Augusta.com - Fishing & Hunting Season PreviewTrophy deer call Georgia home 08/18/01

Trophy deer call Georgia home

Web posted Saturday, August 18, 2001

Have a thought? Go to the Forums or Chat.
Top bucks from the Augusta area

By Robert Pavey
Outdoors Editor

Billy Joe Padgett's dream of a true trophy whitetail came true on Thanksgiving morning of 1998 in Telfair County, where a state-record buck strolled right into his crosshairs.

The buck - with 36 non-typical points - ultimately netted a Boone & Crockett score of 235, earning the monster rack a first place in Georgia's record book.

Wildlife biologists believe that record is likely to last a long time, perhaps decades, because deer such as Padgett's occur only once in several million animals throughout the Southeast.

But that doesn't mean there aren't any fabulous bucks wandering among Georgia's diverse landscape, either. Each season, hundreds of trophy animals are harvested in all areas of the state - including east Georgia.

Bily Joe Padgett shot a 36-point buck in November 1998 while hunting in Telfair County, Ga. The monster rack earned first place in the state record book, netting a Boone & Crockett score of 235. Age, genetics and nutrition determine deer quality. SPECIAL
Age, genetics and nutrition are the key ingredients to producing trophy whitetails, according to Paul Johns, deer research coordinator at Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.

Deer can produce their best antlers once they are 4 or more years old, but their lineage and food sources also have a huge impact, he said. Deer herds with a balanced buck-doe ratio also produce better bucks.

Spike deer, he added, usually are the result of late-born fawns and eventually can produce quality racks. Such deer should not be shot, as many game managers falsely believe.

An abundance of spike bucks also means the buck-doe ratio is out of balance, leaving does to be bred in December and January. Fawns born late the next spring will yield only spike antlers their first year.

Many game managers and hunting clubs practice trophy management, forbidding the harvest of smaller bucks in efforts to allow more male deer to grow to trophy size. Such programs are most successful when proper numbers of does are harvested as well, Johns said.

Bill Cooper, a wildlife biologist in Albany, Ga., who manages Georgia's Big Deer Registry, said the state adheres to the Boone & Crockett scoring method, which assigns values for numerous antler length, mass and spread.

The registry will list typical gun-killed bucks scoring 145 or more; typical bow-kills must score 120 or more. Eligibility for non-typical racks is 170 with a gun and 145 with a bow.

Potential registry deer usually have 10 or more points, spreads of 19 to 24 inches and foot-long tines. Eight-pointers, regardless of how nice, rarely have the scoring power to make the 145 minimum score.

Georgia is one of the best trophy states in the Southeast, second only to Kentucky in the number of Boone & Crockett bucks produced.

There are more than 1,000 deer now in the registry, with 50 to 60 more added each year. Many fine bucks scoring less than 145 are kept on a separate register maintained by Georgia Outdoor News, Cooper said.

Here is a listing of the top bucks from Augusta-area counties:

Richmond County:

1. 147 3/8, Robert Pitt 1998

2. 143 3/8 Bill Devore 1999 (bow)

3. 141 1/8, Dennis Ellis 1994

4. 139 0/8 Rex Michael Sr. 1998

5. 131 3/8, Gary LeBoff 1989

6. 129 1/8, Gary LeBoff 1988

7. 121 1/8, Terry Seeba 1998

8. 120 6/8 Jack Baker Jr. 1998

9. 119 0/8 Kermitt Nicks 1996

10. 117 6/8 Jack Baker Jr. 1999 (bow)