Trophy buck had two kickers
Christopher Hiatt of Stokesdale, NC killed a Guilford County trophy buck on Oct. 16, 2023 at around 5:23 p.m. The mainframe 8-point buck had two kickers and weighed more than 150 pounds.
Hiatt was in a hang-on stand in a wooded area when he shot the deer with a compound bow from 30 yards away.
He’d seen evidence of the buck’s presence only once before the hunt, and that was from a trail camera photo at lunch time on the same day.
“He showed up on camera on Oct. 16 around 12 p.m. for the first time, but he’d been seen by the land owner prior to that. When he showed up on camera, I knew I’d have a good chance to see him that evening. I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to hunt that night because I didn’t have a bow of my own at the time,” said Hiatt.
Luckily, he was able to borrow a friend’s spare Martin DSX1, so he picked it up and was in the woods by 4 p.m.
Deer almost left too soon
“I had a good evening watching some does in the corn pile, and smaller bucks up the ridge. Then I heard something to my left, and all I could see was antlers. He was around 40 yards at that time,” he said.
Before Hiatt knew it, the buck was heading off. But then the deer hesitated and came back.
“He walked almost out of sight before he turned back into my shooting lane and looked right towards me like something was off. He stayed that way for what felt like 20 minutes, then quartered away,” he said.
That’s when Hiatt drew his bow and fired an arrow. He knew he hit the trophy buck, but wasn’t sure how good of a shot it was.
“I called my buddy to tell him I shot him. I sat there until my friend showed up before checking my arrow and finding out that it wasn’t the best shot. We called a guy with a dog and he showed up 2.5 hours later and tracked it for me. We found the buck 200 yards from the stand,” he said.
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Bag A Buck Contest
Congratulations to Hiatt, who is now in the running for our monthly prize of a free 1-year subscription to Carolina Sportsman Magazine, a Mini Maglite, an 18-ounce Yeti Rambler, a two-pack of Lowcountry Seasonings, as well as our Grand Prize, which includes a 3-year-subscription to Carolina Sportsman Magazine, a 2-day two-person hunt at Cherokee Run Hunting Lodge in Chesterfield, SC, and other prizes to be determined.
See all the bucks entered so far, and upload yours at carolinasportsman.com/bag-a-buck-2023, or email photo and detailed info to images@carolinasportsman.com.
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