Last-Minute 14-Point Georgia Buck May Set a Record
Russ Chastain 01.15.20
Georgia’s deer hunting season is long, with modern gun season spanning roughly three months. Lots of deer are taken during this time, and where I hunt the deer are already shifting towards a nocturnal pattern before the middle of the season. At the end of the season, most mature deer lie low most of the time, especially during daylight hours, but I was out there on the last day, nonetheless. Sadly for me, I saw zero deer from the stand — unlike Justin Peterson of Heard County, who bagged a massive 14-point monster buck in the final minutes of the season.
According to the GON article, he first saw game cam photos of the huge buck on Christmas Eve. He relocated his stand and hunted the elusive beast for a few weeks, which kept showing up on camera JUST after dark. On the last day of the season, forecast rain threatened to spoil his last hunt, so he took a walk through the woods around noon.
‘I looked at the forecast and told my wife that I probably wouldn’t be able to sit in the stand, but I decided to take a walk through the area I had been hunting him at about noon before the rains moved in,’ said Justin. ‘As I was walking near my stand, I jumped him. I managed to get my scope on him, but I just couldn’t get a clear shot.’
He hastily returned home to gather his gear for a sit and made his way back to his tree stand shortly after 3 p.m., hoping he hadn’t spooked the buck too far away.
Justin settled into his stand just a few hours before dark, looking to finally get a shot at the buck. The huge deer made an appearance as the final minutes of daylight were fading.
‘I looked down at my phone to see what time it was, and when I looked back up, I saw a deer standing about 85 yards in front of me, but its front quarters were blocked by a pine tree. I realized that it was larger than the does I had been seeing, and then he stepped out from behind the tree and I saw his antlers.’
Justin wasted no time in shouldering his rifle and placing a perfect shot on the buck, dropping him where he stood.
‘It was just an adrenaline rush, and I started calling people that I had been telling about this buck for the past few weeks,’ said Justin. ‘It’s incredible. I’m really thankful to God that I was able to get him.’
No weight was given for the big buck, but the 14-point rack — with double brow tines! — rough-scored 190 inches gross. Official scores include deductions, so when the dust settles after the official drying time this one might add up to “only” 160-170 B&C points.
The current record for the west Georgia county of Heard was taken in 1977, which scored 176 4/8.
