Gnarly 15-point Comes From A Change Of Hunting Plans

Sometimes a change of plan can be just what a deer hunter needs to find success.

Bowhunter Justin Mizell’s plan was to target a big 8-point buck this season. That buck had appeared on his game camera that he had mounted on piece of property he had permission to hunt on in Fulton County.

“As soon as this wild-looking buck showed on a photo in the daytime that my camera sent to my cell phone, it was time to switch gears,” he said.

The new buck caught Justin’s attention for obvious reasons. It had 15-points and was gnarly.

 “I set up a climbing stand where I thought he might come through,” the Cumming resident said. “On Nov. 5, I got into that stand at about 6 a.m. and at 6:20 my cell phone got a picture, and I could see that it was that deer. At 6:30, he walked right by me at 20 yards, but it was still dark and before legal shooting time.

“At 7:30, an 8-point buck came in trailing a doe, but I decided to wait. They stayed in front of me for about 30 minutes before they moved out.

“Once they moved on, I decided to rattle a little with some sheds I found last year. At 9:30, the buck with the wild-looking rack came walking through going the opposite way he was going earlier. I made a 20-yard shot with my compound bow and got double lungs. He didn’t go far.

“The buck had 15 points and double main beams,” Justin said. “I couldn’t put my hands around the base on one side. It must be 8 or 9 inches around the base. It was definitely my biggest buck ever.”

Justin said the deer had a serious injury to his testicles, and they were the size of cantaloupes. He said that was the reason for the gnarly rack. The rack has been scored and has 141 inches of antler..