The 15-point giant buck has been green-scored at 174 inches
Jonathan Chermak of New London, NC killed a 202-pound, 15-point buck in Mecklenburg County on Sept. 14, 2024. He shot the buck with a Hoyt Carbon Defiant bow from 11 yards away. Chermak was hunting in an elevated stand, and he tracked the deer about 35 yards after the shot.
He had a long history with the giant buck.
“I let this deer walk last year,” he said. “And I had a good history with him.”
Chermak saw numerous other deer during the hunt, but he waited until this buck showed up.
“A lot of bucks came in that evening. Most of them were sparring and getting testy,” he said. “This buck came in confidently, knowing he was the dominant deer.”
The previous evening, Chermak had set the scene, creating a mock scrape and applying some deer lure to a licking branch.
“He walked into the mock scrape I had set up the evening before using Black Widow Deer Lures Branch Butter,” he said. “He stuck his nose to the gel on the branch to work the scrape, and offered a broadside, 11-yard shot. The Swhacker broadheads I use made short work of the harvest and allowed me to see him drop in 35 yards.”
From trail camera photos and previous encounters with the buck, Chermak knew it was a true trophy. However, he was still surprised at just how big the deer’s antlers were once he saw it up close.
“I knew he was a true North Carolina giant from the history and trail cam pics, but when it all came together, it was totally different, seeing a giant 174-inch buck in the flesh at 11 yards with the bow,” he said. “It was an amazing hunt, and one that will be remembered forever!”
Bag A Buck Contest
Congratulations to Chermak, who is now in the running for our monthly prize of a free 1-year subscription to Carolina Sportsman Magazine, a Sportsman hat, a two-pack of Lowcountry Seasonings, as well as our Grand Prize, which includes a 1-year-subscription to Carolina Sportsman Magazine, a Sportsman hat, and a 2-day, two-person hunt at Cherokee Run Hunting Lodge in Chesterfield, SC.
See all the bucks entered so far, and upload yours at www.carolinasportsman.com/bag-a-buck-2024
