Brad Stoop took full advantage of opening day of deer season in Hertford County on Sept. 11 when he aimed his arrow and let it fly at a symmetrical 12-point just 23-yards away. Hitting the buck right behind the shoulder, the double-lung shot sent the buck scampering into a cutdown before falling over in a heap just 45 yards away away.
“I’ve been bowhunting since I was 7 years old, when my father first took me hunting,” said Stoop. “I’ve never killed one bigger than this one, and I had him on trail cams for two consecutive years.
The shooter buck came off farmland in Ahoskie, in Eastern North Carolina Stoop has permission to hunt because the owners are also bowhunters, and they all agree to harvest a buck only if it is going to be mounted.
Stoop had his buck green scored at 158 1/16, and is getting a pedestal mount by Stoney Creek Taxidermy in Ahoskie. The buck has a 19-inch spread, 5 1/2-inch bases, and 23 ½- and 23 ¾-inch main beams. The longest tine was a 8 3/4-inch G4 tine.
Hunting in a hardwood bottomland area that adjoins a 4-year-old cutover with plenty of buck cover, Stoop enjoyed overcast conditions with a light east wind.
“I got in the stand at 5:10 (p.m.), and it was slow until 6:30 when three does, four fawns and a 7-point in full velvet decided to come out and join the squirrels,” he said. “The buck first appeared at 7:10, and he came within 15-yards of me but he was standing in some holly trees and I had no shot.”
Ten long minutes later, when the 190-pound buck walked into a shooting lane just 23-yards away, Stoop’s archery equipment was put to the test. Aiming his BowTech 101st Airborne bow set at 74-pounds, he used his sighting pin to make sure the Rage three-blade broadhead would find the mark. The arrow passed entirely through the buck, and all the gathered deer scattered into the woods.
Going down to check for blood, Stoop found lung tissue where the buck was standing and was easily able to follow the trail into the cover where he last heard the buck thrashing. He called his hunting buddy who owns the farmland, and they dragged him out of the woods after plenty of high-fives and hooting.
They field dressed the 12-point buck that night, and started a birthday celebration a little ahead of Stoop’s Sept. 13 birthdate.
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Stoop is entering his buck in the North Carolina Sportsman Bag-A-Buck Contest, which can be viewed here.
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