# Hancock County 2016



## HM

What are y'all seeing


----------



## HM

I walked up on this little one June 6th, not more than a couple days old. By my calculation would have been breed around 11/16/15.


----------



## HM

Most of the bucks I have on camera are slicked out


----------



## HM

I found fresh scrapes this weekend and some good pics.

Looks like they know it's getting close to that time of year


----------



## nosfedgta

All mine are slicked out.. lots of activity on cam.. not much from the stand though..


----------



## foxdawg

*9pt*

Guy on our club near Mayfield killed a 9pt today in full velvet.


----------



## champ

Got busted drawing back on one Saturday morning about an hour after daylight. Reckon it was headed back to a bedding area and I was perched atop the trail facing the wrong direction. Muscadines are getting hammered.


----------



## champ

Planning off for the pre-rut? I'm looking at 26OCT-02NOV around the county line on Hwy 15 South. Any predictions?


----------



## deepwater

champ said:


> Planning off for the pre-rut? I'm looking at 26OCT-02NOV around the county line on Hwy 15 South. Any predictions?



Pre rut in my area is usually the same dates you listed, sometimes earlier sometimes later but i always plan on being in the woods around halloween


----------



## BigBrett

We see pre duty activity start around 1st of November. Jewell area.  Guys told me this years ago when I joined.... Thought it was too early to be true but it is the pattern


----------



## champ

That's what we've seen for years also. Other Fellas in our club go by the 2nd or 3rd week in Nov, but seems like they miss it. Then again we do see bucks hard chasing does in our headlights at night or early in the morning in late Nov, however our pattern for taking big bucks is always around or before halloween when they seem to be cruising and getting ready for the rut.


----------



## HM

I see more bucks around Halloween than I do the rest of the year. I think Halloween plus or minus a couple of days is the TRUE hunters rut, when they're seeking and chasing


----------



## champ

Right on man!


----------



## hancock husler

I always take my vacation around Halloween


----------



## hancock husler

I'm in linton


----------



## BigBrett

Check cameras this morning got several pics of two different sets of bucks fighting pretty hard


----------



## hobbs27

My place is off Island creek rd near eastlake Sinclair. I have dust bowls for foodplots, very few acorns this year, I've not got a single shooter on camera, and I've seen not a single scrape and few rubs.
 There is a couple of wet puddles in the creek that used to flow good and I've seen several does, fawns and small bucks.
 This time last year there were scrapes and rubs all over the place.

Is this similar to anyone else's property in Hancock?


----------



## deepwater

Scrapes have been showing up for a couple weeks now at my place but not as many rubs as usual. It's really dry right now but we have a good crop of white oak acorns this year. Day time movement has been slow for me so far only seeing a hand full of does and only heard a few shots Saturday morning. Hopefully the weather will cool off a little more next weekend and help day time movement


----------



## champ

I just really hope we don't have a repeat of last season when it got very hot during the last of Oct and first of Nov.. Like I said in an earlier post, most of the chasing action I seen was at night or in the wee hours of morning, then during peak daylight its just seemed to get very hot and the woods would go super quiet. But the weeks before during the pre-rut there were some really good bucks taken down from morning hunts.


----------



## hobbs27

Yeah, I remember hunting in the warm and rainy days of last year, but I did see alot more rut signs in mid Oct. last year.


----------



## HM

Last year it was cool opening weekend and I saw 30+ deer in three sits. I worked that next week and it was hot when I got back down there and went three days without seeing a deer. Hunted the first two weeks of November WET, if I wasn't sweating it was raining, and I saw little rut activity. My best hunting last year didn't come til the middle of December.

I'll be there from Oct 21 thru Nov 14 this year and am really praying for some cool weather.


----------



## HM

Who's hunting this weekend?


----------



## deepwater

Headed down shortly


----------



## champ

Had a great weekend. Managed to take a doe, none of the bucks I seen were legal. Heard a good bit of gunfire around county line south on Hwy 15.


----------



## deepwater

Saw a few does and a small 6 chasing a lone doe. Only heard a handful of shots. Hope the forecast is wrong for this weekend.


