11-point buck was an old one
Perry Shelton of Bostic, NC killed a 213-pound, 11-point buck that’s been green-scored at 150+ inches in Rutherford County on Nov. 25, 2023. He shot the deer with a Browning A-Bolt .308 at 5:25 p.m.
Shelton had never seen the deer in the flesh, but his trail cameras had picked up numerous photos of it over the past few years. He was hunting in a wooded area when he shot the buck from 75 yards away.
“I got the first photo of the deer in 2020, and it looked to be 4- or 5-years-old. My neighbor told me about a high-racked buck that looked like his rack was 2 feet high on his head,” said Shelton.
In 2021, his trail camera did not pick up any photos of the deer. But in October of 2022, the buck began showing up again.
“He had a drop tine and three brow tines on one side,” he said. “The second Saturday of 2022 gun season, I didn’t hunt that afternoon, and he came out at 5:28. He only showed up one more time, late in the evening with shooting light available on a day I didn’t hunt.”
One of his friends then showed him photos of the deer from 2021, almost 2 miles away from Shelton’s stand.
“Then I got a photo of him in late January 2023. And I started getting pics again in September 2023. He started showing up every night to my corn,” he said.
A new pattern
Soon, the deer’s pattern started changing.
“I got the first daytime photo during the first week of blackpowder season. He showed up at 8:30 a.m. and at 7 a.m., and at 7:30 a.m. on other days,” Shelton said.
The next week, Shelton hunted the mornings. But blackpowder season ended without him laying eyes of the buck. When rifle season came in, the deer was a no-show for three days, finally showing back up on camera following a doe.
“I got a pic of him breeding on Nov. 22,” he said. “I had hunted the morning of Nov. 25 with no luck, and then had been busy all day and thought about not going back that evening.”
But that day marked one year that he didn’t hunt on the evening that the deer, which he called Clyde, showed up in daylight. So he decided to hunt after all.
“I heard something I knew couldn’t be a squirrel in front of me, 75 yards out. As soon as I saw him, I lifted my rifle and started zooming in as I brought it to my shoulder,” he said. “I shot, and Clyde dropped in his tracks.”
Shelton texted his friend that Clyde was dead. Then he climbed down and went over to Clyde.
“I yelled out ‘F…yeah!’” he said. “The taxidermist, using pics from 2020 and the jawbone, estimated Clyde to be at least 8-years-old.”
Shelton had the buck green-scored by two different people. One scored it at 156 inches, and the other at 151 inches.
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Bag A Buck Contest
Congratulations to Shelton, 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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