Art Rilling: An Officer, A Gentleman And A Georgia Icon

The outdoor and hunting world in Georgia has lost a very special friend. Art Rilling, who owned and operated the Stone Mountain Game Ranch from 1962 to 1982, and later the Yellow River Game Ranch from 1982 to 2012, passed away on Jan. 4, 2021. He was 92. Art was a mentor and inspiration to…

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Washington County’s Best Buck Stolen, Still Missing

Editor’s Note: The Washington County record buck killed by Jason Luttrull in 1999 was stolen from the Washington County Fair on Oct. 14, 2004. GON spoke with Jason’s best friend Chris Kevern on Sept. 2, 2020, and he confirmed that the deer is still missing. If you have information on the buck’s whereabouts, please call…

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Deer Festival In The Deer Capital Of Georgia

On Saturday, Nov. 7, the Jasper County Chamber of Commerce will be holding and celebrating the 54th annual “Monticello Deer Festival” on the square in Monticello. Originally organized by the Jasper County Jaycees, the first festival was held back in 1966 to celebrate the premier deer hunting offered in this amazing part of the state.…

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The 180 Club

It’s an exclusive club in the Deep South, and only nine Georgia hunters can claim to be a member. In order to qualify, you have to have killed a buck scoring a minimum of 180 net typical inches or higher. Five of the Peach State’s 180-inch-plus bucks were taken in the 1950s and ’60s, and…

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Fall Fiction: Coon Dog Cemetery Hunting Club Part 5

Long ago they had named the club ‘Coon Dog Cemetery’ to honor the legendary dogs, hounds with names like Run-Around Sue, Ol’ Rip, Kentucky Mike and Wrong-Way Pete. Dogs that had found their final resting place in a small, sacred plot of ground at one end of the property. Over the years, as the deer…

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Turkey Call Makers To Rendezvous Again In North Georgia

Once again, many of the South’s finest and most renowned turkey call makers will rendezvous at the lodge at Unicoi State Park on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 10-11, 2020 for the 5th annual Unicoi Call Makers Show. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, and admission is free. Christmas may be over…

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The Hatton Buck, Georgia’s No. 2 Non-Typical

It was a typical Indian summer day so common to the central Georgia woods in the Monroe County area for mid-fall. The daytime temperatures on Nov. 17, 1973 had been hovering in the mid-70s, nowhere close to the chill of early winter that most hunters hoped to see at this time of year. For John…

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Fall Fiction: Coon Dog Cemetery Hunting Club Part 4

Long ago they had named the club ‘Coon Dog Cemetery’ to honor the legendary dogs, hounds with names like Run-Around Sue, Ol’ Rip, Kentucky Mike and Wrong-Way Pete. Dogs that had found their final resting place in a small, sacred plot of ground at one end of the property. Over the years, as the deer…

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Fall Fiction: Coon Dog Cemetery Hunting Club Part 3

Long ago they had named the club ‘Coon Dog Cemetery’ to honor the legendary dogs, hounds with names like Run-Around Sue, Ol’ Rip, Kentucky Mike and Wrong-Way Pete. Dogs that had found their final resting place in a small, sacred plot of ground at one end of the property. Over the years, as the deer…

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Okefenokee Joe: The SwampWise Legacy

He may the best friend a snake ever had in Georgia and one of America’s greatest snake hunters ever. But he’s so much more. He’s a self-educated naturalist, an expert on animal behavior and a gifted singer and storyteller who has enthralled audiences young and old with his popular snake and wildlife programs for well…

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