Buck’s 150-inch rack was almost perfectly symmetrical
At 16-years-old, Branson Clement of Kannapolis, N.C. killed a buck unlike most hunters in the Carolinas will ever encounter in the woods on Oct. 27 on his family’s tree farm in Chesterfield County, S.C. The 10-point buck’s rack measured 150 inches and was so symmetrical that less than one inch was deducted when green scoring.
But rather than take all the credit and brag about his kill, Clement said he owes it all to his family and friends who have spent years passing on quality bucks to give them a chance to reach trophy status like the one he killed.
“I couldn’t have done this without my family and friends letting smaller bucks walk. We manage for trophy deer, and that’s what it takes to get a shot at one like this. I feel really blessed to have had this opportunity, and even though I was the one that pulled the trigger, it’s not something I could have done all on my own,” said Clement.
When the young hunter arrived in camp that Saturday afternoon, the reports didn’t look great.
“Nobody had seen any sign of rutting activity, and they’d seen some smaller deer, but nothing to brag about. So I got in a stand that has some good history, and I started seeing small deer right away.
“Some does came in, and a 6-point buck came in and started bumping them. They all ran into the pines, then the little buck came back out and was eating acorns. I was losing light, and started thinking I might not see anything else,” he said.
But something caught his attention and caused him to look behind his ladder stand, and he saw some more activity there.
“A doe was coming fast, and she ran right under my stand. And right behind her was a good buck that I knew right away was a shooter. It grunted twice and I shot it. It fell on a dime,” he said.
Clement shot the buck with a Savage .270 short mag, and it wasn’t until he walked to the deer that he realized just how big it was.
“When I first saw it, I thought it was a good 130-inch, 8-pointer. But then I called my dad and told him it was every bit of 150. It was a very symmetrical, almost perfect 10 point. I was right on the money. It green-scored exactly 150 inches,” he said.
