HERCULES green-scored 164 3/8 inches
I got permission to hunt on this particular new farm back in summer of 2023. I found a spot that looked like the deer had been in and put a couple of cameras up. A group of bucks showed up, but one in particular, I named “HERCULES.”
I waited thru September, October and finally November. After hundreds and hundreds of trail cam pics in velvet, and as he shed and began to start working scrapes, and leaving heavy buck sign in the woods. We played the cat and mouse game for 2 hunts. He also showed up in daylight while I was called in to work, but I knew he’d give me a chance.
With a major change in wind direction from a big cold front resulting in a drop in temperatures, and given it was the first week of November, I had pictures of HERCULES the morning of the 5th, while I had to work that morning. I got off at 12. So I loaded the truck with the CVA muzzleloader and headed for the woods. I got in quiet. Wind in my face. It was perfect. He just had to read the script.
After several does and a couple of smaller bucks came through, and seeing a decent amount of chasing action, the evening was winding down to the last 45 minutes. A/K/A PrimeTime. A doe came in across the ridge, and there he was, hot on her trail. But him running her like he was, she shot back over the knoll and left, and he followed suit. I thought it was over, but stayed patient. And as luck would have it, that doe came back across with HERCULES following.
The doe passed through my lane, so did he. I stopped him and he presented a beautiful broadside shot at 75 yards with the CVA MUZZLELOADER. Hercules was no more. He scored 164 3/8s gross green score, missing what i think was a 3-inch drop tine he had broken off just a day before I shot him on the 5th, based off of trail camera pictures. I could care less of that or the score. He’s my biggest buck to date, and I learned a lot on this hunt. It was a fun journey.
–John Ekins; Stokes County, NC
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Bag A Buck Contest
Congratulations to Elkins, 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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