Hart County 19-Point Buck Grosses In Mid 160s

Jeremy Barnes with his 19-point Hart County buck that grosses in the mid 160s.

On Dec. 9, Jeremy Barnes managed to take down a massive 19-point Hart County buck, but the road to success was anything but easy.

“Me and my good buddy Kevin Jordan had been hunting the buck on a 30-acre Hart County property that Kevin’s boss owns that he was generous enough to let us hunt, and we’d been using multiple cameras to try and pattern him,” said Jeremy. “We joked a good name for the deer would be ‘Divorce’ because of all the time we’d spent chasing him. Every time we’d start to close in, he’d alter his pattern. He was truly a thorn in our side.”

On Thursday, Dec. 8, the buck began to appear on two of four cameras the hunters had positioned in the general area they felt the buck was using.

“He showed up six times that night, and I figured a doe must be hot in the area. I felt like if I was gonna get a chance at him, this was it. Kevin had already tagged out on two nice bucks, so if anyone was gonna get lucky and get him, it was gonna have to be me,” said Jeremy.

Jeremy hunted Friday morning before work, but he didn’t see the buck. With thoughts of the big buck on his mind, the day crawled, but finally Jeremy headed to the woods for another crack at the deer.

“I got there around 5 or so and hurried to a ladder stand that’s positioned in close proximity to where we park. I didn’t have high hopes, but I figured it was worth a shot,” said Jeremy.

Jeremy’s decision to hunt the stand paid off less than a half hour later when the monster buck stepped into an overgrown field just 70 yards away.

“When I seen the buck, I knew it was him, and I couldn’t even think. I felt like I was gonna blackout. I just threw my gun up, put the crosshairs on his shoulder and pulled the trigger. He dropped right there in his tracks,” said Jeremy.

Jeremy immediately called his wife and then Kevin to share the good news.

“They couldn’t have been happier. I think Kevin was just as excited as me,” said Jeremy.

Once Jeremy’s wife and Kevin arrived at the property, they took some time taking pictures and exchanging some high fives. It was in those moments when they were able to appreciate the true size of the impressive buck. With 19 scoreable points and an impressive green score of 164 4/8 inches, Jeremy’s buck should crack into the top 5 of GON’s all-time list of Hart County Bucks.