Hunter was actively hunting a different deer
Brayden Adams of Hickory, N.C. killed a giant buck in Marlboro County, S.C. on Dec. 8 while hunting from a double ladder stand overlooking a cut bean field. Adams shot the 12-point buck with a .25 WSM just after first light. The deer did not go down easy.
“I got in the stand at 6:19 a.m. And about 6:40, at 270 yards away, I saw something emerge. It kind of looked like a stick or brush. You know right at daylight you can’t tell if it’s a deer or just something on the edge of the field. I threw my binoculars up, and it happened to be the big 12-pointer that I had on camera only a couple of times all year,” said Adams.
Adams was actually hunting another deer — a 9-point buck that was a regular visitor as shown by his trail cameras. He knew of the 12-pointer through very infrequent visits, but he didn’t really expect to see it.
“I was actually hunting a different buck, so I didn’t expect to see him at all,” he said.
When Adams realized it was the 12-point, he wasted no time getting a shot off. He missed, or at least thought he missed. Instead of running away, the deer ran 30 yards into the field, closer to the hunter.
The buck has been green scored at 163 inches
“So I shot again. And then he ran another 20 yards closer and stopped broadside, looking at me. I shot at him a third time. And then he did the same thing. So I shot at him a fourth time. He didn’t act like he was hit. And I thought I was missing him honestly,” he said.
Finally, the Marlboro County giant buck fell over.
“He was just sitting there, still didn’t act like he was hit at all, and just fell over,” he said. “It turns out, I hit him three times out of the four shots.
“I’m pretty sure I missed him the first time because I was obviously nervous. He was kind of quartering to me a little bit, but I didn’t want him to run off. I’m lucky he didn’t run off after the first shot.
Adams was hunting a leased tract of private land. And even though this deer was captured by his trail cameras, the photos were scattered throughout the whole 200-acres, and only one photo was during daylight. The 9-pointer, on the other hand, had been coming into that bean field every morning.
Click below to listen to the podcast and her Adams tell the story in his own words.
His taxidermist green-scored the buck at 163 inches. It’s a mainframe 10 with two kickers off the G2s.
The best part about bagging the unexpected trophy is that Adams still has the 9-pointer to look forward to hunting. His trail cameras send photos to his cell phone, and that deer is still a regular visitor.
“He’s still in there. He’s still coming in every morning since I shot the 12-pointer,” he said.
Adams expects to have the mount back from his taxidermist in time for the Dixie Deer Classic at the end of February.
Click here for more big buck stories from across the Carolinas.
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