Rack measured 167 inches
Hunter Schulz of Pittsboro, NC and his neighbor were after the same buck — a Chatham County 13-point that had appeared on both of their adjoining hunting properties. When his neighbor wounded the buck on opening day, Schulz figured his chance was long gone, but on Sept. 25, the buck resurfaced on his side of the woods and Schulz put an arrow through the 167-inch giant.
“I got in the woods after work and sat in my ladder stand until about 6 p.m.,” said Schulz. “It was my first time in the woods this year. I had just been slammed with work. I only had one arrow with me. I just wanted to go and see what happened. Around 6, five does came in. They were acting real skittish, looking to the left and right, and they left after about 5 minutes of eating. Around 6:45, two more does came in with a baby and they did the same thing, left after about 5 minutes.”
Twenty minutes later, Schulz heard what he thought was grunting, and began to wonder if his ears were playing tricks on him. But, when he looked to his left, the big buck emerged from a wooded area and headed for the corn pile. Schulz got into shooting position and ranged the buck with his rangefinder at 22 yards. He drew back his Mathews Mission Craze bow.
“I thought he was going to stop in an opening, but he froze behind some trees,” said Schulz. “I held and held for what felt like 2 minutes before letting down. I ranged him again just to make sure and when I did, I hit my bow with the rangefinder. He looked right toward me.”
After a harrowing couple of minutes, the buck looked in the opposite direction and took 3 steps, giving Schulz the perfect broadside shot. He drew again and released his arrow. The 100-grain Rage Hypodermic broadhead, pierced both lungs. The buck fled, carrying the arrow with it. Schulz heard him crash about 60 yards away.
“We were all after this buck together,” said Schulz. “After my neighbor shot him in the neck on opening day, we tracked him for 2 miles. We were finding so much blood, I went home to get my dog. I didn’t think we were ever going to see it again. I was blown away when he came walking in.”
The buck’s rack carried an inside spread of 18 ¾ inches. The main beams were both over 25 inches long, and the longest tine was 10 inches in length. The bases measured over 5 inches around.
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