Georgia’s Best Bucks: 2020 Fab 40

Three bucks cracked the magical Boone & Crockett minimum, solidifying last season as special in the annals of Georgia deer hunting. But more impressive than the Booners might be the 13 bucks that scored above the 160-class. That ties a record for the most 160-class and better bucks ever taken, and officially measured, during a Georgia deer season.

The top buck of the 2020-2021 season is this Jefferson County booner nets 174 6/8 inches. The hunter is Zac Peters, of Wrens.

The Fab 40 is GON’s annual compilation of Georgia’s best bucks from the previous season. It includes only those measured by certified scorers. The Fab 40 provides a great way to compare how a  deer season stacks up against previous seasons in terms of high-scoring bucks. The chart on page 41 includes the 20-year average of how many bucks crack the 150-class benchmark, the 160-mark, and how many scored high enough to qualify for the all-time Boone & Crockett record book. Last season was well above the 20-year average in all three categories.

Also noteworthy is that 14 of this year’s Fab 40 bucks were taken with archery gear, 12 with bows and two with crossbows.

The full hunt stories for most of this year’s Fab 40 bucks can be found online at gon.com, along with additional photos of many of the deer. To find a story, use the links below, or go to your favorite internet search engine, such as Google, and simply type in the hunter’s name followed by gon.com. The first search-engine result you should see is the hunt story for that hunter’s buck.

The 2020-2021 Fab 40

1. 174 6/8, Zac Peters, Jefferson Co.

2. 195 3/8*, Colby Johnson, Worth Co.

Colby Johnson, of Hartsfield, with his 18-point Worth County buck taken on Nov. 4, 2020.

3.170 0/8, Eric Mullis, Tift Co.

Eric Mullis with this Tift County buck that netted 170 even to make the Boone & Crockett record book.

4. 168 3/8, Logan Crosson, Ben Hill Co.

Big buck from Ben Hill County for Logan Crosson, of Tifton. He shot the 12-pointer on Oct. 30, 2020.

5. 167 1/8 (b), Bob Coombs, Fulton Co.

6. 166 4/8, Adam Gomez, Pulaski Co.

7.165 7/8, Stevie Drew, Laurens Co.

8. 187 4/8* (b), John M. Kelly, Lee Co.

9. 186 6/8* (b), Scott Slonaker, Clayton Co.

10. 186 3/8*, Buck Burriss, Worth Co.

11. 162 1/8, Michael G. Barrett, Dooly Co.

12. 160 6/8 (c), James Roberts, Crawford Co.

13.160 1/8, Derrick Smith, Dooly Co.

14.181 6/8*, Joey Miller, Jones Co.

15. 158 0/8, Thomas Kite, Upson Co.

16. 157 2/8, James L. Allen Jr., Cook Co.

17. 156 7/8 (b), Dalton Trammell, Hancock Co.

18. 155 5/8, John Donalson, Mitchell Co.

19. 177 4/8*, Gary Maddox, Dodge Co.

20. 154 3/8, Derek Cleveland, Stephens Co.

21. 153 0/8# (b), Chad Law, Pulaski Co.

22. 152 6/8, David Nobles, Twiggs Co.

23.152 4/8 (b), Travis Turner, Troup Co.

24.152 2/8 (c), Chase Metcalf, Harris Co.

25. 151 3/8 (b), Brad Hamm, Tift Co.

(tie) 151 3/8, Jeff Miles, Coweta Co.

27. 151 1/8 (b), Dayton Cannon, Bleckley Co.

28. 151 0/8 (b), Luke Wilkins, Morgan Co.

29. 172 7/8*, Donald Davis, Thomas Co.

(tie) 172 7/8*, Jimmy Grubbs, Tift Co.

31. 150 0/8, Bryan Wiggins, Webster Co.

32. 149 6/8 (b), JD Sledge, Worth Co.

33. 171 4/8* (m), Travis Turner, Troup Co.

34. 171 3/8* (b), Matt Rivers, Lamar Co.

35. 149 0/8, Eddie Biggers, Turner Co.

36. 170 6/8*, J.T. Kitchens, Bleckley Co.

37. 148 4/8, William Pryor, Chattahoochee Co.

38. 148 2/8, Walker Doss, Tift Co.

39. 148 1/8, Jeremy Adams, Walton Co.

(tie) 148 1/8 (b), Jody Chance, Twiggs Co.

  Key: * Non-typical; (b) bow-kill; (c) crossbow; # velvet

Editor’s Note: If you kill a big buck this deer season, make sure to contact GON right away, before you cape the buck out. Call us at 800.438.4663, or email [email protected]. You might just make next year’s Fab 40, or even have a chance to be featured on the GON cover.