# Berrien Co./Alapaha River



## Whitetailer

The landowner planted eight foods plots today.  I will be on the property as soon as I can to relocate some stands and fill some feeders.  I was watching the river gauge at Rt. 82 as Issac passed and the water came up and then went down.  My biggest fear is if a Gulf storm will flood the property for the entire season.  Nobody has bow hunted yet, but next week I think.

I hear we have a good acorn crop!?!??

Whitetailer


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## billy336

Rubbing it in are ya


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## Whitetailer

Just shaking th chum bag


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## Whitetailer

Couple of guys bowhunting a few days.  Not many deer seen.  Acorns really thick on the high ground and in the river bottom.  Got the John Deere Gator stuck in a slough that was rutted and wet.

I will be on the property next week for three days to put up some ladder stands and fine tune the rifles.

Can not hunt the gun open, sure wanted to be there, but work you know...

Whitetailer


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## Four

For those of you that are around, what's the moisture look like, are we going to have a wet season this year?


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## Whitetailer

*Hey Four*

Well, the river did come up a few feet, but is now back down.  It has been raining just enough to keep puddles here and there and some water in the sloughs and most importantly the food plots are growing nicely.  Also the acorns are quite prolific this year and make lots of racket falling on the new metal cabin roof all night long.

I was up last weekend to re-install some ladder stands that I removed last season in antipicitation of a controlled burn of the pines that did not happen.  Also put out a few feeders and two cameras.  Lots of work, but I had a buddy from the Keys come up and help me and he is not even a member...

Also I met a couple of guys on the adjacent property that used to be the "Glory Club" and has changed hands.  Nice guys from Tifton and Ty Ty.

I can not get up for the gun opener, but hope to make it up shortly after that.

You gonna get up to hunt soon?

Whitetailer


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## creekhunter

*Finally Ready!*

Greetings guys!

We finished planting today. Never been this late. 

Killed a 5' Canebrake Rattler yesterday, after almost stepping on it near a feed shed. It had 13-rattles and a button. 

Seeing lots of tracks and got a nice 8 on camera last week. 

Waiting on Saturday!


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## Whitetailer

*Hey creekhunter*

Welcome and nice to hear your keyboard again!  It seems there has been enough rain to keep plots going.  I am very curious to see if a little throw and grow plot I planted two weeks ago on a high spot in the river bottom grows.  Darn those snakes.  I have not seen one for a couple of years, but have had a few encounters.

Well, it took three years, but the probate is over and the property has been distributed to the heirs.  I do not have a "warm and fuzzy" feeling about next season

We'll see.  

I wil not be up for the gun opener, but unless I get booked to fish will try to make it up that week.  AND, I just got a jury duty summons for November 6th JEEZE!!

Good Luck,

Later Whitetailer


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## Four

Looked at the 10 day forecast for up there... Still looking pretty hot, i imagine mosquitoes might be an issue...

I know some of you guys have to be using a bow, or a mussel loader... Lets hear it, anyone taken anything? seen anything?

I'd settle for trail cam pictures


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## billy336

Just got off the phone with Whitetailer. Just staying in the loop as I'm not hunting in Berrien this year:-(. After 19 years I threw in the towel to stay home and help the wife with our newborn. I'm there in spirit fellas.


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## Whitetailer

*firearm open*

Looks like there will be three guys on the property for the open and the weather seems like it will be cool with the passing of a front.  I am going to try to get up the following week days if i do not get booked to fish.   I saw a rib roast in Publix for $54.00......So I will be there with "cruel intentions"...  Going to carry my Ruger .44 on the short range hunts.







Whitetailer


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## creekhunter

Four of hunted this morning and we all saw deer. Does, yearlings, even a fawn with spots. Saw two different 4-points,. My son and his wife are hunting now. I stayed behind to play with granddaughter.


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## Whitetailer

Had three guys on the Alapaha River property for the open and there was little going on.  The report I got was a few doe seen.  I will be there on tuesday afternoon for a few or more days.  Will not be as cool as I like it, but that is early season.  


Whitetailer


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## billy336




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## Whitetailer

*336*

I HAVE AN OPENING......if it will not jeopardize your home life!!!


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## Lowjack

Where do you hunt whitetailer ? are you near Alapaha ?


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## Four

Lowjack said:


> Where do you hunt whitetailer ? are you near Alapaha ?



Yup


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## billy336

Whitetailer said:


> I HAVE AN OPENING......if it will not jeopardize your home life!!!




Safe to say I'd make the water boil, if you know what I mean. Stay safe in the storm Russ, we've been getting bands since noon


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## creekhunter

*Buck chasing*

At 9:35 this morning, I heard splashing in the creek bottom I was hunting. Looked up in time to see a nice mature buck chasing another deer. Couldn't tell if it was a doe or a buck, but I would imagine it was a doe. They were long gone before I could raise my rifle  

My son shot at a coyote, but missed him. 

