Justin Riewestahl wins November Bag-A-Buck contest

Big rub turned hunter onto trophy buck

When Justin Riewestahl first became aware of a big buck hanging around on a hunting lease in Harnett County, N.C., it was because of an unbelievably large rubbed tree.

“In October, my buddy, his uncle and I went out and mowed shooting lanes, and I saw this big rub near where we had the truck parked, on an 8-inch thick hardwood,” said Riewestahl, from Coats, N.C. “I said to myself that it looked like his uncle must have hit the tree with the mower; it couldn’t be a rub that big.

“The next time we were out there, though, I noticed that tree had been marked up more, and then I found five scrapes in the area. We moved a trail camera in there, and two days later, we had a picture of that buck working a rub. So we didn’t park there anymore. We walked in further, took the long way around not to disturb him.”

On Nov. 9, Riewestahl, a 34-year-old fireman for the city of Fuquay-Varina, got a look at his buck, and he dropped him at 150 yards with a single shot from his Browning X-Bolt in .300 Win Mag. 

Bag-A-Buck winning deer had chocolate-colored antlers

The main-frame 6-point buck — with one sticker point — had a 17 1/2-inch inside spread, tall tines, chocolate-colored antlers. Riewestahl entered the buck in Carolina Sportsman’s Bag-a-Buck contest, and on Dec. 1, his entry was drawn as the winner of the November contest.

For winning the third of four monthly contests, Riewestahl wins a free one-year subscription to Carolina Sportsman and a $25 gift certificate to the online Sportsman’s Store. He, along with every other entry, remains eligible for the grand prize, a $50 gift certificate to the online Sportsman’s Store, a three-year free subscription to Carolina Sportsman, and a two-day, deer/hog combo hunt for two at South Carolina’s Cherokee Run Lodge.

Riewestahl was hunting from a stand along the edge between a pine thicket and hardwoods, with a 300-yard shooting lane carved out of the timber. On Nov. 9, at daylight, one doe came out in the shooting lane, followed by two more. The does were all eating acorns when a small, 8-point buck — tall but narrow, Riewestahl said — stepped out. Then, a fourth doe emerged.

“The 8-point buck started trotting to her, like he wanted to check her out, but he stopped in mid-trot. He went on point,” Riewestahl said. “Then, out stepped this buck with chocolate brown horns. I had a broadside shot, but I wasn’t sure he was wide enough. Then, he turned his head to look at the 8-pointer, and I saw how wide he was. I clicked the safety off and shot, and he folded up right there. It was 7:30.”