More than 255,000 acres of excellent hunting lands are available in both Georgia and South Carolina, all within an hour's drive from Augusta.

A gaggle of geese dot the land at Phinizy Swamp. Waterfowl may be hunted on Wednesdays and Saturdays during specified seasons at the wildlife management area near downtown Augusta. CHRIS THELEN/FILE

In Georgia, many state-managed Wildlife Management Areas in Burke, Screven, McDuffie and other counties offer small-game opportunities and plenty of deer and turkey.

Those sites include the 8,100-acre Di-Lane Plantation in Burke County, which is managed for trophy bucks; the 15,000-acre Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area in Screven County; and even the 1,500-acre Phinizy Swamp Wildlife Management Area just minutes from downtown Augusta.

Phinizy Swamp Wildlife Management Area is an archery-only hunting ground for deer and also has quality waterfowl opportunities on Wednesdays and Saturdays during specified seasons.

For more information about Georgia Wildlife Management Areas in the Augusta vicinity, contact the Department of Natural Resources office in Thomson at 721-7410 or (706) 595-4211.

Other public hunting opportunities include Corps of Engineers lands along Thurmond Lake. Several hunts are scheduled each season at the Bussey Point area of Lincoln County. Corps lands are abundant in both Georgia and South Carolina.

Hunting maps are available at the visitors center on the South Carolina side of the Thurmond Lake dam. For more information on Bussey Point and Corps lands along the lake, contact the project office at 1-800-533-3478.

In South Carolina, more than 200,000 acres of public lands are available in McCormick, Edgefield, Abbeville and Saluda counties, much of which lies in the state's Western Piedmont Hunt Unit.

Many parcels are part of Sumter National Forest and are managed both for timber production and wildlife.

For information or maps about public hunting opportunities on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River, contact the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources information office at (803) 734-3886.

Here are some of the public hunting lands near Augusta:

Georgia:

* Alexander Tract WMA in Burke County, 1,300 acres.

* Broad River WMA near Lincolnton, Ga., 1,500 acres.

* Clark Hill WMA (near Thomson-Appling), 12,703 acres.

* Di-Lane Plantation, (near Waynesboro), 8,100 acres.

* Germany Creek WMA, (near Thomson), 1,200 acres.

* Keg Creek WMA (near Appling), 800 acres.

* Phinizy Swamp WMA (Augusta), 1,500 acres.

* Soap Creek WMA (near Lincolnton), 1,050 acres.

* Fishing Creek (near Lincolnton), 2,903 acres

* Tuckahoe WMA (near Sylvania), 15,105 acres.

* Wilkes County WMA (near Washington) 1,910 acres.

* Yuchi WMA (near Waynesboro), 7,800 acres.

South Carolina:

* Crackerneck WMA (Aiken County) 10,012 acres

* Western Piedmont Hunt Unit (Edgefield, McCormick, Greenwood, Saluda and Abbeville counties), 205,000 acres.

Reach Robert Pavey at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 119, or rpavey@augustachronicle.com.