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Public-Lands Shine As Big Bucks Roll In
The Truck-Buck Contest is seeing some great bucks entered that were taken on Georgia public land.
GON Staff | November 13, 2020
A high-dollar hunting club or owning a big tract of managed land isn’t required for some great deer hunting in Georgia. There’s plenty of public land where the management is being done by biologists and wildlife technicians, and a look through the big bucks being entered in this year’s Truck-Buck Contest is proof of that.
Here’s a look at some of the bucks killed this season on state Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and federal land like national forests and wildlife refuges.
Clybel WMA 11-pointer For Tom Winn
Tom Winn came down from his mountain home in Young Harris for a three-day camping and hunting trip at Clybel WMA along the Jasper and Newton county line, and he went home with a WMA trophy. His 11-point buck killed on Nov. 5 will rank as one of the WMA’s best ever. Back in 2002, Tom was hunting West Point WMA when he killed a 140-inch buck that’s still No. 4 all-time for that WMA.
Clybel WMA All-Time Buck Rankings
| Rank | Score | Name | Year | County | Method | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 154 2/8 | Mike Ciccarello | 1998 | Jasper | Gun | |
| 2 | 135 | Ben Stone | 2019 | Newton | Gun | View |
| 3 | 129 | Gary Lanier | 2008 | Newton | Gun | |
| 4 | 124 6/8 | Tom Winn | 2020 | Jasper | Gun | View |
| 5 | 124 3/8 | Doug Ciccarello | 1999 | Jasper | Bow | |
| 6 | 121 5/8 | Johnny Miller | 1997 | Jasper | Gun | |
| 7 | 118 6/8 | Brenda Hall | 1999 | Jasper | Gun | |
| 8 | 118 5/8 | Stephen Richards | 1995 | Jasper | Gun | |
| 9 | 118 5/8 | Tom Winn | 2011 | Jasper | Gun | |
| 10 | 115 7/8 | James Beasley | 2020 | Jasper | Gun | View |
Record-Book Bow-Buck From Montezuma Bluffs
Montezuma Bluffs, a 500-acre archery-only WMA in Macon County, produced this 12-point buck for Aaron Yoder.
Traditional Joe Kurz WMA Hunt Pays Off Again
“My buddies and I have hunted Joe Kurz numerous times in the past with great success. We always try to get the first hunt because the pre-rut has always been great for us down there,” said Bryan Fuller, of Newnan. It paid off for Bryan with a nice 8-point buck.
Dooly County 8-point With A Bow From Flint River WMA
Sixteen-year-old Eric Yoder downed this Flint River WMA buck during the first week of archery season on the Dooly County quality-managed WMA.
Flint River WMA All-Time Buck Rankings
| Rank | Score | Name | Year | County | Method | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 177 2/8 (NT) | Larry Nickelson | 1994 | Dooly | Bow | View |
| 2 | 136 7/8 | James Plank | 2013 | Dooly | Gun | View |
| 3 | 134 3/8 | Tim Yoder | 2009 | Dooly | Bow | View |
| 4 | 130 | Dev Adams | 2007 | Dooly | Gun | View |
| 5 | 128 6/8 | Derek Yoder | 2019 | Dooly | Bow | View |
| 6 | 127 3/8 | John Clements | 2009 | Dooly | Gun | View |
| 7 | 126 1/8 | Jeff Payne | 2008 | Dooly | Gun | View |
| 8 | 125 | Cody Yoder | 2019 | Dooly | Gun | View |
| 9 | 124 6/8 | Chad Williams | 2013 | Dooly | Gun | View |
| 10 | 121 2/8 | Herman Johnson | 2007 | Dooly | Gun |
Oconee National Forest 10-pointer
David Farmer found a spot to deer hunt while chasing turkeys last spring on Oconee National Forest property in Jasper County when he found a line of big rubs—and fresh rubs were back this deer season.
More Public-Land Bucks From the 2020 Georgia Deer Season
B.F. Grant WMA: Angela Thomas Putnam County 10-pointer
Celon WMA: Jesse Newsome’s Camden County 8-point bow-kill
Hart County WMA: Samuel Pruitt’s 8-pointer
Grand Bay WMA: Randy Kemp’s Lowndes County 8-pointer
Mayhaw WMA: Jeffery’s Osgatharp’s Miller County 8-pointer
Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge: Shaune Choudhari’s 7-pointer
Redlands WMA: Christian Ireland’s Greene County 9-pointer
Redlands WMA: Mike Hall’s Greene County 8-pointer
The highest scoring public-land buck during the season that doesn’t win a Truck-Buck week outright will earn a spot in the Shoot-Out for the grand-prize pickup truck, and the hunter also earns the Wildcard prize package that includes a $250 gift card from Agri Supply, product from Advanced Wildlife Solutions, and a Hunter Safety Systems harness.
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