12-point buck did not give up easily
Brittany Dennis of Lugoff, S.C. killed a trophy 12-point buck in Kershaw County on Oct. 20 at 6:50 p.m. She shot the buck with a .30-06 from about 70 yards away. It was a deer she had nicknamed Clarence, and it had a killer set of antlers.
The buck had shown up on Dennis’ trail camera during the day and night two days prior to her hunt. She was hunting during the full moon with the air temperature at 71 degrees.
“The deer was frequenting the area around a small herd of does. The previous photos of the deer happened both day and night. The buck showed no signs of rutting. His tarsal glands were dry and his neck did not appear swollen,” she said.
Clarence was walking in a wooded area behind a corn pile when Dennis shot it from an elevated stand. Once she shot, the buck bolted.
“I heard him run off and what sounded like ‘the crash,’” she said. “But boy was I wrong.”
Thirty minutes after she shot, her husband joined her to search for the deer.
“We found a small speck of blood where I shot. Then we tracked Clarence for about 3 1/2 hours. And I was still in my work clothes (minus a spare camo shirt my husband had in his truck), perfume, earrings, etc. Basically, I was not prepared to hunt that day. But I am so glad that it worked out the way it did,” she said.
Darkness doesn’t damper her spirits
While crawling on the forest floor, looking for another speck of blood, Dennis heard her husband call to her from 100 yards away. She sprinted his way, using her cell phone to light the way since her flashlight had died earlier in the night.
After reaching her husband, he shined his flashlight on the buck. But the buck had a surprise for them both.
“My husband cut the light on and Clarence, with all 12 of his big beautiful points, lifted his head to look at us,” she said.
She didn’t bring her rifle on the tracking job, but she had a .40 compact handgun. She eased up behind the deer and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, this brought new life to Clarence. The deer bolted once again.
Rough time in the woods was all worth it for Dennis
“We tracked for another 45 minutes to an hour. During this time, I sunk in mud almost up to my waist. I was worn slap out. Plus, my husband hired a babysitter at home for our three boys so time = money!” she said.
Once they found Clarence again, they realized he was still alive. She shot him again to put him out of his misery. Then her husband went to retrieve the ATV. This spelled an uneasy time for Dennis.
“Keep in mind, I had no flashlight, I was soaked, I’m scared to death of the dark, and my cell phone had 21% battery left at this point. And I was not a fan of being on the ground with animals that could see me but I couldn’t see them.
“All this to say ‘I got him!’ I have been patient all season and watched many smaller bucks walk because I knew what I wanted and I. GOT. HIM!” she said.
“I would do it all over again and again and again to make the memories we made, and to feel ‘that’ feeling. The only thing that could have made it better was my boys being there to be a part of this special night.” she said.
Bag-A-Buck
Congratulations to Dennis, 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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