Skeeters were hungry this morning.


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## Lowjack

Whitetailer , do you know if the Gaskins have any leases available ?


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## Whitetailer

Mr. Gaskins passed away three years ago.  The probate just finnished.  His son now owns my property.  I do not know if they do have anything.   Although I think there will be at least one opening next year.  If you like I can give you a phone number.


Whitetailer


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## Lowjack

A OK , I knew he died in 2009 , Leased from him like for 10 years and his Brother.
I know his son also , I bought bows from him before , I'll give him a call and see.
Are you the group that has the old cabin on Old saw mill road near Larry's house ?


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## Whitetailer

I am on the east side of the river.  I think it is the only property on that side of the river.


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## Whitetailer

Hunted five days and saw deer the last morning when it got cooler, it was 52 deg. @ 6:00 am on Sunday morning.  One deer I saw was a spike and his hocks were stained.  He was 15 feet from me under my stand and seemed to be about 100 pounds.  Meaning kinda big for a first year deer?

Got a picture of a nice 9 pt. buck that would have been a ten, but the g-4 was only a pimple on the left beam.   He was not on a feeder, but walking a trail that I discovered later was his rub line.

















It got cold as soon as I left.....


Whitetailer


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## billy336

Good lookin deer Russ. I'd be after him for sure.Worked a job with Jeff yesterday, he's excited to get up.


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## creekhunter

Okay. Somebody post something! I'm not able to hunt this weekend. Let me know what y'all are seeing please..


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## Whitetailer

*Whooooo Creek....*

Ya seem a little bit twisted  It happens this time of year

Yeah, I know how you feel.  Wanna be in the woods, but nooooo.
 Hey, I'm 550 miles away.

Had one guy on the river property for three days.  He saw deer each day, but only spikes and one five point.  He left on Sat. afternoon cause it was getting warm, as in 80 in the afternoon.

I have just worked two days, count them T-W-O...so I will be up, I think Thursday [8th] and will stay on the property for 10 days.  The son is coming up the 16th, 17th , 18th and 19th. so I will stay til then.

Next weekend we will have a bunch in camp, so something should happen.  I might go to the library in Nashville to see if I can use a computer to check my business e-mail and send in a post.


Whitetailer


 Whitetailer


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## Lowjack

We might be neighbors next year.
Thinkinh of buying 475 acres east of the River.


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## Irratekman

I hunt 1000 acres across the street from the saw mill on old saw mill road  , I'm going up for a week this Friday, anyone else hunting this area?


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## spearjunky

How far from Nashville ga are you. I will be up on Thursday for a week


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## Irratekman

*Alapaha*



spearjunky said:


> How far from Nashville ga are you. I will be up on Thursday for a week



15 miles north of Nashville


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## Four

I'm driving up thursday night, staying for a long weekend.


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## Lowjack

Irratekman said:


> I hunt 1000 acres across the street from the saw mill on old saw mill road  , I'm going up for a week this Friday, anyone else hunting this area?



Is that the one with the old house in front ?With a pecan field in back ?
If it is hunt the edge of the creek to the right of the house.


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## Irratekman

Lowjack said:


> We might be neighbors next year.
> Thinkinh of buying 475 acres east of the River.





Lowjack said:


> Is that the one with the old house in front ?With a pecan field in back ?
> If it is hunt the edge of the creek to the right of the house.



Yes it is, I'll be sure to stick a climber up there.


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## billy336

Hey Four, any word from ur dad?


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## Four

billy336 said:


> Hey Four, any word from ur dad?



Yup, he's up there now.. He says its been cool but not overly cold, he's been seeing deer.. some doe, a spike and a 6 point I believe.


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## creekhunter

*8-Point taken in Lowndes today*

I killed this 8-point at 5:40 pm this afternoon. I had been watching several does behind my stand. I heard a stick snap, turned around and saw this buck walking away from me, in front of my stand. I almost let him go, but decided to go ahead and take him. He would have been a 10-point, but two antlers were broken off from fighting. His tarsals stunk to high heaven! Today was my fourth time in the stand this season.


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## Irratekman

Nice Buck congrats


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## Whitetailer

*11 days in the woods*

Arrived at camp on the 8th. and left this morning, the 19th.  Saw two 6 points the first morning and one 6 the second.  Let them walk.  I got a 14" wide eight on a plot veterans day evening.  Saw a couple of Doe otherwise, as the weather warmed up some.  On Friday the 16th. I sat on the same plot that I got the eight on five days earlier.  At 5:05 pm a buck walked out and  I neck shot him at about 70 yards, as I did not want to have him run and have to look for him after dark.  He was an eight and measured 181/2" wide.  Dark pretty sweeping symmetrical antlers.  Some of the guys saw lots of Doe and small bucks.  I was the only one with any luck.  The first buck was not rutting, the second has stained tarsals and a big neck and that stinky aroma of burned nuts.  My son hunted four days with only an hour and a half break at mid day and he did not see a single deer.  He hunted the deep woods where I had seen buck the previous week and had pic's of buck on trail cam.

