7-point buck dropped on the spot
Weston Sawyer of Aiken, SC killed a 7-point buck on Sept. 1, 2024 in Aiken County during an evening hunt from the ground. He shot the deer from 105 yards away with a .25-06. The 7-year-old was familiar with the buck through trail camera photos.
“Weston started his hunting journey last year at the age of 6,” said he mom. “He was getting upset cause he wasn’t seeing any deer, and he would say ‘I will never get to shoot my first deer.’ We would remind him that the time would come.”
He looked forward to this season, anticipating getting his first shot at a buck.
“So this year came around, and he said ‘I hope I get to see something this year,'” she said.
The morning went like any other day. They sat in the blind and didn’t see anything. His cousin had shot a deer that morning, so Sawyer was feeling a little down since now he was the last of the kids to shoot their first deer.
“I told him not to be upset, and that we would come back in the evening,” she said. “We got in the blind a little after 5 p.m. It was hot and mosquitos were bad. He was itching and moving, wanting to get out of the blind. I reminded him that it was about time that the deer would be moving.”
Around 7 p.m., the young hunter bowed his head.
“He said ‘Grandpa, please send me something,'” she said. “His grandfather passed away last October due to multiple myeloma.”
It worked
Not long after that, a deer showed up.
“Around 7:30, we could see a deer coming out of the woods at the end of the road,” she said. “He looked at me with excitement and said ‘Mommy, that’s a buck. I’m going to take the shot.'”
The deer was still a little too far away, so she told him to wait.
“The deer walked a little closer to us, then went back into the wood line,” she said. “You could see the look of disappointment on his face. I whispered, and said ‘wait.'”
After a few minutes, the deer reappeared.
“The deer popped back out, still a little too far, then went back into the woods for a second time,” she said.
Finally, the deer came back out and walked into range. Sawyer took his time, then pulled the trigger.
“He shot, and the deer stood straight up and fell over,” she said. “Excitement overcame him and he began to cry.”
As they prepared to recover the deer, some trespassers showed up, prolonging him from claiming his prize.
“Finally after an hour and a half, he was able to go and recover his amazing first buck. It had a 17-inch wide spread,” she said.
Bag A Buck Contest
Congratulations to Sawyer, who is now in the running for our monthly prize of a free 1-year subscription to Carolina Sportsman Magazine, a Sportsman hat, a two-pack of Lowcountry Seasonings, as well as our Grand Prize, which includes a 1-year-subscription to Carolina Sportsman Magazine, a Sportsman hat, and a 2-day, two-person hunt at Cherokee Run Hunting Lodge in Chesterfield, SC.
See all the bucks entered so far, and upload yours at www.carolinasportsman.com/bag-a-buck-2024
