Stokes County buck was a frequent visitor
Austin Hicks of Danbury, NC killed a 10-point buck in Stokes County, NC on Aug. 22, 2026.
He shot the buck with a Remington 783 7mm mag during an evening hunt while sitting on the ground from 65 yards away.
Hicks summed up the hunt with these words:
“I had gotten in the stand that evening about 5 p.m. I was up on the edge of a 2 1/2-acre field I cut for hay that’s partially grown up with sapling pine trees and persimmon trees. I had also recently planted some clover as well.
I was in a stand on the end of the field in a white oak patch. It was warmer than I expected as the forecast called for overcast skies and 81 degrees as the high, but the overcast had gone away earlier in the day, and it ended up being almost 90 in the sunlight. It was hot and I had a bit of doubt with the sun and warm temps on seeing much, but I decided to stick it out anyway.
With possible thunderstorms coming, the wind was also swirling which wasn’t helping either, but what do you do? Well, I didnt see anything until about 6:30. A doe and fawn come out at the other end of the field eating in the grass. They kept their distance for a while, then the fawn came into the clover. It took a while for the doe to come, and she wasn’t there long and got spooked and they both trotted to the other end again. I believe my wind got to her and she didn’t like it. They stayed on the other end for another 20 minutes before fading into the trees.
Soon after, the clouds got dark and the wind picked up and the thunder got loud. I’m also not a fan of lightning, and I thought ‘well here comes the storms so we might not be in a good situation.’
I stayed in as it started sprinkling but I watched the clouds go by as the storm went around. Luckily the clouds stayed out and it started cooling off and I thought we may start getting some action, but my wind was still blowing in a bad direction.
As darkness began approaching, my nerves started getting me. I noticed myself shaking from the anticipation as I’ve been watching this deer for longer than 3 years on camera and have had a bow season encounter before, so I knew there’s a good chance to see him. As the final minutes of light started fading, I just told myself ‘I have tomorrow,’ and I started to pack my stuff up. I was just about to get down when I looked up and there stood a deer. It sneaked out of the thick persimmon and pine trees, making no noise as if it knew exactly how to do it, just as it has a thousand times. My nerves were immediately shot as I couldn’t truly tell what it was. I put my gun up to see what it was and its head was turned away. All I could see was a few points, but it looked decent. When he turned his head, I knew immediately it was him. I couldn’t breathe and I just knew I was gonna shake the stand out of the tree. I took aim and I couldn’t hardly even hold the crossbar on the deer itself, much less behind the shoulder. I sat for a second, tried to breathe and calm myself but it wasn’t working. I quickly said ‘lord help me make this shot.’
I looked back through the scope and was back and forth, back and forth. As I was coming back across ,I squeezed it off. A loud boom, and I saw him run off. He ran to the bottom of the hill and crashed. It got as quiet as I’ve ever heard in the woods. I knew he was dead. Wow! I was so excited because I knew I had gotten him. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on him, but I just got down and went back to the truck and called my cousin who lives nearby to bring his 4-wheeler and light we. We got back to where I shot him and it was like you painted the ground. A perfect blood trail led me right to him and there he was, my biggest buck ever and in velvet. It was definitely worth celebrating.”
Hicks is now entered in our Bag-A-Buck Contest, and is eligible to win our monthly prize pack, which includes a set of Ultimate Eyes & Ears Combo from ShellShock Pro, a YETI Rambler bottle, and a Carolina Sportsman hat, as well as our Grand Prize, a 2-day hunt for two to Cherokee Run Hunting Lodge in Chesterfield County, SC.
Click here to see the 2026 Bag-A-Buck Gallery.
