Posts by Bill Cooper
South Georgia’s Record Non-typicals
In spite of the fact that Georgia’s 2013 deer season produced few entries for the Boone & Crockett Club’s records books; hunters took a significant number of outstanding bucks around the state. Several of these deer placed high in individual county rankings, and in a few cases, new records were established. Two of these records…
Read More1962 Booner
On an early September morning in 1962, Earl Williams and Billy Waits slipped Williams’ 12-foot aluminum boat into the Ocmulgee River at Macon and headed upriver to do some squirrel hunting. As the men neared Georgia Power’s Plant Arkwright, located along the western edge of the river, Earl turned the boat sharply to the right…
Read MoreThe Culpepper Buck
Having acquired a new deer hunting lease in Worth County, Danny Culpepper and his sons, Fletcher and Trevor, spent September and early October scouting and bowhunting the property. Each of the men eventually selected a primary stand location. Danny elected to skip opening weekend of firearms season, but his sons hunted both days, with somewhat…
Read MoreThe Brannen Booner
Checking any recent issue of GON for land prices that include significant acreages of excellent wildlife habitat can be a brain-numbing experience. Less than 50 years ago these same types of properties, lands classified as unsuitable for farming or growing pine timber, had very little value. However, beginning in the 1970s and continuing through…
Read MoreDonald Duren’s Brooks County Booner
There seems to be one almost every year — a giant Georgia buck that has gone unrecognized for decades. The latest buck from the past is a 19-point non-typical from Brooks County that has 31-inch main beams. The story of this buck goes back four decades. Donald Duren loved the outdoors and, in the 1960s,…
Read MoreBurford’s Mitchell County Booner
For Tommy Burford, of Camilla, growing up in south Georgia was somewhat different because he happened to be born without hearing. There were communication barriers to overcome, but by learning to adjust with the gifts he was given, Tommy managed to complete a normal education, raise a family and become a successful businessman. Obviously, not…
Read MoreColquitt County’s 1999 “Truck Buck”
Though the odds are extremely low, most deer hunters entertain the dream of some day encountering a record-class whitetail. For Lavon Cannon, of Meigs, that one-in-a-million chance came at daybreak on the morning of Nov. 4, 1999. Unfortunately, the dream resembled more of a nightmare, because instead of sitting comfortably in his deer stand, Lavon…
Read MoreTommy Johnson’s Tift County Typical Giant
During the 1993-94 Georgia deer season, Dodge and Telfair were the only counties to place deer in B&C’s all-time record book, however, one other buck, taken on Dec. 5, 1993 in Tift County by Tommy Johnson, came awfully close. Tommy’s buck, an awesome 12-pointer with 25-inch beams and 13 1/2-inch back tines, had an outstanding…
Read MoreCraig Walker’s Telfair County Record-Book Buck
The week before Paul Smith took the best Georgia buck of the 1993-94 season in Dodge County, Craig Walker, of McRae, was hunting a private lease in Telfair County, Dodge’s neighboring county to the east. Actually, Craig had decided to combine a quick scouting and hunting trip before work on the day prior to Thanksgiving.…
Read MorePaul Smith’s Dodge County Booner
While growing up, Raul Smith, of Eastman, was always interested in the outdoors and generally enjoyed all types of hunting, from dove and other small game to deer and turkey. Prior to 1993, he deer hunted when the opportunity arose, but it wasn’t a sport he singularly preferred above all others. Last fall, however, Paul’s…
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