Fab 40: Georgia’s Best Bucks Of 2018-19 Season

Daryl Kirby | August 1, 2019

After several Georgia deer seasons in a row that fell below our state’s lofty standards for producing top-end, high-scoring bucks, last year was the rebound season we had been expecting.

There were four Booners, bucks that scored high enough to make Boone & Crockett’s all-time record book. That’s the second-best year in the past 20 for record-book bucks, and well above the 20-year average of 1.5 Booners in a season.

The Fab 40 is GON’s annual compilation of Georgia’s best bucks killed the previous season. These are bucks that have been measured by certified, official scorers. The Fab 40 is our chance to recognize these awesome bucks and the hunters fortunate enough to take them.

The annual Fab 40 compilation is provides a great data point to compare Georgia deer seasons for how many big bucks were killed. Last season there were 36 Georgia bucks that cracked the 150-class benchmark. That’s the second-best season in the past 20 years. The 2017-18 season only produced 14 bucks better than 150.

Simply put, the 2018-19 season was excellent for high-scoring bucks. Highlights from this year’s Fab 40 include:

• The New No. 2 Georgia Typical: A Brooks County giant netted 186 2/8—that’s second only to the famous Buck Ashe deer on Georgia’s all-time records for typicals. Roger Price modestly kept his buck relatively quiet until getting it officially measured after the season and then attending the Georgia Outdoor Writer’s Association big-buck awards ceremony this summer.

• The Rabun County Flier: The No. 10 buck of the season is a Rabun County mountain buck that also ranks as the No. 1 buck ever killed in Rabun. Brandon Hunnicutt’s 159-inch buck is proof that you really never know, regardless of what county you hunt, when a true giant whitetail may walk out. Sure, most of us hunt primarily for meat, but the potential of a giant buck is one of the great lures of deer hunting.

• Archery Bucks: Two Booners in the Top-5 by bowhunters, and two Top-10 bucks taken by crossbow hunters. Impressive stuff from the arrow slingers and bolt shooters.

• Worth & Fulton Throw Four: Fulton and Worth counties are always good, but having four of the Fab 40 is crazy good.

If you kill a potential Fab 40 buck this season, call GON at (800) 438-4663. If it’s after business hours, email us at [email protected]. Take good pictures—we might need one for next year’s prestigious Fab 40.