Kentucky bowhunter Jonathon Stuart successfully tagged a massive 6.5-year-old whitetail buck on Sept. 8 after a tense afternoon sit on a property he has hunted for roughly seven years, according to Outdoor Life. Stuart green scored the giant at 192 inches, surpassing pre-hunt predictions that had put the animal closer to the 170-inch mark.
The harvest represents the culmination of a three-year pursuit for Stuart, who had tracked the mature buck through numerous trail camera photos across the Kentucky hills. “Deer hunting is not just a passion but a way of life,” Stuart told Outdoor Life, adding that he loves keeping track of specific deer and harvesting them when they reach peak maturity. The state’s archery season opened on Sept. 2, and Stuart spent five straight days in the field before the encounter finally materialized.
Operating on flat agricultural ground featuring a mix of timber blocks and soybean fields, Stuart settled into an observation stand he had hung just days prior. The weather during his successful afternoon hunt was sunny with temperatures reaching 85 degrees and a northwest wind. Based on previous scouting, Stuart positioned himself near a tree line separating a cornfield and a soybean field, noting that the buck used the tree line between the corn and beans during daylight hours.
The Three-Hour Stalk and Final Approach
The afternoon began slowly, giving Stuart time to reflect on his prior history with the animal, including an initial sighting where the buck remained nearly 400 yards away without closing the distance. As the sun began to dip, activity picked up as various deer entered the soybean fields to feed. Suddenly, the target whitetail emerged from an overgrown fencerow roughly 150 yards out.
“I could instantly tell that he was the largest deer I had ever encountered in my life,” Stuart recalled to Outdoor Life. What followed was a three-hour wait as the animal fed and bedded multiple times, raising concerns for the hunter whether it would reach his position before dark.
With only 30 minutes of shooting light remaining, the giant buck bedded down in a sprayer track just 70 yards away. The situation shifted when two smaller bucks approached and pushed the mature whitetail to its feet. The animal walked directly toward Stuart, eventually stopping a mere eight yards away. Stuart drew his bow, anchored, and released a slightly quartering-to shot that connected, bringing the animal down.
Aftermath and Community Reaction
Following the harvest, Stuart relied on assistance from his wife, son, and close friends to transport the deer out of the field. Back home, the preliminary green score of 192 inches stunned everyone involved in the recovery.
“They couldn’t believe how big he was,” Stuart said, as quoted by Outdoor Life. “We had predicted him to be around the 170-inch range. We were way off. This is the biggest deer of my life, so I am honored that I got to put a tag on him. Some people hunt their entire life and never experience a deer of this caliber.”
