Eric Matthews of Florence SC 29501, SC killed a 10-point buck in Florence County, SC on Sept. 7, 2026. The buck had a split G2.
He shot the buck with a Browning Xbolt Eclipse .308 during an afternoon hunt while sitting in an elevated stand from 200 yards away.
Matthews summed up the hunt with these words:
“The Split G2 buck was first seen on a trail cam picture in July. I knew he was going to be a spectacular buck to watch grow, and as it got to August, we noticed his G2 split, which made it even more exciting. On Sept. 6 around 7 p.m. I watched him walk out into the shooting lane, look around, and as fast as he came out, he disappeared. A little frustrated, I knew with the cool front, I had to get back after him the next day.
Sept. 7, morning hunt I could see something big on the corn right at daybreak, and once again he disappeared back into the timber. He had my number, so I went home, took a break. At about 5 p.m. I decided to head back out, and this time came into the stand in a different direction and played the wind to my favor.
Hours past by and only seeing does and fawns moving around, I thought he wouldn’t show back up again that day. A little after 7 p.m., I looked around and saw a pretty full velvet 8-point walk out the timber.
As I was watching him, I saw movement back behind him – a tail flicker. So I grabbed the rifle to get a better look. As soon as I grabbed the rifle and looked into the timber, he started to walk out into the shooting lane next to the corn pile.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was the Split G2 buck. Shaking and excited, I knew I had to calm down and make it count, or I wouldn’t get another chance at him.
I settled down, took a few deep breaths, steadied my aim and took the shot.
Down he went! It was a perfect shot placement. Excited, I had to call my wife and tell her and my two kids I got the big one.
I climbed down out the stand and headed to him to check out this hammer of a buck.
When I walked up, there wasn’t any ground shrinkage. It got bigger as I kept walking and when I looked at him, I noticed he had a kicker off the back left antler on the same side as the split G2 was on. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
Matthews is now entered in our Bag-A-Buck Contest, and is eligible to win our monthly prize pack, which includes a set of Ultimate Eyes & Ears Combo from ShellShock Pro, a YETI Rambler bottle, a prize package from Buck Commander and Duck Commander, and a Carolina Sportsman hat, as well as our Grand Prize, a 2-day hunt for two to Cherokee Run Hunting Lodge in Chesterfield County, SC.
