150-Inch Southeast Georgia Bow-Buck For The Record Books

Nathan Baldree downed this super Brantley County 14-point buck while bowhunting on Oct. 5, 2022. The impressive rack had 149 7/8 total inches of antler.

On Oct. 5, 2022, Nathan Baldree, of Manor, spent the day bowhunting with his son Trevor in Brantley County. Little did he know, less than 24 hours later he would kill a south Georgia buck of a lifetime.

“I was happy to get to be hunting with my son. The property we were on is some he has permission to hunt, and I was glad to be out there with him. On Wednesday, I saw a pile of deer, and some really good bucks, but none of them came into bow range,” said Nathan.

The next morning, Trevor was running a few minutes behind, but he told his dad to head on in and climb, and he’d be there shortly.

“I climbed up a pine tree and was situated 30 minutes or so before daylight, and man it was sure a beautiful morning to be in the woods,” said Nathan.

The morning unfolded slowly until about 10 minutes before 8, when Nathan detected movement in the distance on a dead-end logging road.

“When that buck stepped out on the logging road that was located between two bay swamps, I about fell over. He came out of the woods with the sun hitting his beams as he was shaking moisture from the swamp off his horns. Man I about had a heart attack,” said Nathan.

The buck then proceeded to walk down the road where Nathan had walked in that morning, then the buck turned, walking back past Nathan as the bowhunter watched helplessly from way up a pine tree approximately 50 yards away.

“This went on for around minutes or so,” Nathan said. “He’d walk a little, then sort of stop and sniff around, then walk a little more. I had my release clipped on, and I had to keep calming myself down. I was hoping he would come in a little closer so I could get a crack at him.”

After what seemed like an eternity, the monster buck began to close in toward Nathan’s location. When the buck stopped about 35 yards away, another smaller buck showed up in the distance.

“When he heard that other buck in there, he turned and headed into some thick stuff. I just knew they were about to tie up,” Nathan said.

After a few moments, the big buck suddenly emerged from the bushes and stopped  broadside only 32 yards away. Nathan touched his release, sent arrow, and then watched the buck disappear into the direction of the swamp. He was confident in the shot.

“I got hold of Trevor and we decided to give the buck about an hour and a half before we went in after him. We tracked him about 80 yards, and there he lay in the edge of the water with one beam coming up out of it,” said Nathan.

Nathan Baldree with is 14-point Brantley County bow-buck that netted 128 1/8. It’s the No. 2 bow-buck ever recorded from Brantley, and it’s No. 7 of the overall Brantley County records.

The massive buck was recently measured by a certified scorer. It grossed a super impressive 149 7/8 inches. Unfortunately, due to the quirks of official scoring system used by Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young, the net score went down to 128 1/8 after final deductions. With only 5 7/8 inches of deductions on three abnormal points, it was the side-to-side deductions that were the main cause of the buck’s big difference in gross inches and official net score. The 14-point rack had a 6×5 main frame, and if it had matched its left-side G-5, it would have netted almost 10 inches higher.

Despite the technicalities of the scoring system, Nathan’s buck is without a doubt one of the finest southeast Georgia deer ever killed. It currently sits as the No. 2 Brantley County bow-buck of all time, and it’s the No. 7 overall Brantley County deer of all time, regardless of weapon.

“I’m proud of the deer, but I’m most proud it happened while hunting with my son. It’s a hunt I’ll never forget,” said Nathan.

Brantley County All-Time Buck Rankings