Georgia Has A New No. 2 Typical Buck

The hunter killing the second-highest scoring typical Georgia whitetail buck ever was recently given an award at the annual Georgia Outdoor Writers Association Georgia DNR Big Deer Contest awards banquet. This contest is Georgia’s longest running deer contest, which was started by the Georgia DNR in 1968. 

The Price Buck had a bullet hole in its right antler, likely from a small-caliber firearm.

Roger Price easily won the Typical Firearms Division for last year’s contest with his high-racked Brooks County buck taken on Oct. 24. The main-frame 12-pointer, which has one abnormal point, grossed 192 B&C inches and netted 186 2/8 inches. The only Georgia typical buck scoring higher than Price’s deer was the one killed by Buck Ashe in 1961 that scored 191 4/8.

Price farms several thousand acres in Brooks County, near Quitman, and thinks he spotted his buck in 2017, but he thought he was a little small to harvest. Price is a believer in quality deer management.  

On Oct. 24, 2018, Price was hunting a food plot and a supplemental food station. At 7:10 p.m., the buck walked out of the woods.

“I didn’t have to think about whether this buck was big enough to shoot,” Price said. “I knew instantly that this was a trophy buck.” 

At 218 yards, Price eased the scope of his Gunwerks 7mm LRM rifle on the buck’s chest and sent the 180-grain bullet on its mission. The buck acted like it was hit but ran off through an open area, and Price had the chance for a second shot and took the opportunity to fire again. However, there was no indication that he hit the buck with the second shot.

Roger Price (right) holds the No. 2 typical buck ever killed in Georgia. The Brooks County deer nets 186 2/8 inches. Richard Dailey (left) killed the best non-typical gun-kill last year, and it scored 180 3/8 inches.

When Price climbed down and went to look for his buck, he was able to make the recovery. However, when he inspected the dead buck, he noticed a small bullet hole through the right side of the rack. Price’s thought was that the bullet was smaller than his 7mm and was not a bullet hole from his second shot. He is guessing maybe the hole came from a .223 rifle. 

The Non-Typical Firearms Division was won by Richard Dailey for his Laurens County buck that scored 180 3/8 inches that was taken on Nov. 19, 2018. Dailey used a Model 7  .243 Remington rifle that his grandfather Ray Freeman gave him when he was 8 years old. Dailey was hunting a food plot when the whopper showed up with some does and another small buck.

Jeff Foxworthy won the Typical Archery Division with a Harris County buck that scored 170 2/8 P&Y inches. The Non-Typical Archery Division was won by Lee Ellis with a Fulton County buck that scored 177 2/8 P&Y inches. Both Ellis and Foxworthy were unable to attend the ceremony.

Sponsors of the contest are the Georgia DNR, GON, the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association and the Southern Company.