10-point should score in the 130s, hunter says.
With archery season only three days old, Williamsburg county native Willie McCutchen arrowed a beautiful 10-point buck, in full velvet, and captured the entire hunt on film – all by himself.
Hunting in a mixed hardwood-pine forest on White Oak Hunting Club near Kingstree, McCutchen lured the big buck and three others in a bachelor group into range, taking advantage of the fact that bowhunters get a 15-day window before rifle season starts on the 5,300-acre club property.
“Bow hunting can be a tough sport and very frustrating at times, but it is the most rewarding when I get a true trophy within bow range,” said McCutchen, who has relied solely on his archery equipment for the past 12 years. “During our bow season, the deer are at ease and are unsuspecting of anybody in the woods, yet.
“It is a good time to get a big, mature buck.”
McCutchen slipped into his Loc-On tree stand on the afternoon of Aug. 17 armed with a brand-new PSE Omen Pro, arrows tipped with 100-grain Muzzy broadheads and a video camera he attaches to a specialized tree mount so he can film all of his hunts – posting the videos on his Web site.
For mid-August, the weather could not have been much better, with delightful temperatures and light wind.
“It was a really pleasant for the opening week of bow season,” McCutchen said. “The conditions were about perfect, with very little wind and clear skies.”
Deer were hitting his corn pile hard, so he expecting a good afternoon. In the first hour, a doe and two fawns came in and began nibbling on the corn. After several minutes, the mature doe became skittish after hearing a commotion farther in the woods, away from the cornpile. She became alarmed and cautious.
“The doe saw something and bolted off out of sight, carrying the fawns with her,” McCutchen said.
Several minutes later, a group of bucks appeared in the opening: one 6-point, two 8-points and the big 10-pointer.
“It was obvious the big 10 was the dominant buck in the group, but I didn’t wait around too long after that to take my shot,” said McCutchen, who drew back and placed his arrow through both lungs.
The buck got only 75 yards before crashing to the forest floor.
With an outside spread just shy of 20 inches, McCutchen’s 10-point buck displayed an array of healthy antlers, with both a split brow tine and a split G2, all completely-covered in velvet.
While it can’t be officially scored because of the velvet, he expects it to gross into the 130s.
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