Midlands hunter downs 8-point velvet buck

Trophy 8-point buck showed up during evening hunt

Sally Smith of Blythewood, S.C. killed a trophy 8-point velvet buck in Richland County on Aug. 19, 2022. It was a buck she knew about through trail camera photos, but she had never seen it until the day she killed it.

Smith shot the deer with a Browning A-Bolt .30-06 around 7:35 p.m. She was elevated in a buddy stand overlooking a logging lane between two wooded areas. The buck ran about 40 yards after Smith’s 185-grain Hornady round hit its mark.

“I got in the stand at 5:30 p.m., and watched two does feed for about 30 minutes. Then a 4-pointer came out, and then the 8-pointer came out,” she said.

Smith was ready to shoot the big buck, but she had a problem.

“I had to wait for the does and the 4-pointer to get out of the way to gain a clear shot,” she said.

She had her gun out of the stand’s window by the time the other deer moved. She took aim at the 8-pointer.

“Then I exhaled and shot,” she said.

She was sure she’d hit the deer, but not long after it ran off, she began to have second thoughts. She called her husband, who advised her to wait a while before getting out of the stand to check.

After waiting a bit, she got down and found blood and meat fragments. It was beginning to get dark, so she waited on a search party to help her track the deer.

Her husband Carlisle Smith showed up along with Jesse Tenley and Chris Wirt to help. After a quick search, they located the buck in its final resting place.

“The guys spotted him first. I was so excited. I knew I got him to begin with but I just second-guessed myself. But I shouldn’t have. Because there he was,” she said. “I am on Cloud Nine today, and not to mention the full velvet!”

Smith is now in our Bag-A-Buck Contest

Smith’s buck puts her in our Bag-A-Buck Contest. She’s now 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
• More to come!

The Grand Prize winner will receive:

• Barnett Hyper XP 405 Crossbow
• MAGLITE Field Ops Bundle
• Grey Man Tactical Vehicle Hunting Gun Rack RMP package
• Pyramyd Air Gun prize package
• 3-year subscription to Carolina Sportsman Magazine
• More to come!

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