In Wilkes County, the 2026–27 deer season has two closing dates. Either-sex firearms season on private land opened Oct. 17 and runs through Jan. 10, 2027. Georgia's hunting rules set it from the first Saturday after Oct. 15 through the second Sunday in January for Wilkes and most other counties. Firearms season on Clarks Hill WMA–East, the 10,224-acre public tract that most Washington-area hunters without their own land use, ends on Nov. 30.

That gives the county a six-week late season, and on Clarks Hill WMA that season runs only on the much smaller West unit. Whether you hunt a family tract, lease or the Corps ground around the lake, the weeks after Thanksgiving play out differently from the weeks before it.

Two closing dates for the same lake

The 2026–27 Georgia hunting regulations guide on eRegulations, last updated Nov. 3, 2026, lists the Clarks Hill WMA units side by side. Archery and primitive weapons dates are the same everywhere. The split comes with firearms:

Georgia's rule also allows archery equipment on any day of open firearms deer season. Once December starts, Clarks Hill WMA shrinks from about 13,300 acres across the two units to the 3,067 acres on the West side.

On private land, the late season keeps the same either-sex rules the county has had since mid-October. Wilkes also had an antlerless-only firearms weekend on Oct. 3–4, which has already passed. The statewide season limit is still 10 antlerless deer and two antlered bucks. One of those bucks must have at least four points an inch or longer on one side, or an outside spread of at least 15 inches. Wilkes isn't on the list of counties with extra county-wide antler restrictions.

One small change from last year: the 2026 calendar starts each season one day earlier than the 2025–26 calendar did. Last year firearms season opened Oct. 18 and ran to Jan. 11. This year it's Oct. 17 to Jan. 10. If you remember last season's closing date, this one comes a day sooner.

Thanksgiving week on the East side

The East unit's last stretch of deer season overlaps with another season. The WMA listing opens dove hunting across the whole East unit Nov. 21–29, which is Thanksgiving week, and again Dec. 19–Jan. 31. One of the unit's designated dove fields is in Wilkes County. The other is in McDuffie.

So during the busiest holiday week of the fall, deer hunters and dove hunters will both be using the East unit. If you plan to take a deer off the East side before it closes, that's the week other hunters will be using it too. The listing gives the unit's phone number as (706) 595-4222. To reach the check station from Thomson, take U.S. 78 north about 11.5 miles, turn right on Smith Mill Road at the WMA sign, and go 2.5 miles.

Dove hunting on the East side returns Dec. 19, after the East unit's firearms season closes.

The last Bussey Point hunt is this weekend

Before the WMA split comes the last date on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' schedule. Bussey Point, a 2,545-acre peninsula in Lincoln County, is a Corps Management Unit and is hunted only on scheduled dates. Its final 2026 archery and muzzleloader hunt is Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13–14. That's tomorrow and the next day for anyone reading this on publication day.

The Corps' July 24, 2026 announcement sets these terms:

• The gate opens one hour before sunrise and stays open until the last hunter leaves.
• Each day is capped at 75 hunters, first come, first served.
• The daily limit is two does and one quality buck. A quality buck has a main beam of at least 15 inches on one side or an outside spread of 14 inches or more.

This matters to people who don't hunt, too. The Corps closes the area for two days before each hunt to everyone except hunters scouting and placing stands, and no weapons are allowed on those scouting days. It also asks non-hunting visitors to use other recreation areas on hunt dates. If you usually walk or bike Bussey Point, the peninsula is reserved for hunters through Saturday.

After Bussey Point's last hunt ends Saturday, the next scheduled change near Washington is the East unit's firearms closing on Nov. 30.

Land around the lake

The Corps' Thurmond Lake hunting page notes that some public tracts around the lake have limited road access or can only be reached by boat.

Chronic wasting disease

Wilkes is outside Georgia's CWD Management Area, which in 2026 includes Atkinson, Berrien, Lanier and Lowndes counties. The 2026–27 regulations' CWD section recommends avoiding salt licks, troughs, gravity feeders and ground piles.

Where the late-season deer can go

A late season that stays open six weeks longer on private land can produce more venison than a household needs, especially with up to 10 antlerless deer allowed. Georgia Hunters for the Hungry has handled that since 1993 by sending donated venison to food banks and families. The Georgia Wildlife Federation's 2026–27 processor list says field-dressed deer can be dropped off at participating processors during their normal business hours. Participating processors closest to Washington:

• D&B Deer Processing, 3610 Lexington Rd., Washington, (706) 614-1446
• Newford Creek Outdoors, 418 Fain Rd., Tignall, (706) 318-5733
• Lakeside Taxidermy & Deer Processing, 2579 Cleveland Dr., Elberton, (706) 436-7882
• Parhamtown Processing LLC, 3689 Parhamtown Rd., Bowman, 706-988-4464

Hours and capacity vary by shop, so calling ahead around the holidays saves a wasted trip.

If you're a Wilkes County landowner, the dates mean more people may ask about hunting your land once the East side closes on Nov. 30. Before you agree to anything, it helps to know how a lease, a hunting club or your own use fits with your timber plans and long-term goals for the tract. If you'd like to talk through what your land's recreational value means for its management or its price, J Brand Realty can help. Request a Property Valuation & Consultation and we'll walk the ground with you.