49-year-old Steve Peacock of Charlotte harvested his 100th deer Thursday. Submitted photo

Steve Peacock, a 49-year-old town of Charlotte resident, had plenty of reasons to celebrate on Thursday. Not only did Peacock fill his New York State deer tag with a 132-pound, nine-point buck, but the successful hunt also marked the 100th deer he has harvested in his career.

When first learning how to pursue deer as a teenager, that was a milestone that seemed far off in the distance.

“I started when I was 16. I wasn’t really good at getting deer at that point,” Peacock remembered Friday. “It wasn’t until later in life, maybe in my early 30s, that I started archery hunting. After practicing archery a bunch I got a lot better at it.”

For Peacock, switching to bowhunting was a natural move, and one that brought more success and enjoyment while in the woods.

“The woods is less spooked at that time. Even though you have a lot less range, you see a lot more wildlife. It is more in its natural behavior,” he said.

The idea of making it all the way to the century mark first came to mind when Peacock and his wife Sue sat down for an evening at The Dog Bar in West Falls.

“There was a picture board on the wall of a gentleman with his 100th deer,” Peacock remembered. “I thought, ‘I should start counting.’ We counted back to the ones that I could remember. We’ve just started keeping track ever since.”

With the milestone finally on the horizon this winter, Peacock was preparing to celebrate with a deer of more modest size.

“I was very happy,” he said of the deer he bagged on Thursday. “I had told my wife the day before not to expect a really nice deer for my 100th because it was getting late in the season. I thought it was ‘the big one’ when I took it. There is a big one out here. It was a nine-point, it was nice.”

Peacock plans to preserve his 100th deer with a Western mount, but does not intend to pick up golf after reaching the milestone, as he has sometimes joked.

“I said I would pick up golf after I got to 100,” Peacock said, “but I’m not going to.”