It’s her 4th opening-week velvet buck
Rosalyn Ballam of Awendaw, SC has made a tradition of killing velvet bucks during South Carolina’s opening week. She killed an 8-point buck in full velvet on Aug. 15, 2023, and it’s not the first time she’s done that on opening day.
“This is the third velvet buck I’ve killed on opening day, and the fourth during opening week. All were trophies,” she said.
She shot the deer at 6:45 p.m. from 100 yards away with a Remington 308.
But she thought she’d missed her chance less than 2 hours before she shot this buck.
“I saw him as I was grabbing my gear to get into the stand. He stepped out in front of my car and we stared at each other for a minute or two,” she said.
That was the first time she’d seen the buck in the flesh, but she was well aware that this deer was in the area, thanks to trail cam photos dating back to the spring.
“I’ve been watching him on trail cameras since May,” she said.
Velvet buck shows up again
Feeling as though she’d spooked the deer out of the area, Ballam got into the stand anyway. What else does a hunter do in that situation?
After settling into her stand overlooking a cleared area on a trail, Ballam saw a coyote, then some does. And not long after that, a 6-point buck showed up. But it was a text she got from her dad that really lifted her spirits.
“My dad had just sent me a trail cam picture of my target buck in one of our other corn piles. While watching the little 6-point, I looked over and saw my target buck staring down toward the stand,” she said.
Hoping for a better outcome with this second sighting of the buck, Ballam was relieve to see it heading her way.
“I watched him for a couple of minutes, then let him come out some more. Then I shot him in the shoulder,” she said.
The 8-point buck took off into the woods, then she heard it crash.
“I called my dad to tell him, and he loaded up to come help me search for him. Once my dad got there, I got down and went to search for him. My dad walked 50 yards into the woods and saw him lying there, then whistled for me and told me he had him, and that it was a nice velvet buck,” she said.
Bagging another trophy velvet buck was certainly special to Ballam, but having her dad involved in the search was even more meaningful to her.
“Every deer season, my dad will come help me look for my bucks, and it’s always the best feeling when we find them together,” she said.
These are photos of the four velvet bucks, from 4 different years, that Ballam has killed during the first week of South Carolina’s deer hunting season.
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Bag A Buck Contest
Congratulations to Ballam, 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, and other prizes, 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, or email photo and detailed info to images@carolinasportsman.com.
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