Carthage hunter downs Moore County whopper buck

Moore County whopper
Justice Ledford had a long history with this buck, and finally killed it on Nov. 22, 2019.

Hunter had long history with the deer

Justice Ledford of Carthage, N.C. killed a whopper of a Moore County buck on the evening of Nov. 22. The 8-point buck has been green-scored at more than 157 inches.

Ledford had a long history with this deer. He’d hunted the beast for three years, and took numerous days off from work to hunt it. Two years in a row, he missed the buck by a day.

“I’ve hunted him for three years, and the first two years he was a 9-point. And I missed him by a day both of those years, taking off 17 and 18 days each year to hunt him and missed him by a day each year,” he said.

This season, Ledford moved his tree stand, hoping for a better outcome. But initially, that didn’t seem like such a great move.

“I moved my stand this year. And then I didn’t get hardly any pictures of him like I did the two previous years. I only got him three times on my camera (this year). He was only in there one day during the day, and that was two days before I killed him,” he said.

Nearby gunshot gave Ledford a bad feeling

On the day he killed the Moore County buck, Ledford’s heart sank at first when he heard a nearby gunshot.

“I heard a gunshot and my corn pile was empty. And I just knew that it was him that had gotten killed,” he said.

A few minutes later, a turkey flew in behind Ledford. He started videoing the bird on his cell phone and caught a glimpse of something else. He convinced himself it was nothing, but he quickly realized it was the big buck. It was 5:19 p.m.

“A couple of minutes later, I saw a set of horns, just the side of them. And whenever it stepped out, I could see the side of his horns and I knew that it was him. He stepped in my corn pile at 19 yards,” he said.

Here Ledford tell the story in his own words by clicking the arrow below.

Ledford wasted no time, and shot the buck with his Winchester 70 Lightweight.

“I knew I hit him. But I didn’t know if I’d hit him good because he jumped up and took off running.  I racked another one in, and I got on him. He started slowing down and stopped. I took my eye off my scope just to see what he was going to do, and he fell over dead,” he said.

Thankful to kill the buck, Ledford now has another plan

Ledford relaxed a little, seeing the buck’s white belly 40 yards away. Before leaving the stand, he thought back over the past few years and all the other deer he’s passed on waiting for this one buck.

“I knew he was my biggest deer. So I couldn’t pass him up by shooting smaller deer. I’ve seen a bunch of nice deer, including rutting activity at this stand. But I knew not to shoot them because I knew (the big buck) was somewhere around,” said Ledford.

After finally getting the buck he’s hunted for so long, Ledford said now he wants to help one of his biggest supporters get a prize buck.

Moore County whopper
Finally having killed his prized buck, Justice Ledford said it’s time to help his fiancee get her biggest buck.

“Now it’s time for me to take my fiancee and try to get her a nice one. Some of the ones I’ve been watching would be her biggest one,” he said.

Ledford is having a pedestal mount of the Moore County whopper made by his taxidermist, and expects to have it back in time for the 2020 Dixie Deer Classic. He credits two men with helping to keep him in the woods hunting deer.

“I’d like to dedicate it to a man named Jimmy Ledford and a man named Roger Forest. These two men kept me hunting all my life,” he said.

About Brian Cope 2989 Articles
Brian Cope is the editor of Carolina Sportsman. He has won numerous awards for his writing, photography, and videography. He is a retired Air Force combat communications technician, and has a B.A. in English Literature from the University of South Carolina. You can reach him at brianc@carolinasportsman.com.

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