N.C. State student kills his biggest buck on Christmas break
Four days after Christmas, N.C. State University student Caleb Alcorn drilled his biggest buck ever while home for the holidays. He had gotten trail cam photos of the brute a few weeks before, and was pleasantly surprised when the 168 6/8-inch, 9-point buck walked out at 8 a.m. Especially since it walked within shooting range of his stand.
Alcorn left his Siler City home in the fall of 2017 to train for a career in agriculture business management. This put a strain on his deer hunting. But he was able to secure a new 90-acre lease in Alamance County back in October. He cleared a small field, put out some corn, and erected a trail camera. Within a few weeks, he picked up photos of an exceptional buck that exceeded anything he’d ever seen in the woods.
When he was home for Thanksgiving, he got a photo of the buck at midnight. He knew he had something big to target for the rest of the season. But the buck only showed up a handful of times after that, and always at night.
On Dec. 29, Alcorn decided to pass some time in his stand while enjoying his last few days of Christmas break before heading back to Raleigh, but he admittedly wasn’t expecting to see the big buck.
A good hunt gets even better
“I had no confidence this deer was going to come in. I only had five pictures of him, and they were all at night,” he said. “I was just going hunting to kill some time and do something I love.”
Right away, Alcorn began seeing deer. He watched three small 8-point bucks and a bobcat come out and exit his view around 7:30. That alone made it a good morning, but it was about to get even better.
“I heard a tree shaking back and forth. I looked up and there he was at 80 yards. I was shocked. I never expected him to step out in the daylight,” he said.
The buck was moving from Alcorn’s right to left, and as it was about to cross in front of him, the hunter prepared to make his shot. The deer looked right at him.
“He must have seen me move a little or maybe just a sixth sense, but I stopped him at 40 yards where he was broadside. I shot and dropped him in his tracks,” he said.
The buck’s rack had 5 1/2-inch bases and 12-inch long G2s.
“I’ve been hunting since I was 10-years-old, and this is my biggest buck so far. I have been passing up smaller bucks in hopes of a big one, and I couldn’t be more proud that it finally happened. It was a life-changing experience,” he said.