Ashley Morris of Carbonton, NC killed a 15-point buck in Moore County, NC on Oct. 18, 2026.
Morris shot the buck with a 30-06 Remington Rifle during an evening hunt while sitting in an elevated stand from 60 yards away, and summed up the hunt with these words:
For more than 15 years, my father and I have practiced patience, discipline, and consistent wildlife management on our 100-acre family farm in Moore County, North Carolina. During that time, we’ve harvested just five bucks between the two of us, choosing instead to let younger deer walk and reach their full potential.
Through selective harvesting and dedicated property management—including controlled burns, maintaining food plots, and providing clean water sources—we’ve worked hard to create an environment where healthy, mature bucks can thrive. Little did we know that those years of patience and preparation would eventually lead to the opportunity of a lifetime.
A Familiar Buck Returns
We began closely tracking this particular buck in September 2025, although we believe he’d been roaming our property long before then. At the time, he was an impressive, heavy-antlered, well-balanced 10-pointer and one of our primary targets for the season.
Unfortunately, he gave me just one opportunity early that year, and I was unable to get a clear shot. After that encounter, he seemingly vanished. We never laid eyes on him again for the remainder of the season.
That all changed in late September 2026.
After nearly a year without seeing him, he suddenly reappeared on one of our trail cameras at one of our favorite hunting locations—a 30-yard-wide hardwood buffer separating a thick cutover from a stand of mature pines.
And he looked nothing like the buck we remembered.
Not only had he added tremendous mass, but he had also developed two incredible drop tines and impressive brow tines. His transformation was almost unbelievable. What had already been a beautiful 10-pointer was now an extraordinary 15-point buck.
Even better, he quickly became a regular on camera, showing up nearly every day alongside several other impressive bucks.
Knowing how easily mature bucks can disappear once the rut approaches, we understood the importance of capitalizing on an opportunity early in the season.
A Close Encounter with the Muzzleloader
As luck would have it, my wife and I had just welcomed twin baby boys on September 24, 2026—our second set of twin boys in four years!
Under normal circumstances, I would’ve been in that stand nearly every morning once blackpowder season opened. But with two newborns at home and four boys under the age of four, my time in the woods was understandably limited. For the sake of my wife’s sanity, I managed just one muzzleloader hunt on the morning of October 7.
And wouldn’t you know it, he showed up.
I was sitting roughly 30 feet high in my climbing stand when he appeared at first light, directly behind my right shoulder and less than 30 yards away.
Before I even realized he was there, I had the feeling he’d already pinpointed my location.
I’ve hunted my entire life, but I’ve never experienced a case of buck fever quite like that morning. My heart was pounding so hard I genuinely thought I might go into cardiac arrest!
Despite my rattled nerves and the buck’s cautious behavior, I somehow managed to stand up and turn around as he dipped behind a thick cluster of cedars to feed on some corn.
I raised my muzzleloader, steadied myself, and waited for him to emerge on either side.
But that opportunity never came.
Instead, he let out a quick, quiet blow and trotted another 30 yards into the pines. The last thing I saw through my scope was his rear end disappearing into the timber.
I was absolutely sick.
After waiting nearly a year for another opportunity, I was convinced I’d blown my one chance at the buck of a lifetime.
But to my surprise, there he was on camera the very next day, standing in the corn as if nothing had happened.
My hopes were still alive.
Opening Weekend: One More Chance
My next opportunity came during the opening weekend of rifle season.
Saturday, October 17, was a complete washout, but I was determined to spend as much time in the stand as possible on Sunday.
I climbed into my stand around 6 a.m. and stayed until 1 p.m., seeing only a handful of young bucks and does. Aside from gusty winds reaching 15–20 mph, conditions were favorable.
I climbed down briefly for lunch before heading right back into the woods around 2 p.m.
For the next four hours, absolutely nothing moved.
Then, just as the wind began to settle around 6 p.m., the woods suddenly came alive.
A young doe made her way into the corn, followed shortly afterward by a small 8-point buck.
I pulled out my phone to record a video of the young buck but quickly noticed that he kept staring intently into the mature pines behind him.
Something had his attention.
I immediately put my phone away and began preparing for the possibility that the deer he’d spotted was the buck I’d been waiting for.
Before the mystery deer could reveal himself, the young 8-pointer wandered back into the pines, disappearing almost entirely from view.
That’s when I heard it.