   Whitetailer


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## outsideman

*Capt'n Russ*

I can attest to most of what Captn. Russ has set forth, but I must interject  that "Rum" was present,*In Camp*, and some facts, as stated, may vary from actual events..Although, The Captn. did Kill Two!, Very nice!, 8 Bangers. and passed on deer few others could.....including myself


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## deadbox

I just got access to a farm in the Lanier berrien line near ray city. I was told rut has came and gone. Can you confirm this?  Will be there in the morning.


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## Whitetailer

*deadbox*

Can not confirm one way or the other.  "THE" rut can be very subtle and not much if any chasing to witness.  The thing about this area is there may be doe in esterous nonstop the whole season.  I have recognized the second rut the first week of December and what would have been a third rut as I took a ten point years ago chasing a doe on Januray 11th.

Suffice it to say get in the woods and be optomistic.  One buck I shot on 11/11 showed no sign of being in rut.  The second on 11/16 had stained tarsals, but was just walking and feeding, not in seek mode.


Creekhunter,

Nice deer. Great mass and tine length.

Good Luck to the rest of you all.


 Whitetailer


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## spearjunky

Killed a good 1 11/15 at 5:00 came in grunting all the way .i will post pics later


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## spearjunky

O lots of little bucks came to the horns


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## spearjunky

here are the pics


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## outsideman

Good looking animal.Nice mass on the rack.. Big congrats...Where in Berriens cnty ? Sounds like they  are hard at it ??


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## spearjunky

Near Nashville


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## Whitetailer

*Spearjunky*

That is a seriously nice buck.  That right side is awsome, it looks like the G-3 is a foot long.   Is he going on the wall?


   Whitetailer


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## Whitetailer

*my results for 1012*







Both buck taken on the same plot in the late aftermnoon.  The smaller eight measures 14 inches wide.  The larger eight measures 18 inches wide.  The smaller one was feeding in a plot and showed no sign of rut.  The better buck walked out onto the same plot five days later and his tarsals were stained, he did not feed, just slow walked out into the middle of the plot.

There is an old sawdust pile about 40 yards from this plot and I have always seen that the deer are pawing on it.  It used to be 8 feet high and 25 feet around.  It is much smaller now. I had been told that the deer are pawing for mushrooms or something growing in the decaying sawdust pile.  Anybody ever hear this before?  As in that deer have an affinity for fungus, mushrooms and the like?

I saw the temperatures were very cold this past weekend.  A couple of guys on the property hunted and saw very little.  They said it was in the twenties on Sunday morning.

I got a report that a "nice" seven point was taken on the adjacent property over the weekend.

Good luck to all still in the woods and bundle up......


 Whitetailer.


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## billy336

Very, very nice Capt Russ. Tell them guys to leave some for me next year.


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## creekhunter

Very nice bucks Spearjunky and Whitetailer!

The deer have not been eating the shelled corn much at all. Acorns are still all over the ground. I've never seen so many acorns! It's impossible to walk silently to the stands because of the acorns crunching under my boots. 

We really haven't hunted much this year. Got too much going on with grandchildren and business. 

The buck I took had very stinky hocks, but was just walking across a food plot. I had been watching a doe and her fawn behind me when the buck walked out into the food plot. He didn't pay any attention to the doe and fawn. 

I've thrown several buck bombs this season with no response. Last season, they charged the buck bombs. Guess we must have thrown them at the right times last season.

Good luck in the woods!


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## Whitetailer

*creekhunter*

As for your corn observation...

Our deer seem to shy away from a timed tripod feeder.  I have pictures of deer in darkness on the tube feeders They have really eaten the corn spread out on a food plot though.   Yeah, the acorns are thick.  I dressed one deer and he had a full stomoch and rumen.  Upon examination of the contents, it was a slurry of [some corn] and browse and a hundred acorns that were not chewed, but in whole condition. 

I am done with two buck and will go up hopefully with my son after the 1st. of the year to get my ATV.

Good Luck,


 Russ


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## spearjunky

thanks creekhunter


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## creekhunter

*Corn Feeders*

I agree with you Whitetailer about the timed corn slingers. I've been using plastic 55-gallon barrel feeders that have a hole in the bottom to allow corn to dribble out on 2' x 2' square concrete pads. I don't use timers anymore. I almost had a heart attack before daylight one morning, when I walked by a corn slinger on my way to the stand. It went off, just as I got to it. Nearly died on the spot!

They just don't seem to be hungry for corn, like they normally are. It has to be the plentiful acorns. 

