Worth County Adds Another Giant To Georgia Deer Records

Worth County was recently in the news with a giant road-killed buck that grossed 174 inches and hurt the feelings of quite a few local hunters who had been hunting him. Another Worth County buck, this one scoring near 190, was recently killed, but thankfully this one was taken by a hunter.

With a new baby on the way and then a newborn in the house as another season approached, Craig Jones didn’t think he’d do much deer hunting this year. His wife, Rae, gave birth to their second daughter in September 2021.

If he couldn’t go to the deer, at least he could watch them on game cameras that he and his dad placed on their hunting property in Worth County. While waiting in the hospital until he and Rae could take home their new daughter, Betsy, Craig spotted something interesting.

Craig Jones and his buck of a lifetime from Worth County.

“With the baby on the way, I didn’t watch the cameras much during the summer,” said Craig, from Tifton. “Dad texted me one day with a screen shot of a big deer. I recognized that deer because we’ve had him on camera standing at the same feeder over four years. I was getting lots of daytime photos of this deer when I was sitting in the hospital with my wife wishing deer season was open at that time.”

Craig almost culled the buck during the 2020-21 season because it looked pitiful. At that time, he estimated the rack in the 120- to 130-inch class. In 2021, the likely 6-year-old buck enjoyed abundant food and looked more impressive leading up to the season opener.

“Sept. 5, 2021 was the first time I’d seen him on camera since he lost his velvet, Craig related. “When they get their velvet off, bucks start roaming more. In 2019, he looked bigger than he did in 2020. We had abundant rain that made everything grow in the summer of 2021.”

Besides capturing him on camera, Craig spotted the bruiser several times. He showed photos of the forest lord to his wife.

“I give a lot of credit to my wife for her support in letting me hunt that buck with the newborn in the house,” Craig said. “I told her it was the buck of a lifetime for me.”

On Oct. 9, he wanted to do a little bowhunting before sunset. He headed out to the pine plantation property in Worth County where he hunts and climbed into his stand overlooking a gas line. During the past four years, Craig obtained photos of the monster buck near the line multiple times.

“At that spot on the gas line, the big buck usually comes in from the north,” Craig said. “That day, I had a good wind, but I never saw anything. At that spot, we usually see eight to 12 deer each time we hunt it.”

With light fading, he began gathering up his gear to exit the stand before it grew too dark. Then, he heard something that convinced him to stay a few minutes longer.

“I had some light left, but I usually try to get down and out of the woods before I need to turn on a flashlight,” he said. “A flashlight scares deer. I couldn’t see anything because the vines were too thick. Finally, I heard something again, and the big buck stepped out into the gas line with only a few minutes left of legal hunting time.”

As the sky grew darker, the big deer approached within 15 yards of Craig’s stand. He drew his bow, but couldn’t really see it very well in the limited light. They would meet again another day.

“I didn’t feel good about making the shot, so I let him walk,” Craig explained. 

In mid-November, Craig began hearing reports of neighbors getting this massive whitetail on camera. A farmer sent Craig a photo of the deer he took while operating farm machinery on his cotton field.

“I had seen him a couple times,” Craig said. “About a week before Thanksgiving, I turned into the property early one morning and he almost jumped on the hood of my truck. He was chasing a doe. I saw the doe and stopped by a big embankment. The big buck came down the edge of a cotton field and jumped over the front of my truck. He stopped for a moment and then went past my truck to resume chasing that doe.”

On Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving 2021, Craig returned to Worth County for an afternoon hunt, which started later than he had hoped. Earlier that day, his wife went shopping while Craig watched his 8-year-old daughter, Annie. Rae returned home at 4:15 p.m. After a 20-minute drive, Craig climbed into his stand at 4:45 p.m.

That afternoon, he picked a spot about 500 yards from the gas line. The stand sat in plantation pine forest overlooking a small pond of about 1 to 2 acres. Thick cover around the area provided good bedding for deer. He put up his stand near a road leading into the spot.

“It’s one of my favorite places to hunt,” Craig said. “It’s a very good pinch point surrounded by good trees and bedding areas. The deer come across that pond dam and cross in front of my stand. At about 5:25 p.m., a 6-point came in and started eating corn near the pond dam. Then, a button buck came in. Those two started sparing. I don’t know what that button buck was thinking!”

The brave little buck valiantly engaged but never stood a chance. Perhaps his day to rule the forest will come, but for now, he couldn’t match the strength or experience of the larger deer. He soon wisely backed off. Shortly after the button retreated, the 6-pointer strutted away, probably feeling proud of himself for his quick victory. Then, that 6-pointer encountered a serious ego-deflating letdown.

“I’ve heard people say deer growl, but I never heard one doing it before,” Craig said. “From where the 6-point walked off, I heard this growl, almost like an angry coyote. It could make the hair stand up on the back of someone’s neck. I guess the big buck was bedded down with a doe in the thick stuff. I also heard the big deer snort at the 6-point. Until then, I had no idea he was there. A few minutes later, I saw the 6-point crossing the road and getting out of the area. That told me he got run off by a bigger deer.”

Shortly after that, a doe walked toward the pond. In the fading late afternoon light, Craig spotted a larger silhouette behind her. Both deer then went to the water to drink. He picked up his binoculars to take a better look at the monster of his quest.

“By this time, I realized it was the big buck I was after,” Craig said. “I’ve probably killed four or five big, mature whitetails, and it always happens when you least expect it.”

About 125 yards from the stand, the doe started moving closer. She walked across the pond dam as the monarch followed around the corner of the pond. Craig raised his .243 Browning rifle and prepared to shoot. He might never get a better chance. At 5:45 p.m., the rifle crack echoed through the pines.

“I had about 20 minutes of shooting time left when I fired,” he said. “The buck ran a short distance and collapsed about 50 yards from my stand. I had to sit in the stand for a while before I could climb down. It was all just so surreal. I hunted this deer hard and it finally happened. It didn’t even seem real. When I saw him, I just went to my knees. The biggest deer I killed before went about 160 inches. I had never put in so much time and effort to kill a mature deer as I did for this one.”

With the deer on the ground, Craig called his wife, who had gone out to do more shopping. His oldest daughter, Annie, answered the phone.

“I told Annie, ‘I just shot the big one. Please go get Mom,” Craig said. “Annie yelled out in front of the whole store, ‘Daddy killed the big one!’ Everyone in the store must have looked at her like she was crazy.”

Craig, his wife Rae, 8-year old daughter Annie and newborn Besty.

The deer weighed 230 pounds on the hoof. It’s essentially a main-frame 10-pointer with nine non-typical tines, making it a 19-pointer. The buck has two kickers coming off his G2. His right G2 also splits. His left G3 split twice to somewhat resemble a pitchfork. The non-typical unofficial score came to 186 5/8 inches with net of 183 6/8 inches.

Once the 60-day drying period is up, Craig plans to have the buck officially scored and added to GON’s Georgia Deer Records.

Worth County Best Bucks Of All-Time

“The pictures just do not do him justice,” Craig said. “I thank my wife for giving me opportunities to hunt after she had the baby, and I also thank my dad for all the help he has given me. It’s good to have him here so I can spend time with him. I appreciate all he’s done to help me. Don’t get too wound up trying to harvest a big buck. Just enjoy the outdoors.”