First-Ever Bow Buck Is County Record Caliber

Jackson Pegg, of Nashville, Ga., arrowed his first 9-point buck in Berrien County.

On the morning of Dec. 30, Jackson Pegg, of Nashville, successfully harvested a beautiful 9-point buck on his grandfather’s land in Berrien County. This is a personal milestone as it was his first bow-kill, and it just might break the county record.

The current bowhunting record for Berrien County is a 2022 buck with a net score of 127 5/8, taken by Robert Owens.

Jackson has been rifle hunting since he was a kid, but he recently picked up bowhunting with the help of his friend Scott Stalnaker, who provided the bow setup. After two years, he was finally presented with the perfect opportunity to take his best buck to date, and he got it with the bow.

“It feels more rewarding to shoot one with a bow, up close like that,” said Jackson. “I put a lot more into it, trying to find him. I’ll probably never go rifle hunting again.”

Jackson had caught many trail-camera photos of the buck starting after Hurricane Helene hit Georgia, but it was always at night.

“I got busted by a doe he was with in that same spot two or three weeks before I shot him.”

Jackson’s hard work and patience paid off on the morning of Dec. 30. He was hunting his grandfather’s 170-acre land in Berrien County.

“I got there about 5:45 a.m., climbing the tree; I was using a saddle. I sat there all morning and didn’t see anything, so I was starting to lose hope,” said Jackson. “At about 8:30, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. He came out and I knew I had to calm myself down, my heart was pounding out of my chest. When his head went past a tree, I picked up my bow and drew back when he passed by some more trees. I held the draw for about 15 to 20 seconds and let it fly.”

About 45 minutes after the shot, Jackson called a friend to help track the buck. He ran close to 200 yards and crashed about 100 yards away from his truck. The arrow made a clean passthrough and hit both lungs, leaving a considerable trail of blood. Jackson said he had called his dad, brother and grandfather to share his exciting success story.

Jackson’s friend Scott currently holds the muzzleloader record for Berrien County, a 2014 buck with a net score of 141 1/8. He told Jackson his buck may break the county record for bowhunting.

“I want to thank Scott for the bow setup, and I want to tell people to subscribe to GON. I wasn’t a subscriber when I shot the buck. I wish I could’ve entered into the Truck-Buck contest,” Jackson laughed.

We couldn’t agree more!

Reflecting on this season’s journey and his most memorable hunt yet, Jackson said, “I don’t claim to be a great hunter, you know; you just gotta get lucky every once in a while.”

While Jackson wasn’t necessarily hunting for records, there was no denying the pride that came from the potential of getting his name put into the Georgia Deer Records. Let this remarkable story serve as motivation to take every opportunity to be in the Georgia deer woods while the season comes to an end. You never know what might step out!

Berrien County All-Time Bowhunting Records