Dobson hunter kills 140-inch Surry County 8-point buck

Hunter spotted trophy buck on trail camera just hours before killing it

Jeremiah Wood of Dobson lasted 28 days on a southeast Pacific Island during season 28 of the CBS hit show Survivor: Cagayan, but he was much quicker to get his all-time largest whitetail after seeing the 140-inch, 8-point buck on his trail camera just hours before his Dec. 3 afternoon hunt.

On a morning hunt last Saturday, Wood watched 10 does and a few small bucks frolicking around his Surry County stand. After the hunt, he pulled his camera card to see if any newcomers were in the area. Looking at the photos, Wood was surprised to see he had a new kid on the block sporting a wide rack with eight mainframe points.

“This buck showed up just before midnight the night before and came by repeatedly chasing a doe over the next few hours. One time, he almost had her mounted,” he said.

Hoping the buck was still in the area, Wood headed back to the same stand that afternoon. His stand was overlooking a field bordered by a mature forest. He had a corn pile right up next to the woods, allowing the deer to feed on the edge without having to enter the open field.

Wood watched as several does came out and fed on the corn until the sun fell beneath the trees. As it was getting dark, he could see another deer coming into the field, so he pulled up his binoculars to take a look.

“It was another doe. But as soon as I dropped my binoculars, I saw another deer walk out and it was a buck,” he said.

Wood didn’t have to put the binoculars on this deer, which stood 140 yards away. It was the huge buck he was hoping to see that afternoon. Then, before he could pull up to shoot, another doe walked out of the wood line and took off across the field.

“He whirled around like he was getting ready to chase her, but I pulled up my gun and put the shot on him before he could do anything else,” he said.

Wood made the perfect shot and brought down his biggest buck ever. Wood manages the bucks on his property by letting the smaller ones go, and by only shooting bucks that are bigger than what he has already taken. He definitely raised the bar with this 8-pointer, which sported four sticker points and a 20-inch inside spread.