Outside the Atlanta metro, Macon leads Georgia's Buck Index at 76, followed by Dooly, Lee and Tift at 72. Inside the metro, Morgan leads at 74, followed by Meriwether at 69. No Georgia county reaches 80 on the national scale. The order compares documented big-buck history per estimated bow-huntable acre on a national scale. That gives hunters a county comparison, while permits and the actual property stay separate checks.
KEY FINDINGS
- Outside the Atlanta metro, Macon leads at 76. Inside the metro, Morgan leads at 74. FDR names the leaders on each side of the line, and a big metro means a Census metro area of 1 million people or more.
- Macon leads at 76, followed by Morgan at 74. Dooly, Lee and Tift share a displayed score of 72 in third through fifth place. No Georgia county reaches 80 on the national scale.
- Worth and Dougherty share a displayed score of 70 in sixth and seventh place. Putnam and Meriwether follow at 69. Their underlying order is retained, but a rounded tie is not a measured difference in hunting opportunity.
- All 159 Georgia counties are included. Eight counties are Not rated because they are mostly inside city limits. The score is a relative Buck Index, not an official county harvest rate.
Georgia county finder
Where does your county rank?
Derived FDR scores on a national 0 to 100 scale. History: 2011 through 2025. Captured October 17, 2026. Order uses the underlying rate before rounding. Zero is a valid score. Not rated means the county has no qualifying bow-huntable acreage or is mostly inside city limits. Counties marked metro sit inside a Census metro area of 1 million people or more.
10 of 159 entries shown
| State rank | County | Buck Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macon | 76 |
| 2 | Morgan Atlanta metro | 74 |
| 3 | Dooly | 72 |
| 4 | Lee | 72 |
| 5 | Tift | 72 |
| 6 | Worth | 70 |
| 7 | Dougherty | 70 |
| 8 | Putnam | 69 |
| 9 | Meriwether Atlanta metro | 69 |
| 10 | Peach | 68 |
01County comparison
Macon leads, with Morgan second and Dooly, Lee and Tift next
Macon holds first place at 76 and Morgan second at 74. Dooly, Lee and Tift share a displayed score of 72 in third, fourth and fifth place, ahead of Worth and Dougherty at 70. The national scoring frame matters: Macon's 76 sits on a 0 to 100 scale built for the whole country, so the score reads against that wider comparison.
The denominator is estimated bow-huntable acreage. A county with less qualifying acreage can rank high when its documented big-buck history is concentrated relative to that acreage. The score does not identify which parcel produced that history or whether a hunter can gain access to it.
02County comparison
Cherokee, Cook and Sumter share 64 in seventeenth through nineteenth
Cherokee, Cook and Sumter share a displayed score of 64 in seventeenth through nineteenth place. Jasper, Jackson, Crawford and Harris share 63 in twentieth through twenty-third place.
Macon in first through Newton in eleventh occupy an eight-point displayed range, from 76 to 68. Farther down, Glascock, Schley, Murray and Early share a displayed score of 54 in fifty-seventh through sixtieth place. The full table is more useful than a short winners list when an actual property becomes available outside the first few counties.
03County comparison
Morgan, Clayton and Clinch sit in very different bands
Morgan ranks second at 74. Clayton ranks twenty-sixth at 62, and Irwin is eightieth at 50. Clinch, the last rated county, ranks one hundred fifty-first at 18.
Morgan's 74 sits above Clayton's 62 and Clinch's 18 under this measure. That gap is a documented difference in county history after the acreage adjustment, and the score does not explain its cause.
04County comparison
Check the county, the rules and the ground together
The state wildlife agency's deer hunting information gives the agency context for deer hunting. This paper does not turn the score into a harvest estimate for any property. Before a county becomes a trip, check the current rules for the exact ground being considered.
The state wildlife agency's where-to-hunt resources give the next step for finding ground. Start with a county you can actually hunt, then compare the substitutes that fit the same trip. A move from Dooly to Lee changes the rank number while leaving the displayed Buck Index at 72. Access may matter more than the index for that decision.
05Basis of this report
Scores and method
FDR derived this October 17, 2026 snapshot from the 2011 through 2025 history window, estimated bow-huntable acreage and national scaling. The Buck Index runs from 0 to 100 and is not harvest odds, population density or guaranteed access.
Compare the other states in the FDR county report series.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Derived FDR scores on a national 0 to 100 scale. History: 2011 through 2025. Captured October 17, 2026. Order uses the underlying rate before rounding. Zero is a valid score. Not rated means the county has no qualifying bow-huntable acreage or is mostly inside city limits. Counties marked metro sit inside a Census metro area of 1 million people or more.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. FDR county scores and interpretations are independent analysis. A county ranking does not evaluate an individual property.
Keep reading
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