8-year-old hunter drops Allendale County trophy buck

Eight-year-old Ben Wall of Fairfax, S.C. killed this 8-point Allendale County brute on Aug. 16, 2020.

Allendale County trophy buck was in full velvet

Eight-year-old Ben Wall dropped an Allendale County 8-point buck behind his house on Aug. 16. Wall was sitting in his dad Josh Wall’s lap when he pulled the trigger on his 6.5 Creedmoor. The trophy buck weighed 170 pounds. And the deer’s antlers were covered in velvet.

But the hunt almost ended in disappointment when the stout deer bolted off into the woods right after they first saw it come out.

At 8-years-old, Ben is not a newcomer to hunting. This is the fifth deer he’s killed, and the third buck. This is, however, his biggest. And it’s one he was hoping to get a shot at after watching the buck for the past month on trail cameras leading up to the 2020 deer hunting season. The buck had been showing up on their 285-acre tract of private land along the Coosawhatchie River is southern Allendale County.

“The deer just recently showed up in my 7-acre forage soybean plot about 600 yards away from where Ben and I would be hunting,” said Josh Wall. “I planted a smaller 1.5-acre soybean plot a couple of weeks ago. And I knew the deer would be holding up on this smaller plot until he had the safety of darkness to make his way to the bigger bean field.”

The young hunter studied the photos with his dad, and was excited about the opportunity for this buck to come out while they were hunting, even though it was sweltering hot.

Buck showed up right away, but retreated just as quickly

They got into the stand at 6:45 p.m. that Sunday. They settled in for a long sit. Or so they thought. But 5 minutes after they sat down, the buck appeared in the freshly-planted soybean field with a few does trailing behind.

“I was hoping the deer would come out eventually. But we were definitely surprised to get action so quickly,” said Josh Wall.

They scrambled trying to get the camera ready, the gun pointed in the right direction, and Ben up on his father’s lap. All the commotion was too much action at once. The deer quickly spooked and retreated back into the woods.

“The look on Ben’s face was hard to accept. He had a look of sadness and disappointment on his face when the big buck ran back into the woods. But I told him it was still early, and if we were quiet, I bet he would come back out right before dark,” he said.

And just like he thought, the buck stepped back out just before dark 100 yards away from their stand. Josh got Ben on his lap, and he was ready this time.

“Ben took his time and squeezed the trigger on the 6.5 Creedmoor. And the deer dropped where he stood,” he said. “My gut instinct was right, and Ben harvested a great deer.”


Click here to read about Tyler Pearson’s Lexington County 10-point buck from Aug. 18, 2020.

About Jeff Burleson 1308 Articles
Jeff Burleson is a native of Lumberton, N.C., who lives in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He graduated from N.C. State University with a degree in fisheries and wildlife sciences and is a certified biologist and professional forester for Southern Palmetto Environmental Consulting.

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