Among the 12 WMAs in the Blue Ridge Mountain region, the highest hunter success rate was attained on the 4,500 acres of Smithgall Woods/ Dukes Creek Conservation Area, where hunters harvested 23 birds for a 60.5 percent success rate. Lake Burton WMA, covering 12,600 acres, had a 13.7 percent success rate. Another productive area: 96,000-acre Cohutta WMA, where hunters bagged 35 birds last year.

Moving south, the Piedmont area of the state has produced a lot of turkeys over the years, though development is beginning to threaten its habitat. The region's clay soils with granite origins are very productive for wildlife. The steep, rocky terrain makes erosion an ongoing problem. The forested areas are predominately an oak/hickory mix, but large swaths of pine are present also. Because the Piedmont region is so large, the area is often divided into eastern and western zones. The hunter success rate for the combined region last year was 6.7 percent.

Just west of the metro Atlanta area lies the western Piedmont, which contains a mixture of mature forestlands, including upland hardwoods, bottomland hardwoods and some pine stands mixed with pastureland. Hunters at 4,758-acre Blanton Creek WMA, near West Point, and the 3,700-acre Joe Kurz WMA, in Meriwether County, tallied creditable success rates: 14 percent and 11 percent, respectively. Hunters at Blanton Creek WMA harvested just over three birds per square mile.

Turkey habitat in the eastern Piedmont region is being hit particularly hard by development. Metro Atlanta's urban sprawl and a rise in intensive forestry practices involving conversion to short-rotation pine forests are taking a toll on this region. Nonetheless, some good WMAs can still be found in the eastern Piedmont. Hunters at 6,400-acre Clybell WMA had a remarkable 40 percent rate of success, with 50 hunters harvesting 20 birds, or two birds per square mile, while 12,703-acre Clarks Hill WMA was also a hotspot, with an 11.7 percent hunter success rate. A lot of turkeys were taken at Cedar Creek WMA and Lake Russell WMA, but the hunter success rates weren't quite as high.

The Upper Coastal Plain physiographic region harbors one of the more recently restored turkey populations, and has been a good bet for turkey hunters over the past several years. Last year, it boasted the highest overall success rate, 9.4 percent. A mixture of mature forests interspersed with wildlife openings characterizes this area of the state. Hunters on private lands often encounter agricultural lands mixed with pasture.

Overall success rates are very good in this area of the state -- and 23 WMAs lie in the region. The 13 sportsmen who hunted the 1,500-acre Phinizy Swamp topped the charts with a 38.4 percent success rate. Oaky Woods WMA, an 18,875-acre tract near Perry, yielded 1.05 turkeys per square mile with a 14.7 percent success rate. Composed of 8,100 acres of mixed agricultural fields and forested areas, Di-Lane WMA enabled hunters to achieve a 15.7 percent success rate. Ocmulgee WMA hosted the largest number of hunters, with 431 bagging 42 birds for a success rate of 9.7 percent. Finally, 7,800-acre Yuchi WMA was also a productive area with a total harvest of 35 birds and a success rate of just over 15 percent.

In the southeastern corner of Georgia, the Lower Coastal Plain includes all of the oceanfront counties. The area is flat and contains wet, sandy soil that is low in fertility. The region is made up primarily of pine forests in the uplands and gum and shrub swamps in lower lying areas.