler points one inch or longer on one side, OR a minimum 15-inch outside spread). Richmond County is an either-sex county, meaning antlerless deer may be taken throughout the open season. A new antlerless-only early firearms weekend (October 4-5, 2025) applies to private lands. Extended archery season through January 31 applies to Richmond County as a suburban-management area. All deer harvests must be reported via Georgia Game Check within 24 hours.

Deer: archery season opens September 13, 2025; antlerless-only firearms weekend October 4-5 (private land); youth and primitive-weapons season October 11-17; general firearms October 18, 2025 through January 11, 2026; extended archery January 12-31, 2026. Turkey (spring only): youth and mobility-impaired March 21-22, 2026; private-land season March 28 through May 15; public lands April 4 through May 15; limit 1 gobbler per day, 2 per season; no fall turkey season in Georgia. Feral hogs: may be taken on WMAs during any open big or small game season using lawful weapons for that season; a dedicated feral hog and coyote season runs May 16-31 on WMAs with centerfire firearms permitted (except archery-only areas); no closed season on private land. Additional species on WMAs: squirrel, rabbit, dove, and limited waterfowl (Phinizy Swamp).

Richmond County occupies a unique hunting environment at the confluence of Piedmont and Coastal Plain ecology along the Savannah River, producing varied deer habitat—bottomland hardwoods, swamp edges, and pine ridges—within reach of Augusta's metro population. The extended archery season through January 31 is a meaningful bonus for bowhunters willing to grind pressured public land into late winter. Phinizy Swamp WMA is one of very few places in Georgia where hunters can pursue deer and ducks within an urban watershed, making it a genuine urban hunting destination. The Fall Line geography creates edge habitat that can concentrate deer at transitions between bottomland and upland cover. Private landowners along the Savannah River corridor occasionally produce quality bucks from mature bottomland timber, and feral hog numbers in the river bottoms add an additional target species for hunters on public land.