The unmistakable sound of antlers crashing together.
Two bucks were fighting just inside the timber.
For nearly 10 minutes, I listened as their antlers repeatedly clashed, catching only occasional glimpses of movement through the trees. No matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t identify the second buck.
Then another deer entered the picture.
A small 4-pointer emerged from the thick cutover and headed directly toward the commotion, apparently looking to get in on the action.
Before he could reach the fighting bucks, the mystery deer broke away and moved toward him.
And that’s when he finally stepped into view.
It was him.
The massive 15-pointer I’d spent more than a year dreaming about was standing right in front of me.
The Shot of a Lifetime
Fortunately, I was already in shooting position and didn’t give myself enough time to experience another overwhelming case of buck fever.
I raised my Remington .30-06 just as the giant buck locked antlers with the smaller 4-pointer.
As they squared off, he presented a perfect broadside shot, exposing his right side.
I settled my crosshairs and squeezed the trigger.
I knew I’d connected by the way he recoiled, but everything happened so quickly that I couldn’t tell whether he’d gone down. I never clearly heard or saw him crash.
What happened next made the situation even more confusing.
Within five minutes, the other two bucks were back feeding in the corn. Another nice 8-pointer soon wandered into the area, acting as though nothing had happened.
It was almost as if they hadn’t even heard the rifle shot.
I stayed in the stand until dark, replaying the moment in my head and wondering whether I’d made a clean shot.
When I finally climbed down, my dad was waiting at the bottom of the tree, every bit as excited as I was to begin searching for our buck.
We walked toward a pine tree I’d mentally marked as the spot where the deer had been standing when I pulled the trigger.
But when we arrived, my heart sank.
Not a single drop of blood.
We searched the immediate area for several minutes without finding anything.
My excitement quickly turned to doubt, and I had nearly convinced myself that I’d somehow missed.
Then I heard my dad call out his familiar phrase:
“Oh my Lord!”
I immediately turned toward him.
No more than 20 yards behind where the buck had been standing, there he was.
A white belly and an absolute mountain of antlers were visible through the timber.
We’d found him.
Fifteen Years in the Making
Walking up to that buck was a moment I’ll never forget.
I stood there in disbelief, trying to comprehend the incredible animal lying in front of us. The mass, the drop tines, the character of his rack—it was everything I’d dreamed of and more.
The buck was estimated to be around five years old, weighed approximately 200 pounds, and carried an incredible 15-point rack with an 18-inch inside spread. With a preliminary gross score estimated around 175 inches, he was undoubtedly the largest buck either of us had ever harvested on our property.
But as remarkable as the buck was, what made that moment truly special was getting to share it with my dad.
For more than 15 years, we’d poured countless hours into managing that little piece of Moore County. We’d planted food plots, conducted controlled burns, studied trail camera pictures, and watched countless young bucks walk away, hoping that one day our patience would pay off.
And on that October evening, it finally did.
As we stood together admiring the buck, I couldn’t help but think about how far we’d come.
I was just six years old when I sat beside my dad in a box stand and harvested my first doe. He was the one who introduced me to hunting and instilled in me an appreciation for everything that goes into it—the preparation, patience, discipline, respect for wildlife, and the understanding that the hunt is about so much more than pulling the trigger.
Now, at 30 years old, I was standing beside that same man, celebrating the buck of a lifetime.
It was a full-circle moment that meant more to me than any set of antlers ever could.
The Next Generation
You might think that after harvesting a deer of this caliber, some of the excitement and anticipation surrounding future hunts would begin to fade.
For me, it’s been quite the opposite.
If anything, this experience has only deepened my appreciation for the outdoors and everything hunting has given me over the years.
And while I certainly hope to encounter another remarkable buck someday, my greatest goal moving forward has nothing to do with antler size or trophy scores.
It’s about passing along the same values my dad instilled in me to my four young sons.
I hope to teach them the importance of patience, preparation, conservation, and respect for the wildlife we’re fortunate enough to pursue. I want them to understand that the most rewarding parts of hunting aren’t always measured by what you bring home, but by the time, effort, and memories shared along the way.
Twenty-four years ago, my dad was sitting beside me when I harvested my first deer. This October, he was standing beside me when we recovered the buck of a lifetime.
And now, with four young boys of my own, I can’t wait to carry on that tradition and create those same priceless memories with them.”
Morris 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.
