The 9-point buck green-scored 146 6/8
Bud Long of Greensboro, N.C. killed a 9-point buck in Rockingham County on Nov. 21, 2021 around 5 p.m. Having observed the buck for months, Long patiently waited and the buck eventually came to him on that comfortable Sunday evening.
Long used a Browning .30-06 A Bolt to bag the 9-point buck with a shot through the heart from about 90 yards away. The buck has been green-scored at 146 6/8.
At the beginning of September, Long watched this and another 8-point buck traveling together on trail cameras set up by his grandson in three different places on 20 acres of land in Rockingham County. This enabled him to observe the deer for several months before seeing him in the flesh.
When bow season started, Long hunted every morning and afternoon with no luck. He hunted the deer with his bow and his Knight MK 85 .50 caliber muzzleloader Nov. 1 through Nov. 4 before leaving for a bowhunting trip to Kansas with his grandson Ryan Long.
While in Kansas, Long’s trail cameras picked up the buck around lunchtime on Nov. 10 and 11. He didn’t get any more pictures of the buck until he watched him chasing a doe around lunchtime on Nov. 20, but he was about 200 yards away.
That Sunday after church, Long went back to the woods and got in his box stand to wait for the buck.
“There were eight or 10 does that came up into my food plot every day to eat. That evening I noticed seven came out of the bottom and walked around the edge of the woods acting kind of scared,” he said.
The does left, but another one showed up
A small doe appeared in the food plot and walked into the pine thicket. This doe didn’t appear to be spooked like the others. Soon, the doe reappeared and the big buck came out about 30 yards behind her.
“I took a shot and he probably didn’t run 35 to 45 yards when he fell. I hit him in the right shoulder straight into his heart. It was a real good shot,” he said.
Long said he was fortunate the big 9-point buck was still showing up.
“We were lucky because the trail cameras picked up a bear coming into the food plots to eat after dark for about a month. Big bucks usually leave when there are bears around,” he said.
Being able to observe the buck from its velvet stage to coming out of velvet was an interesting part of hunting this deer, Long said. And he was amazed by how the does were acting that day.
“What was amazing to me was the does coming out in the field like they weren’t supposed to be there. They acted like they were walking on eggshells. Where this buck was, that doe went and got him,” said Long. “From my experience, I think there was a buck in the other pine thicket and they were fighting earlier, which is why those other does were timid and shy.
“I’d just like to thank my Lord for giving me the opportunity to go hunt. The dear Lord has been great to me allowing me to hunt every day.”
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