About 500 people flocked to the Hunting, Fishing and Recreation Open House Wednesday to receive the latest information on about opportunities and regulations on post.
The open house also included an evening of games, free food and raffle prizes. This year’s event was the first in the open house’s history to allow the public to ask questions about the Fort Benning regulations.
Brent Widener, Wildlife Conservation Branch biologist, gave about a 20-minute presentation, the highlight of which was the announcement of Maneuver Center of Excellence Regulation 190-11, which will affect the registration of all weapons on Fort Benning. He said full details of the official policy have not yet been disclosed, but will be released prior to implementation. The target effective date of the policy is Jan. 31. “Right now, the target date is sometime after deer season, so we should be able to make it through deer season with no change,” he said.
New state law not applicable at Fort Benning
A new Georgia law allowing hunting over bait will not apply to hunters on Fort Benning, Widener said.
“It’s (not allowing hunting over bait) something we’ve always done here,” he said. “You have to be 200 yards away and not in plain sight.” The state law restricts hunting over bait “on any state or federally owned or managed property.”
MCoE Regulation 200-3 defines a baited area as “any place which contains or has contained within the previous ten days, feed, grains or other consumptive substances capable of luring game.”
Training areas increase
There has been an increased demand for training areas within the Fort Benning landscape, Widener said. Much of that, he said, is due to the addition of the new Armor and Calvary units. Hunting is not allowed in active training areas.
New big gun ranges are being developed around the K15 Impact Area, a duded impact area on the northeast side of post. Hunting areas on the northeast will be available less often, Widener said. There are also new Depleted Uranium Restricted Access Areas, which are surrounded by red flags to indicate hunting is prohibited.
“If you run into that in the woods, it is 100 percent off limits,” he said.
Quality Deer Management preserves healthy deer herd
The new Quality Deer Management area, implemented for the first time last season, was a success and received 84 percent of total hunter support, Widener said. Thirty-three bucks and 52 does were harvested and 69 percent of the harvests were 3.5 years old or older. “The harvest ratio changed significantly from years past,” he said. “Hopefully that continues … it’s only going to make the deer herd on Fort Benning that much better.” Widener said hunters need to rememberall bucks must have at least four points one inch or longer on one side.
“If you’re hunting up there, make every effort to harvest the does,” Widener said. “If you see a deer and can’t tell if it has spikes on its head, let it walk.”
Outdoor Recreation specialist Brittany Beadle announced recreation activities, which include the return of the Big Buck and Most Does Contest and the construction of the Rod and Gun Club.
The Big Buck and Most Does Contest is a competition for hunters on mandatory deer check dates by the conservation branch. This year, the dates are Oct. 22-23 and Nov. 5- 6 for the Georgia side of post at Building 5883 on Harmony Church and Nov. 19- 20 for the Uchee Creek Campground area in Alabama. Bucks are judged on the Boone and Crockett scorers scale. The Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation is constructing a new pistol, rifle and trap skeet range on Courson Range off of Dixie Road as part of the Rod and Gun Club.
Outdoor Recreation and Wildlife Conservation Branch officials said hunters should make sure any weapons brought on post are unloaded, cased and separate from ammo. Shotguns should be plugged. Weapons should only be loaded in hunting areas during legal hunting hours.
For more information about hunting and fishing, contact Widener at 706-544-7516. For more information about recreation, contact Outdoor Recreation at 706-545-7978.
