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Booner Bear Found At Ocmulgee WMA

On Nov. 21, Jimmy Rhodes, of Chester, and his buddy Frog Mullis, owner of Frog’s Buck Shop Taxidermy in Hawkinsville, went on a scouting trip at the Westlake Tract, an archery-only area of Ocmulgee WMA in Twiggs County. After splitting up, Jimmy stumbled upon an incredible find—a massive black-bear skull. “I didn’t know if I…

Are Deer Numbers Too Low? Should Deer Limits Or Doe Days Be Reduced?

Another deer season, another round of complaints from deer hunters that they’re not seeing enough deer. Deer numbers are most definitely down in many parts of the state. Is that a good thing, allowing for better habitat management and higher quality deer? Or are you like a lot of hunters who state the obvious that…

GBI Needs Help In Hancock Murder Case

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) in Milledgeville are investigating the murder of 60-year-old Nelson Garner after he was found dead on Sunday, Dec. 2 at 9:30 p.m. Garner’s body was found at Garner’s Grinders, a deer-processing business located at 18630 Highway 16 east of Sparta. The…

Big Bass Move To Paradise PFA

With the temporary closure of Ocmulgee Public Fishing Area (PFA), Paradise PFA is now home to even more big fish. Ocmulgee PFA, known for the trophy bass caught during the last few years, closed temporarily on Nov. 7 to address and make preparations to repair detected leaks in the main lake. Georgia’s WRD personnel collected…

14 Bears Killed On One-Day Middle Georgia Bear Hunt

Hunters got their second chance at middle Georgia bear hunting on Nov. 10 in Houston, Bibb and Twiggs counties. In all, 14 bears, eight of which were females, were brought into the Oaky Woods WMA check station for data collection, according to Raye Jones, Oaky Woods area manager. This was a private-properties’ hunt, so Oaky…

Shooting Event For Purple Heart Vets

At the GON Outdoor Blast in August, I like many others walked around and signed up for different things that were being given away among the many booths and displays at the Gwinnett Center. That night I got a call from Bill Ward from High Point Quail telling me my name had been drawn for…

Court Scraps EPD Plan For Ogeechee River Polluter

  Georgia Hunting and Fishing Federation (GHFF) President Reggie Dickie expressed what he called “cautious optimism” for the future of the Ogeechee River and King Amercia Textiles (KAF) in the wake of a court order rejecting the plans of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to address the chronic violations by the Screven County plant.…

Diary Of A Rattlesnake Bite

He’ll be the first to tell you, he’d do lots different if he could only replay the events of Sept. 29, 2012, starting with leaving a rattlesnake well enough alone. Brian Hearn was at his Polk County property planting food plots when an encounter with a 4-foot timber rattlesnake, also known as a canebrake, just…

Three Georgia Hunters Hospitalized From Incidents In The Deer Woods

Three Georgia deer hunters suffered severe injuries within a two-week span during primitive-weapons and rifle-season weekends. Two fell from tree stands—one climber and one ladder—and a third plunged 40 feet through the darkness down an unmarked well. Before daylight on Oct. 13, Donny Moore, 50, of Atlanta, was walking to a stand in Meriwether County…

Giant Bear Comes From Clinch County

The biggest bear GON has heard about so far this season was taken by Danny Taylor, of Ailey. He killed a 528-lb. south Georgia bear in Clinch County on Sept. 27 while on a dog hunt. “I was observing a planted pine field when I noticed a pine sapling move,” said Danny. “Then I spotted…