Third time is the charm for Granville hunter

After missing twice, NC hunter kills trophy buck on third try

James Williams had not killed a “good” deer in over 30 years. Lamont Williams, his son, was determined to help his father, who taught him how to hunt, to finally get a trophy. After two misses, it was the third time that James finally got a prized nine-point buck that scored 133 5/8 inches of hard horns and weighed in at 165 pounds.

Huntingon private land in Granville, N.C., Lamont had seen the nine pointin velvet on a trail camera in June. The deer was as regular as clockwork about coming out around 7 p.m. and feeding on the shell corn that he had put out.

On Sept. 8, Lamont took his father, James, and his 11 year old son, Tyler, to hunt out of a ground box blind. The threesome went in the woods that Saturday afternoon around 5:30. Just like clockwork at 7 p.m., the nine point came out of a thick bedding area with about 10 other deer. They came out into a small bean field and started feeding.

Hunting with crossbows, Lamont coordinated that his dad and son would try to shoot at the same time so as not to scare the deer. The son, Tyler, hit a small eight-point deer, but Dad, James, missed the nine point. He had aimed for a shoulder shot at fifteen yards, but shot over the top of the deer.

James and Lamont went back on the following Monday afternoon, and  the nine point and smaller deer came walking out at 7 p.m. James took a 20 yard broadside shot with his crossbow, but the deer ran off like it was not hit. Lamont had been videoing the whole thing, and after reviewing the video, was convinced that James had not hit the deer.

On Sept 18, James and Lamont set out to hunt the ground blind again. Sure enough the nine point came out again at 7 p.m. This time, James was shooting Lamont’s crossbow, a Mathews Mission Sub 1 with a 150-grain, 3 cut broad head.

The deer was 20 yards away and quartering toward the blind when James pulled the trigger. The deer turned and ran away. After waiting a few minutes, the duo checked for blood sign and found just a couple of drops. They then started tracking the blood which had turned into bright red. They then tracked the deer for 100 yards when it jumped up and ran off again.

The two hunters picked up the trail again, which was clearly visible now, but the buck jumped a creek. After waiting about an hour, they began searching again, and finally found the buck, which was expired.