Youth hunter kills 21-point buck
Austin Mangum of Berea, NC killed a 21-point buck in Granville County, NC on Sept. 14, 2026.
He shot the buck with a Mission Crossbow Sub-1 with Crown Broadheads during an afternoon hunt while sitting on the ground from 30 yards away.
The hunter’s dad summed up the hunt with these words:
“The story starts in late November of last season. This buck started coming to the corn pile and stayed around all season long. Last year this buck was a 13 pointer. Austin watched him many evenings from the stand, looking at the deer’s horn features and characteristics. He decided to pass and let the deer have a chance to grow and mature. He fed this deer all spring and summer, until the beans started to be planted where he was caught strolling through the freshly planted fields.
Around August, Austin started patterning this deer with the reveal Tactacam camera. He watched the camera every day trying to figure out what was the best time that he would come out. This awesome buck loved the corn pile and was not shy about coming multiple times in a day. As the season was about a week from starting, this buck went rambling to rub the velvet off of his horns. He only came about twice during the week before the season started. Austin, becoming a little nervous about where the deer could have gone, was coached by his older brother that he just needed to be patient.
Season started on Saturday; Austin got into his stand around 4:30 a.m. and sat all day until dark without any sight of the monster buck. Around 6:05 p.m., the deer in the corn pile took off running. A small bear had walked up into the corn pile and started eating. He thought there was no way that any deer would come back now. He was a little disappointed but got right back up on Sunday, getting into the stand at 4:30 a.m. again.
Around 6:10 p.m. with many deer in the corn pile, the monster buck showed up walking within 40 yards of the stand. One of the deer got spooked and ran all the deer out of the corn pile. The buck left and never came back, only giving Austin about a minute’s view of what he finally looked like in person. Again, feeling disappointed about not having any luck with him, he went to school on Monday morning. Around lunch time, he texted his older brother that a small cool front was supposed to come through later that evening. He asked him to get him out of school about 30 minutes early so he would be able to get in the stand around 3:45 p.m. Austin settled in for an afternoon of hunting, with deer moving as soon as he got into the stand. Around 6:00 p.m. all the deer besides three had walked on, and that left them and four bucks in the corn pile.
As Austin was finishing up his schoolwork, he looked up to see the monster buck staring at the deer eating corn. The deer walked around the other deer for about 15 minutes before coming into the corn pile to eat. Austin could not get the perfect shot with other deer standing in front of the buck. Squirrels had been running through the corn pile all evening and had finally spooked a small deer that was standing in front of the buck. This opened the perfect shot placement, and with the crossbow ready to go, Austin delivered a perfect shot on this buck. The green nock lit up, and Austin could tell that the arrow had hit the deer perfectly. The deer bolted off and all he could do was sit back and thank the good Lord for the moment.
Austin called his older brother, who came over to help him look for the deer. They found the arrow stuck in a tree directly behind where the deer was standing. They walked in the direction where the deer had run but could not find any blood to track. They searched for about 15 minutes with no luck, until Austin said to go to the bottom where the small creek ran through. When they reached the bottom, Austin’s brother Daniel said, ‘what is that lying over there?’ To their amazement, the buck was lying 15 yards from where they were standing. He hadn’t gone but 80 yards from where he had been shot. Austin and his brother Daniel shared that special moment of amazement, looking at the amazing monster that Austin had just taken. They laughed, hugged, and shared that special brother bond of having witnessed this once in a lifetime moment with a monster buck. They got to the side-by-side and hauled the deer back to the house where all his family and friends came to witness what an awesome buck. Austin told all his friends that he would more than likely never take a buck of this magnitude again. He explained what an awesome experience watching, hunting, and taking this deer meant to him. The deer has 21 scorable points. Final score is waiting to be determined.”
Mangum 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, a prize package from Buck Commander and Duck Commander, 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.
