Hunter: Matt Dyer
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Cherokee
Season: 2023-2024
Hunt Story
At about 5:20 pm I heard this strange sound coming from the distance that I can only describe as sounding like a doe bleat being played through stadium speakers. I had never heard anything like it before. Right after that I saw a large-bodied buck, outside of the property I have permission to hunt, get out of his bed and go toward the direction of the sound. He went through a small clearing in the neighboring property and I couldn’t get binoculars up in time to see him. I started to rattle to try to see if I could turn him around but I lost sight of him and he never came back. A minute or less after I rattled I saw another buck come from right behind where the first one was, I’m guessing he was bedded, too. He started down the field right in my direction. I briefly lost sight of him as he came up the hill to me. He then reappeared and I watched him walk the perimeter of the fence down to where the fence is pulled down halfway. He hopped the fence and started walking straight at me. Once he got to about 20 yards from me he took a right turn and popped out on the other side of a big tree and I shot him right above and behind the left shoulder. He jumped and took off and went out the same part of the fence he came in. I called for reinforcements and got down from my climber. We found a good blood trail leading right to the damaged fence he exited. We called the neighboring property owner, who had already given us permission to fetch a deer previously, to reconfirm. We tracked blood and found that he had ran about 50 yards outside the fence and about 100 yards total. This is my best buck to date and my first buck I will have shoulder mounted. And my 9-month-old son Drake’s first deer ever!
