2 Booners From Hancock County

Gary McMahon’s Hancock County buck netted 170 3/8 and was Georgia’s No. 2 buck of the 2003-04 season.

A Booner stepping out was the last thing on the mind of a newcomer to the area. Gary McMahan, of Franklin, N.C., was enjoying his first year in a Hancock County club during the 2003-04 season.

On the evening of Nov. 22, Gary made a decision that would place him in Georgia’s deer-hunting annals forever. That evening he went to a thick neck of woods that was rarely hunted by club members. The weekend before, Gary’s father had hunted the thicket and found a lot of buck sign. Gary hung his climbing stand in the middle of the thicket where he could see a couple of long, narrow openings.

“There was a lot of honeysuckle in there, and the does were feeding in there because the acorns were gone,” Gary said. “It was really thick. I could see out about 150 yards in a couple of little spots. I looked away, and when I looked back, the buck was just there (in one of the openings).”

When the March 2004 issue of GON came out, Gary had just had his buck officially scored at 170 3/8 net inches.

Interestingly, the only other Booner taken during the 2003-04 season was also taken in Hancock County. Keith Thompson’s buck netted 173 inches. These two Booners are still the No. 1 and No. 2 bucks from Hancock County.

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