The hunt took place on December 2nd. It was extremely foggy and Misting rain. I was in a ladder stand me and my dad had thrown up late bow season in hopes of intercepting this buck or one other going between food and a bedding area. I had two on camera that I would consider shooters. Being that I haven’t punched a buck tag on anything in 6 years I was getting antsy. It wasn’t from a lack of stand time or not having big bucks around, I’ve had multiple instances where freak incidents happen and either the neighbor or a vehicle on highway 421 would get the buck I was after. It was disheartening watching so many things happen in years passed but all we can do is keep hunting. It’s like baseball, the only way to get out of a slump at the plate is to hit out of it. Going back to early bow season this buck frequented one tiny block of woods around our hay fields that was probably 150-200 yards from my house. He would daylight while I was either at work or at a lake fishing. As bow season was coming to a close one of those freak incidents occurred. Late one evening a couple trespassers on a 4 wheeler drove passed our house and straight to my Wrights Mineral pile. Actually had the deer on camera on the picture before they road in. After that he was a no show for the majority of November. Come to find out he’d been on 4 different cameras within a 4 mile radius. Around November 23 or so he came back on camera, mid morning with a doe and was relatively consistent until his last day. Only daylighting on cloudy or foggy mornings. It couldn’t get more foggy than on December 2nd. I snuck in the stand around 5:00 and prepared to sit as long as it took. Around 8:00am I heard movement to my right, I turned slightly and caught a glimpse of a buck. Couldn’t tell how big at the time, he was grunting like he was after a doe, short tending grunts. All of the sudden I catch movement to my left, as I turn I couldn’t see the rack yet but the body told the story. I knew it was him or a buck that was likewise big enough. As he stepped around the tree i readied my Grandpas Ruger M77 .270 that he passed down when he passed away and picked a spot. He was moving and on a mission. When he finally got in small clearing I didn’t have to grunt, at 80 yards he must have heard the safety click off. The rest is history. As everyone says in this day and time “he didn’t go 20.”😂 this one isn’t my biggest but it’s probably meant the most. The emotional roller coaster, the failures of years passed, having my grandfathers gun with me when he meant so much to me and my early years fishing and hunting. You can’t beat that moment in the stand after the shot and all those things come through your head at the same time. It’s a unbelievable feeling.
-Jessy Bowman, Chatham County NC
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Bag A Buck Contest
Congratulations to Bowman, 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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