Hunter: Duke Vinson
Points: 12 (5L, 7R)
County: Richmond
Season: 2016-2017
Hunt Story
I left work a little later than anticipated, so I was rushing to get to the stand. I made it to the stand at about 5:20 p.m. and thought that I had made too much noise as I was walking very fast. The wind was light and in my favor. The stand was only recently placed, and the location was chosen due to a noticeable deer trail, distance to a water source and lots of acorn trees that were dropping. The deer traveled down a hill into a very wide trail and was headed directly toward me. I had not planned for that, as I thought that he would turn and go toward the established trail. He stopped on the trail and began to eat acorns while alternating glances towards me and to the established trail. This was the longest 10 minutes of my life. The deer was 97 yards away, and I knew he would turn and go down the trail which meant he would be walking away from me. I watched him put his head down twice when I decided I would take a shot. I was weary of such a long shot with a new Henry 30-30 that was on his first hunt and it was going to be a spine shot. I took the shot (without a rest) and the deer went down where he stood and passed. This is my largest deer to date!
