Houston Friddle’s 12-point brute

Hunter had history with the 12-point buck

Houston Friddle of Summerfield, NC killed a 12-point Guilford County buck on Nov. 6 that’s been green-scored at 163+ inches. He and his hunting buddies had some history with the buck.

“During the 2021 season after talking with some friends, we decided to let the deer go with hopes he would make it another year. He disappeared middle of October that year, then was back on camera late last December,” Friddle said.

This past spring, Friddle said they noticed the deer was coming around one of their mineral sites.

“In the middle of April, we had a very frequent visitor coming to a mineral site. After keeping eyes on him, we were able to determine it was the same deer. But July 22, the deer went missing. I went from getting daily pictures to nothing,” he said.

Luckily, the 12-point buck showed up again on Oct. 3. But Friddle recognized the need to move quickly on the elusive deer.

“I knew I had a sort time to seal the deal, according to his pattern from last year,” he said.

Bittersweet ending

Friddle hunted the deer hard, sitting multiple times and letting other bucks pass while waiting for his target. And on the morning of Nov. 6, he finally got his chance and sealed the deal.

He shot the buck with his Traditions Buck Stalker XT from about 90 yards away while sitting in a box stand overlooking a swamp on a big river bottom. The deer dropped in its tracks, ending the chase.

It was bittersweet for Friddle, who said he looks forward to replicating the experience in the near future.

“It was one of those stories that you hate to see come to an end,” he said. “But 2023 is going to be one you don’t want to miss!”

Friddle took the deer to Long Row Processing in Reidsville where Eric Knowles found lots of infection in the deer’s back legs, presumably due to a vehicle collision over the summer, which would explain the lengthy disappearance from trail cam photos.

“Very thankful to have harvested the deer before Mother Nature did, as I do not think he would have made it through a rough winter,” Friddle said.

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Bag A Buck

Congratulations to Friddle, who is now entered in our Bag-A-Buck Contest and in the running for these monthly prizes and the Grand Prize package:

Monthly winners will receive:

•  MAGLITE XL50 LED Spectrum Red Flashlight
• 1-year subscription to Carolina Sportsman Magazine

The Grand Prize winner will receive:

• Cherokee Run Hunting Lodge 2-day, two-man deer/hog hunt
• Seneca Dragon Claw airgun/arrow gun combo from Pyramid Air
• Barnett Hyper XP 405 Crossbow
• MAGLITE Field Ops Bundle
• Grey Man Tactical Vehicle Hunting Gun Rack RMP Package
• 3-year subscription to Carolina Sportsman Magazine

You can be in the running for these prizes too by sharing your story and photo in our Bag-A-Buck gallery.