Early, Miller and Seminole counties Ga

You getting any smoke from peanut fire
Went Saturday morning saw six no horns. Miller county

I'm about ten miles north of the peanut smoke. It's the dust from picking peanuts just north of us that ran me home. It's taken two days and nights to get my eyes back to normal. Don't know how those working in those fields deal with it. Maybe they don't have allergies. I saw five does Sat morning, nothing after that. Came home Sunday evening. Hope the dust had settled by the time i decide to go back. Need a rain bad, it's so dry the pines are beginning to die on the tips of the limbs.

Seeing deer, does and young bucks. Glimpse of a couple good bucks in thick stuff, no shot. But i'm tough on hogs, got this 100 pound gilt couple days ago. Mostly focusing on fresh hog sign, until the bucks bust up, they're still in groups here. I like those old bucks after they get those necks all swelled up. It's coming, have patience.

Son,
I'm not as picky as you, I will take an old buck before his neck is swollen. Have the hogs done any damage to the food plots?

Yep, hogs have damaged two plots. We didn't get enough rain to make a mud puddle. In fact, the dirt isn't even wet under the oaks. Believe i could have hunted in that, but didn't. If the coons would quit tripping the traps, we could get more of those hogs. Coons hitting the two feeders too. Bet the coons are fatter than anything we have in those woods.

Had five nice bucks come in Saturday evening. Two were nice, looked to be three year olds with wide racks. They sparred, rubbed trees and mostly just milled around for about 30 minutes before all five walked single file right under the stand. Two of em were tempting, but trail camera's have shown we have many that are larger, so i'm waiting on two of those. While i'm waiting, i'll take hogs and coyotes out of the equation. It was a great hunt, and i didn't have to clean anything. That's a plus when it's dark and as warm as it's been lately.

Finally, we've received some much needed rain. Hope to get enough to put water in the swamps and ponds, they're dry as a bone now.

Did the bucks come out to a food plot? When they walked single file was it youngest to oldest, oldest to youngest, all mixed up?

It looks like we received a lot of rain last night. Hopefully someone will give us a report from the area. The ponds and rivers should be full. There was a lot of standing water up that way last weekend.

I hunted Early this weekend with a friend I graduated High School with. He took his first deer that turned out to be a 6pt. After about an hour of looking for it we were going to look for blood another 10 minutes or so (we had fanned out pretty good) I finally stumbled across some blood and we recovered the buck. The blood was maybe 50 yards from the shot and the buck maybe 100 yards from the shot. Scrapes are starting to open up in Early county. I saw 2 different bucks with does but not chasing them. I saw bucks with out does and does without bucks. The processor in Leary is full and not taking any more deer. Very unusual??? Hopefully hunting has been good and folks are not dropping everything that walks... Sunday morning I just took a chair and sat on a camp road using it as a shooting lane as no one was hunting anywhere near me. My friend saw 3 bucks and 1 doe, and I had a doe come out about 100 yards away. I steadied my rifle on her in case a buck was with her and after about 60 second of looking through my scope and switching to my naked eye back and forth I heard a deer blow one time behind me. I thought, what in the world and turned to see a big bodied, rack outside the ears, maybe 10 or 11 pt buck staring me down at 25 FEET!!!! In about half a second he turned and leaped away... He gave me the shakes. Part of me is disappointed I couldn't harvest him, but the other part is thrilled I picked such a good place (without being in a stand or having any trail cams in the area) and still getting on a big buck. I am going back this weekend and he will be on my mind but I don't know if he will still be cruising through there. He only blew once and kind of leaped away versus multiple blows and getting out of dodge. I'm certain that even the closeness of the distance he didn't smell me and only busted me moving trying to stay on top of the doe. I would post a pic of my friends buck but I don't know how and if I did, I'm afraid it'll be sideways like other people have happen to them. Lots of standing water on the low areas of our property already this year and DO NOT forget your therma cell. The skeets are as big as terradactyls and will haul you off.

Early County update: Went up and hunted Friday the 04 thru Tuesday the 08. Had my cousin from AL come join me. He was able to harvest two 8 points, one was 3.5 and weighed in at 185. The other he is going to mount as it is his best buck to date weighed 170lbs. and we won't pull the jaw bone until the taxidermist is ready. He also shot a doe with an eye that was oozing and crusted shut. I took a doe that weighed in at 124lbs. My doe was the largest out of a group of four (no bucks pursuing). We saw several 1.5 and 2.5 year old bucks. I was hunting on the ground one morning and had a 2.5 year old 8pt get about 25 feet from me. I could smell his tarsals immediately. He snuck up behind me and blew, ran 10 ft. and eventually blew 4-5 times while running away- He was getting the pass anyway. Our property is really wet in low spots. Had to tread through 14" of water in some spots on our roads to get to stands. I don't think the rut is full blown yet but the processor says it is happening now.

Rabjr what part of early county are you hunting?

North side, Near Calhoun county.

We must be fairly close to you we outside of edison.

Hope SON is ok, haven't heard from him in a while.

Son

I sent him a private message, maybe he has not been paying any attention to the forum?

Unlike him to not pay attention. I'm thinking (wishfully) he is just laid up with another kidney stone or such.

southwestslayer- I bet we are within 20minutes of each other.

Son is at the camp. He doesn't look at GON very much when he is up there. They have been seeing deer this morning.

southwestslayer said:

We must be fairly close to you we outside of edison.

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SWSlayer,
I joined a second club close to Edison this year. There seems to be good deer in the area. How has the hunting been for y'all this year?

Bear 10 it's been pretty good so far this year especially when the weather is good.

Is anyone still seeing any signs of pre rut?