Podcast Listener Eathen Tumlin recently capitalized on on some terrain features recommended by past guest Clifton Denney on a patreon exclusive zoom room. During the zoom room Clifton discussed several very specific terrain features that he has consistent success on - and Eathen put the advice to good use on a central Georgia quota hunt! Eathen said,
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Just wanted to thank y’all for all the information that y’all put out there for us as listeners! I have been a listener since the Glenn Soloman episode and man let me tell you I’ve gotten on a ton of big bucks since then just using a few different tactics from a few different people! I’m getting on really nice deer but something always happens either they are out of range or moving to fast to shoot just haven’t had the best luck closing the deal! But I’m getting close!
Well this week I had a two day State Park hunt that only gets hunted 1 time every year the first week of November down in central Georgia. I was worried because the weather was showing a huge warm front coming through but after listening to the Monday pateron segment with Clifton Denny I was beyond fired up! I looked for nice terrain features like he said and sat up at the head of a big draw or drainage with a creek in the bottom that was very thick and some young thick pines at the head of the drainage.
The first day of the hunt I shot two does before 9am. Then the next morning I went to another spot I map scouted, same situation big drainage with creek in the bottom and very thick, with really thick young pines at the head of it. Well I got up late that morning unfortunately and still made it to my spot 10 minutes before daylight. I was walking the edge of the thicket at the top of the drainage, stopped for a minute to load my gun (by then it was legal light) when I heard something walking.
I was behind a big root system of a blow down next thing I know I see a huge rack 5 yards in front of me on the other side of the blow down! I got my gun ready and was waiting for him to take a step on either side of the blow down for a shot but he never would move. He was so close I could hear him breathing! Then all the sudden he just bounds off and trots down the ridge into the creek bottom. I tried to get a shot on him but couldn’t so I crept up to the edge of the drainage where I wanted to hunt anyway so like Clifton said I could see the creek bottom and the transition lines of the pines at the top, and caught him going into the thicket but it was too late.
I waited 15 minutes and then heard a shot ring off in the direction he ran to. Side note there was over 130 other people hunting this property for those 2 days! And only 5800 acres. Well after that happened I thought I should just get in my saddle right here and see if another buck takes that same trail. Not 10 minutes after getting settled into my Cruzr XC, I hear something walking the ridge at the top close to the pines where I busted that big buck.
I look over and here comes this smaller 2 1/2 year old 8 point he stopped to look behind him and by that time I was on him and shot and dropped him! Finally got my first public land rack buck!! After years of trying! Then 30 minutes later I look in the creek bottom and there’s a big doe down there I shoot and she jumps across the creek and piles up! Then 10 minutes later another doe steps out and I shoot her and she drops in her tracks!! At that point I was tagged out and filled all 5 free tags that the state park gave me! It was awesome all before 9am!
So thanks again guys for all the work y’all put into interviewing these killers cause it’s definitely helping me out! 👊🏼 I still have my two buck tags for the season left and it’s getting prime time around here in north Georgia soon on the national forest I hunt so I’m trying to tag more rack bucks this year hopefully apply more of these tactics and make it happen! Thanks again guys 👊🏼🔥
- Eathen Tumlin
To listen in on some of the stuff that helped Eathen find success, make sure to check out episodes 116, and 418 of The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast!
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