Hunter: Hadley Phillips
Points: 11 (7L, 4R)
County: Dooly
Season: 2021-2022
Hunt Story
It was a Tuesday afternoon and my dad and I went to this place called the island stand. It is located in a food plot with lots of fruit trees. We were after a buck that we had named, the “Eye-Guard Buck” because he has a drop tine that almost covers his left eye. We have lots of pics of him coming to a Burr Oak scrape which is about 50 yards away. At about six o’clock, a button head walks out and he is eating and all of a sudden he becomes alert and takes off. Then walks out what looks like a shooter for me. I had a clear view of the buck and told my dad that it was him, the Eye-Guard Buck. So, he gets his bow ready, not one second thinking about looking for the drop tine. When dad reached behind me to grab his bow, our chairs ended up clinging together a couple of times. This spooked the buck and he started to jog across the field. My dad had to make a rush shot and hit the buck really low. Meanwhile, about 15 minutes later a bigger body buck comes up which confused us because it was the Eye-Guard Buck! He doesn’t stick around long and takes off checking does. Just before 7:00 pm, we had 12 deer in the field, and then two bucks started chasing a doe. Then a bigger buck walked out and they chased her off into the woods. Five minutes later another big buck comes out at 150 yards from the stand. Dad looked at me and asked, “You wanna shoot that buck, Hadley?" I’m like, oh yeah. So, I get my gun ready and my dad started to film. He said, “Take your time and shoot when you’re ready.” So, I do and dropped him in his tracks! Dad found his buck the next day, a mature 9-pointer. Most importantly, I got the Eye-Guard Buck!
