I was given permission to hunt a tract of land in Moore County late 2020 deer season from my employer. Being new to the area, I spent the last part of 2020 getting to know the area and the tract. Early fall of 2021 I went out and set up a stand on both side of the road on this particular tract along with trail cameras to monitor activity.
Early season on in to mid November, I never had any nice bucks on camera. The week of thanks giving I started to get nice deer on camera. December the 4th I did an all day hunt in one stand, and never seen any deer at all. Sunday December 5th I decided to hunt the afternoon in the stand on the other side of the road. As I’m walking in to my stand around 2 30, I jump 2 does on my corn pile.
I’m thinking this hunt hasn’t started good but since I’m here let’s give it a shot. I climb into my stand and sit and watch no activity for the next 45 mins to an hour, as I’m looking down my shooting lane about 100yds away, I notice a deer passing through the edge of the timber, maybe 3 to 5yds inside of woodline. I pick up the deer in my scope but I couldn’t tell how big his antlers were.
I looked again through binoculars but by this time his head was behind brush. His head was in brush and his back half behind a tree, I was left a small window to his front shoulder. I picked him up in the scope of my 270 and fired a shot. When I looked back up I didn’t see a deer on the ground. I climbed down to see if I could mark a blood trail and to verify a hit.
Once down I couldn’t find any signs of a hit from where he was standing. I looked around to see if he ran back where he had come from, because at this point I felt I had completely missed.i called a good friend of mine as I’m looking, and was just about to head back to stand and finish out the hunt, and I turn around for one more quick survey and I spot him on the ground 30 yards behind me.
I had several pictures of this deer throughout the season, but mostly in the week leading up to the hunt. This is my biggest deer to date, weighed in at 170lbs with and 18 inch spread and estimated 150 inches. I plan to have him officially scored at Dixie Deer Classic. Moore County NC 12/5/2021
–Terry Quick; Raeford, N.C.
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