Piedmont NWR Gives Up Giant 173-Inch Buck

Hunting public land doesn’t mean you can’t kill a giant. Chad Hutcheson killed this super buck on Piedmont NWR on Oct. 31.

On Oct. 31, Chad Hutcheson, of Bladen, managed to take down a massive 14-point buck in the Jones County section of Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge during the area’s annual muzzleloader quota hunt. Like any good hunt story, the events that led Chad to that magical moment were pretty incredible.

“Last season was my first time hunting Piedmont,” said Chad. “My nephew had been killing some big bucks up there, and though I wasn’t too crazy about hunting public land, I decided to go up there for the rifle hunt last season and check things out. The spot I decide to hunt had a pile of good buck sign in it, and I knew there had to be a big one in the neighborhood.”

The first morning he hunted the area, it didn’t take long for things to get interesting. A doe came bursting into a hollow with several bucks in quick pursuit grunting aggressively as they trailed her. The bucks worked the doe back and forth in front of Chad a couple hundred yards from the tree he had climbed.

“It was really thick in there, and as they kept getting closer, I could start to see bits and pieces of them coming through the brush,” said Chad.

The doe turned and made a beeline in Chad’s direction and had five bucks hot on her trail.

“There were a few smaller bucks and a pretty good 10-point that was probably 4 1/2 years old or so,” said Chad. “I could hear another buck back behind all of them, and I knew that had to be the big boy, so I decided to pass on the 10-point and wait for him to come in.”

A few moments later, a heavy, chocolate-horned buck emerged in a near sprint hot on the doe. Chad knew it was going to take a lot to stop the deer.

“I didn’t give a soft ‘mah’ to try and stop him. He was running too hard, so I just hollered at him. He didn’t stop, so I did it again. He acted like he didn’t even know I was sitting there 40 yards away,” said Chad.

Finally on the third yell the buck veered off and headed up a ridge. Two steps from the woodline, he finally froze 80 yards away. Doing his best to line up a freehand shot, Chad shouldered his 25-06 rifle, found the buck in the scope and gently squeezed the trigger.

The buck quickly disappeared into the woodline with the doe and other bucks still in Chad’s sight.

“The doe ended up coming right under me with the bucks right behind her. I didn’t want to shoot the big 10 that was with her in case I had missed the other bigger buck I had shot at. I knew if he hadn’t been hit, he’d come back for the doe,” said Chad.

Chad sat as long as he could stand it and then finally got down to go and look for sign that he’d connected with the buck.

“When I got over where he was, I found blood, but I didn’t like the amount I was seeing,” said Chad.

Chad followed the scarce blood trail down toward a creek where he then crossed paths with a pretty large black bear only 50 yards away.

“I got on the other side of the creek from him to get a little distance between us and tried to shout at him to go away. He was chomping around a little bit and didn’t want to leave the area. I’m pretty sure he was smelling the deer because he was pretty close to the blood trail,” said Chad.

Chad spent a few more minutes trying to get the bear to vacate the area as it continued to pace about the area. At that point Chad thought it best to go and get some help before continuing along the blood trail.

“I found a couple of game wardens, and they came back with me to help look. I didn’t want to put myself in a position by myself where I may have to shoot the bear to protect myself,” said Chad.

The trio spent the next little while trailing the buck before the blood trail went dry. The bear or the deer were nowhere to be found.

“We called it off, I felt like it had to be a flesh wound, and that the deer was going to end up making it,” said Chad.

Fast forward almost a year later, and Chad was situated up a tree in the very same area he had shot at the giant buck the previous season. He was hopeful that the move would pay off and certain the buck had to still be in the same area.

Around 7:45 in the morning, Chad noticed movement roughly 100 yards or so from the tree he had climbed. The deer eased three quarters of the way into a gum thicket before Chad could get a good look at the deer’s antlers.

“I could still see his rump, so I grunted at him, then three or four minutes later, I did a snort wheeze,” said Chad.

After what seemed like an eternity, the deer emerged from the thicket, heading straight in Chad’s direction. Closing in quick, the heavy-horned buck froze roughly 80 yards away and took a good whiff.

“I knew when I saw those big, chocolate horns, it was him, and I knew he smelled me in there,” said Chad.

Knowing it was now or never, Chad carefully aimed his muzzleloader at the buck and squeezed the trigger. The 300-grain Hornady Harvester bullet hit the buck hard and dropped him dead in his tracks. Chad couldn’t believe the events that unfolded.

“I sat there for the next three or four minutes trying to take it all in. The hunt played out the way I had planned it, but I couldn’t believe it actually worked out that way,” said Chad.

The massive buck has 14 scorable points, split G2’s and split brow tines. It has 21 small sticker points and has been green scored by two taxidermists at 173 inches gross.

Even more impressive, Chad shot a 10-point buck on the same hunt, and the following week he also managed to shoot a 9-point on the refuge during the rifle hunt.

“I still can’t believe the way it all went down. To kill the buck of a lifetime and to do it on public land was something special,” said Chad.

Public hunting is permitted on the approximately 34,000 acres of Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge with a refuge hunt permit. The primitive-weapons and firearms deer hunts are quota draws, as are the spring turkey hunts. Click here for more information.

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