11-pointer no match for the Death Stick
When recent Appalachian State graduate Brandon Clontz found a big buck in a tiny patch of land between several huge agriculture fields, he knew he was gonna score a buck that others would wish they had seen. A 24-foot tall ladder stand known as the Eye in the Sky, situated on a knoll in Union County, was the perfect place for scratching out an 11-pointer that was aged at just 3.5-years old.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving was the fateful day when Clontz and a buddy were supposed to hunt together. His buddy’s father had given them permission to hunt a small tract of land, but the buddy decided not to hunt at the last minute. Clontz reported to the stand where he was going to place his buddy, and after watching four does walk out, Clontz drilled the buck that his buddy might have shot had he been in that stand.
“You would have never thought that this place had a buck like this one on it,” said Clontz. “I first saw him in 2009 when he was a 10-pointer, but I was using binoculars from 450-yards away to observe him.” Hot on the buck’s trail in 2010 Clontz had two encounters with the buck before seeing him the third time on November 27.
“About two weeks earlier I was leaving a deer stand right around dark and I bumped this buck, but I got a decent look at the spread of the rack as he bounded away from me,” said Clontz. “I also saw him one week after this but he was out of range.” The third time was the charm as Clontz watched four does eat clover and move down a wood line towards him about 4:30.
“When the buck stepped out, I used my rangefinder, and at 167-yards I made my shot,” said Clontz. Firing a Remington 700 in a .338 mag with a Nikon scope Clontz calls his rifle a death stick. “I tell my buddies that I don’t ever have to go looking for my deer,” said Clontz. “It kicks harder than a 12-guage with goose loads in it but it is my first ever deer rifle.” In fact, with no blood found at the point of impact, and a cold dark night setting in, Clontz did have to look for this deer and elected to come back in the morning with some extra help.
With two friends in tow, they entered the thick patch of woods at daylight and found the buck dead about 20-yards away. The main beams of the buck were both 20-inches long, and it sported bases that measured 5.5-inches wide. “This is the heaviest mass deer I’ve ever seen,” said Clontz. The buck carried a 16.5-inch spread and weighed 150-pounds.
Clontz is scheduled to have the rack scored at the Dixie Deer Classic and has elected to make a European mount of the rack. For a discussion about how best to do your own European mount on the NorthCarolinaSportsman.com deer hunting forum click here. Clontz entered his buck into the NorthCarolinaSportsman.com Bag-A-Buck contest and to see it click here. His website username is Unionville Triggerman and to see his post with more photos of his buck on the deer hunting forum click here.
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