The huge buck was green-scored at 150 inches
Justin Anderson of McBee, S.C. killed a huge Kershaw County buck on Nov. 3, 2021. The mainframe 8-pointer had two kickers and a split brow tine, and has been gross green-scored at 150 inches.
Anderson shot the buck from 80 yards away with his Remington .30-06 at about 7:15 p.m. It was his first time seeing the deer in the flesh, but he had a very long history with the buck.
“I got my first picture of this deer in 2016. I got a few in 2017, then in 2018 he started making himself at home,” said Anderson. “He was an absolute giant with double split brow tines. I continued to get pictures of him, but never in daylight.”
In 2019, the land next to Anderson’s hunting tract was clear cut. The deer scarcely showed up.
“I think that pushed him out. I didn’t get many pictures of him that year,” he said.
But in 2020, the buck showed up on thousands of Anderson’s trail cam photos. And it looked better than ever.
“He had grown a LOT. For a South Carolina buck, it almost didn’t seem real. At this point, he had to be at least 8-years-old,” he said.
And for the first time, the big buck showed up during shooting hours. Unfortunately, Anderson wasn’t in the stand during any of those times.
“He daylighted a few times last year, and I just wasn’t there. It seemed as if no matter what I did, he had an answer. When he popped back up this year, I knew it was my last year to kill him. He had gone downhill, but was still a brute,” he said.
Anderson killed the huge buck from a ground blind
In the two weeks prior to killing the buck, his trail cams captured a handful of daytime photos of the deer. Anderson said he knew the big deer was flirting with disaster.
“I have been telling everyone that it was my year. I’ve done so much homework, watched so many videos trying to gain knowledge, spoke with other hunters on what they would do, thought of everything I could do to make this happen. With him getting so comfortable, I told myself to just sit back and wait,” said Anderson.
On the day he killed the buck, Anderson slipped into his ground blind in the early morning darkness. He could barely make out the silhouette of a doe in his corn pile, which was unaware of his presence.
“As it started getting light outside, I could see the doe just enough with my eyes. Then I saw another silhouette. I could tell it was a nice deer. I threw my rifle up, put the scope on him, and then I could really see,” he said.
Anderson realized it was the buck he’d been pursuing for years, finally in his crosshairs. He began to panic, but kept his composure well-enough to take a clean shot.
“I asked myself ‘do I wait for it to get a little brighter so I can see better, or do I take a chance?’ I took my chance and it paid off,” he said. “For 6 long years, I’ve waited to lay my hands on this deer. It was an emotional moment, but thank the lord for allowing me to harvest my biggest deer ever.
“A true giant South Carolina buck. Thank you Lord!” he said.
Bag-A-Buck
Congratulations to Anderson, who is now entered in our Bag-A-Buck contest. Click here to enter your buck in the Carolina Sportsman Bag-A-Buck contest. We’re giving away some great monthly prizes, as well as a Grand Prize that includes a Millennium M25 hang-on deer stand and a 2-man, 2-day hunt for deer and hogs at Cherokee Run Hunting Lodge in Chesterfield, S.C.
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