Buck named “The One”

 

I am a member of Sweet Gum Hunting Club. Saturday 11/16 was opening day of gun season. I took Friday off to hunt in a last effort to see this buck before gun season started. I packed up my crossbow and made my way to the stand after lunch. After a 45 minute drive and a 10 minute hike in I settled into my stand around 3pm. I have had this deer on my camera for the last three years. I only had one interaction with him last year and he never gave me a shot. Most of the hunt was pretty uneventful. It started to get later and my hopes began to fall away I decided around 4:45pm to rattle a little. Nothing. 4:55 I made a couple doe bleat sounds with my mouth. It was on! I immediately heard the sound we all know well of a deer moving in quickly from my left. I barely caught the site of a nice rack and as rapidly and quietly as I could readied my cross bow where I anticipated him stepping into a shooting lane. The heart was racing at this point but tried to stay calm. Without hesitation or concern he made a couple steps into the lane. In my sites I lined up for a 35 yard shot and let the bolt fly. I heard the bolt make good contact and the buck turned and ran the way he came from. I had no visual but listened for the direction he was heading. It did not sound like he went far but at this point you just don’t know and your mind begins to wonder. I waited a few and decided to get down. I hiked out and took my bow to the truck and with a few minutes of light left I decided to hike back in and see if I could pick up a trail before dark. He ended up being only 30 yards from where I shot him and I could not believe what I had just done. It was at this time I realized how special this deer was and what I just accomplished. Lots of reflection and prayers over the animal took place before I left him and went to get help from some members at the club. The rest was history and I am still in shock. This is a once in a lifetime buck and hunt for me. He was green scored at taxidermist a few days later at gross 163 11 point. My wife and I always had an agreement I would limit full shoulder mounts to one deer in the house. As we looked at camera pics of him over the years we named him “The One”. I called the wife and with a shaky voice told her I GOT THE ONE!

Hunter’s name: Terry Roney

mcleansville North Carolina

Caswell, NC

11-15-2024

11-point buck