Hunter: Billy Kimbrel
Points: 9 (4L, 5R)
County: Wilcox
Season: 2020-2021
Hunt Story
December 23, 2020 turned out to be a great evening to deer hunt. When I got in the stand around 4:30 PM, I didn’t have much confidence in seeing a big deer. The last two evening hunts were duds, I didn’t see a thing. It seemed like the deer had gone underground. About 5:00, I heard something coming through the woods from my right side that was making quiet a noise. The leaves were kind of dry, so the sound was elevated. It sounded big, and it was big, but instead of a being a big deer, it was just an ol' boar hog that looked like he weighed around 350 pounds. He walked about 50 yards behind me. Around 5:15, I heard something else coming from the same direction of the boar hog. I thought maybe so, but it turned out to be another big bore hog, 350 pounds or so. He walked out about 70 yards in front of me. I thought, well I guess it’s an evening for hogs. About 5:45, I started hearing something on my left side. Before I knew it, a deer stepped into an opening about 90 yards out. I immediately saw some nice-looking beams as he lifted his head. But when he turned and looked my way, I didn’t see a rack at all. My instincts told me that it was time to shoot. I put the crosshairs just behind the shoulder and pulled the trigger. The deer took off and I heard him crash in the palmettos. I waited about 15 minutes before I got out of the stand. I walked to the spot he was standing and spotted some fresh blood. I marked the trail and walked out to get my 4-wheeler and drove it back to the spot. I decided to begin tracking, after about 30 yards the blood trail was really good. I continued to follow the blood trail for another 50 yards or so until I spotted the deer. When I walked up to the deer, I was mighty surprised to see the rack. The first thing I said was, “Thank you Lord.” I marked the trail back to my 4-wheeler and headed out to find my friend, Scott. Before I got back to my Jeep, my friend Scott was headed my way. He said he heard me shoot and then asked what it was. I said it was a good one. We both were overjoyed when we got to the deer. He helped me load the deer and I took him to the processor. This hunt was surely one for the memory books.