----------



## deepwater

Where did everybody go ?


----------



## foxdawg

I'm headed back down tomorrow in time to hunt tomorrow evening thru Sunday. Looks like it's gonna be pretty warm. Think the first couple weeks in Nov will be pretty good. I am in the Mayfield area.


----------



## 01Foreman400

deepwater said:


> Where did everybody go ?




Huntin!


----------



## deepwater

01Foreman400 said:


> Huntin!



Have you killed anything ?


----------



## HM

Been here since opening morning, haven't seen a deer in three days


----------



## hobbs27

I found a few white Oaks dropping but not anything like they are in north GA.

Seeing a few scrapes and rubs now. 

Still just getting pics of does, fawns, and scrub bucks...Im shooting for second week in Nov...could use some cold weather and rain.


----------



## hancock husler

Hunt the scrape lines and water if you have it


----------



## 01Foreman400

deepwater said:


> Have you killed anything ?



Just time!


----------



## BigBrett

HM said:


> Been here since opening morning, haven't seen a deer in three days




gotcha beat 4 days....everyone else seeing a few. I have them on camera during day chasing (scrub bucks) at a stand I did not sit, sit there and there on cam at previous stand. strange start to the year for me.


----------



## champ

Guess we're all on the same page. Hunted 27Oct-01Nov and decided to head on home. I did have a great time relaxing and catching redbreast though, and a couple little bass. Seen a few wandering deer, none legal or big enough to justify processor costs. This halloween was a bust repeat of last year. Oh yeah, rattlers were on the move.


----------



## thaney10

This past weekend was very slow after a great opener. I received a call this evening that the bucks are really chasing hard as of today, at our club in Hancock.


----------



## smitty

Slow week in Sparta area, white oaks are raining down ! Seeing deer just not the bucks on camera !


----------



## hobbs27

Here for a week if..... It goes better than today.


----------



## hobbs27

Heard a few shots this morning, not many, but did have a small 8pointer chase a doe around my stand close to 10am.


----------



## hobbs27

OK..had a very exciting hunt this evening. I bumped some deer coming out last night in a spot I've always wanted to hunt but can't find a suitable stand location.

This eve I decided to go in and hunt on the ground. I had the wind to my advantage. About 5oclock I heard movement in the pine thicket I was facing, then a huge doe comes out 40yards to my left. She is followed by what appears to be her last year's fawn and then a yearling doe. They move up the hill and begin feeding under an oak. 

A few minutes later a small 3point walks out and joins them. Then I see movement coming straight down the hollow toward them. It's a nice little 8point, pearl white rack. I'm guessing 3 year old and about 115".  Not what I'm looking for but man he looked good. He started chasing the does.

Back and forth through the thicket and then out of hearing....but then they come back and one doe is running straight towards me. I just sit still and squint my eyes as she turns to my right five feet behind me.

 Having my Ruger .41 mag at my side, I thought this is going to be a great opportunity to get one with my revolver ( haven't taken one with pistol yet)..  He was coming in, but before he got to me the other doe cut between us and drew his attention away from me.

The whole time this is going on I can hear another chase going on across the dried  creek on another ridge.

Hunts like this keep me going back.


----------



## hobbs27

Heading back in this morning. So far I have seen chasing every sit since Sunday morning. Nice 2 1/2 year old seven pointer yesterday morning. Still looking for BIG BOY!


----------



## hobbs27

Peak started yesterday IMO. Saw a good four year old 8 pointer just walking behind a doe...lockdown phase will be soon.


----------



## brownhounds

I'll be down there this coming weekend.  I think it will be good on Sunday and Monday, but Saturday looks like a windy day.


----------



## HM

A couple of small bucks chasing does this past weekend


----------



## hobbs27

Spent Monday and Tuesday hunting. I have a sanctuary area where I run a feeder. I have very few doe pictures and tons of spikes, three pointers, and little bucks on feeder day and night. I saw only one spike while hunting.
Not the same place it was two weeks ago.


----------



## brownhounds

I think all big bucks and mature does are in hiding.  Was down at camp last 2 weekends and saw nothing but little ones..


----------

