Daniel
Stanley
Benson
Harnett
09-09-2024
7:49 am
Matthews VXR 28 Compound Bow
21 yard shot. Shot him facing directly at me. Where the base of the neck meets the brisket right between the shoulders
Elevated lone wolf lock on stand
Ran 30 yards. Made for a easy blood trail and quick recovery
33
Had two seasons of history with this deer. Trail cameras and in person. This year I killed him was the first time I’ve seen him in person in the 2024 season. Patterned him with trail cameras, hunted him three mornings in a row. Killed him that third morning.
Nine
I have not had him scored yet
Morning
This is a beaver swamp/creek bottom I’ve hunted for years. It’s surrounded by small farm land and neighborhoods. The cape fear river is a couple miles down the creek from this property. The deer use this property as a travel corridor. It’s nothing new to see random deer pop up every year for a few days and disappear. I have a few deer that stay regulars through out the year. This is my second season of history with this deer. I thought someone killed him in December because he disappeared on me as a solid three year old. Fast forward to this summer, I had multiple mature bucks pop up in July on my cameras. This buck included. It didn’t take me long to recognize it was him with his unique rack. I don’t name deer, but last season me and my buddy deemed him as the “crossover buck” just because of how his main beams crossed over each other. I kept up with him all of July and august. I wasn’t going to be picky, I would’ve shot him or any of the other mature bucks. I did have my heart secretly set on him just because of the history with him that you don’t always get with deer. The week going into opening weekend of bow. Him and the other bucks every other day would come slipping through this small strip of pines right along the edge of this beaver swamp that run passed a beaver damn that has a certain part of the swamp ponded up pretty good. I’ve learned over the years either the deer would skirt the waters edge along the pines to bypass the damn/ponder up
part or meander through the swamp to get around it. Usually I wait till October to start slipping into the swamp covering more trails and just set up along the pines in the early season since deer tend to use the pines more in the early season. Fast forward to
Opening morning. I went that morning, didn’t see anything. Went Sunday morning and let a two year old eight pointer walk and a couple does. I knew the bucks have been coming through every other day the week going into that weekend. I took a vacation day that Monday the ninth and went back a third morning. I figured one out of the three mornings I would catch either of them bucks coming back from food to bed. At first light I started seeing does and fawns throughout the morning. At 7:30 the big hard horned nine pointer I’ve been seeing on camera out that bachelor group came cruising by me in the water and could not shoot him with a bow even if I wanted to try for a shot. At 7:45 I saw a solid three year old eight pointer coming my way down the waters edge on the trail I expected them to come down. I knew he has been with them other two mature bucks. I let him walk and about a minute later I look down through the pines and I see the buck I’ve had history with walking along the waters edge coming right at me and noticed he was still in full velvet. I was hunting just an off wind I was hunting and the doe between me and him I think caught my wind swirling just enough to get her to act like something wasn’t right, but not enough for her to blow out of there. It definitely got the mature bucks attention and he froze where he stood. I was going to try and force something to try and get a shot, but I kept telling myself to be be patient. Let the doe calm down and let this situation play itself out. It would be my first velvet buck ever, let alone my biggest bow buck. After about a two minute ordeal of hoping she would calm down and turn her head just enough so she wouldn’t catch movement of me drawing back with her peripheral vision. I was able to get my bow drawled back. Shot him at 21 yards, at the time I thought he was 17-18 yards until I ranged it after I got down out of the tree. I didn’t want to have to shoot him facing directly at me, but under the circumstances that took place that morning. Where he was standing, the angle I had between me and him. I had confidence in my bow set up, and where I could get the shot placement I knew it would be just as good as a broadside shot. I knew if he ever took two steps to the left or right I wouldn’t get a shot on him knowing he would just keep going after that doe got nervous like she did. After the decision was made and I was able to get my bow drawled back, muscle memory took over with all the shooting practice I do off and on throughout the year. I knew It was a solid hit at the base of the neck where it meets the brisket between the shoulders when blood exploded out of him like a grenade at arrow impact and hearing that solid sound the arrow made hitting the deer. He only ran 30 yards and made for a really easy blood trail and quick recovery. My dad came out to help me get him out of the swamp. I couldn’t have asked to start my 2024 deer season off better than I’ve been blessed to.