Your season didn't last long this season. Is your son going to hunt at your lease?


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## bear-229

my deer are the complete opposite.
if we let the corn run out of the feeder, we don't see any deer


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## Whitetailer

*creekhunter*

I hunted three days in late Octoer.  Then I went up Nov 9 and stayed til Nov 19th.  I have no work here, it is as slow as I have ever seen it, so I just had a long stay on the property.   I felt a little guilty, but the neighbors kept the dog and off I went.  I did not see a load of deer, but three times as many buck as doe.   My son came up 16th - 19th.  and did not see a deer.  He only was off stand from noon til 1:30...he really hunted hard.  A "soft" rut to say the least.

So, yeah I was done with buck harvest by Nov. 16th.

I am going up after the first of the year and the son is going with me.  I am just going to pull some stands out and take my atv home.  He will hunt a couple of days. 

Whitetailer


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## bobcat

Saw a small buck cruising across cotton field by river on the way in from work this evening. Saw another buck that looked  prdtty healthy nudging some does n yearlings just out of  williccooche as well....gl thought maybe it may help some...


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## Whitetailer

There will be three or four guys on the property this weekend.  I like early December as the visibility in the woods is great due to the leaves being off most of the hardwoods.  And the likelyhood of a doe in second esterous is a real possibility.

I get nutty when I go to the shopping center or grocery store as the smell of pine [Christmas trees] gets me wantng to be in the woods

I'm on the porch grilling some venison meatballs and smoking a havana.

Thinking of  you all..,.   good luck...


 Whitetailer....


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## plotthound

Are the deer movin around up around nashville haven't been since thanksgiving. planning on going up this weekend..


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## spearjunky

no idea but please let me no killed a good 1 the 15 of nov and have not seen any good movement since


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## spearjunky

o where do you hunt plotthound i am off inigma highway


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## plotthound

just east of nashville off hwy 76.. we have had it for about 12 yrs now. it about 400 acr.


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## Whitetailer

Not much to report on the property just east of Alapaha.  Couple  of guys up the last two weekends.  A few deer seen, one fork horn on a plot.  I will be up after New Years to close things up.

Three deer taken for the season on 1000 acres.

Neighbors to the east seemed to take much more than we did, no good buck that I have heard of though, just a couple of 6 points from them, although one big guy seen earlier.


 Whitetailer


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## Rackbuster

Whitetailer,not too far from you just north of Lax. My father in law went to fill up feeders and had a big buck cross the dirt road with his nose to the dirt. It went into lease and came back on the road and then circle back and walked within 5 ft of his boxstand. He said it was biggest buck he ever saw and his son said it had to be a reindeer with that much rack on his head.
He said you could see a track where a smaller deer crossed there so he assumed it to be a doe that the buck was trailing. So there are some still looking and because of Christmas we are having Saturday I will be there Sunday morning. Gonna put my camera out also to try to get a picture of him if I don't get him.


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## Whitetailer

*Rackbuster*

OH yeah,

 I have encountered a few big guys in late season.  I shot a 10 point on January 11 abut 14 years ago.  That deer was hot on a Doe in esterous.  I do not know how many Doe avoid being serviced this late in the year, but it is always a possibility.

Three years ago I was dragging a metal ladder stand with my atv and a huge buck jumped across the road I was on only 40 feet in front of me.  I can only assume the Doe ran across shortly before or he would not have done that.

It is tough to be optomistic this late, but it can happen.


 Whitetailer


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## plotthound

Any deer activity go on around nashville. Have not been up since first weekend inn December. Leave on Monday for a week with wife and kids, hope something might be move around its been a slow deer season not too much action.


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## Whitetailer

*plothound*

Not much to report.  No one on the property for a couple of weeks.  There will be some of us up for the last ditch effort for the last couple of weeks.  I am taking my son up to hunt next weekend and to bring my ATV home and just close up camp.  Gotta move some stands as they are going to thin and burn over the winter.


 Russ


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## billy336

Thin and burn. Two words that mean DEER


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## Whitetailer

*Billy*

Yeah, you know it.  When I got the property they had just clearcut.  It was incredable how many deer I would see.  Just because you could see....

Then four years ago when they did a minor thin job it was great hunting the new grown vegatation between the cuts.

I spoke to Jim R and he said he wants back in next year.

Also, Thanks for the referral.  I fished your friend his wife and son.  We had a nice 1/2 day trip.  Caught Reds, Drum, Jacks, Snapper, Sheepshead, Trout, etc.

And, as long as I am talking, that was a very nice Christmas card.  The photos tell it all.

Russ


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## Whitetailer

This seasons results.

No room in the "man room" so had to hang em' in the hallway.


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## billy336

Billy H wants back in too . Nice looking mounts, I've done 3 euros for friends this year. None for me , couple weeks left.


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