Hunter: Greg Johnson
Points: 11 (6L, 5R)
County: Coweta
Season: 2021-2022
Hunt Story
After watching this buck on trail cam since early August, I decided to set up in a small oak grove that he visited about every three days. The past five days had been rainy with still air, so I figured I'd wait until Thursday (23rd) when the forecast was 53 degrees that morning and a favorable wind. I thought that would get 'em up and moving. I planned a mid-day to evening hunt because the moon was bright the night before. I picked some big muscadines off our vine and walked to the back corner of the property where I'd gotten several pictures of him. After getting into the stand, I tossed the muscadines around the area to mimic falling food. At 6:30 I heard something to my left coming through the briars and weeds. By the time he cleared the thick stuff, my crossbow was already on him. He was close, maybe 15 yards and the shot I had was at a steep downward angle so I imagined aiming for where the exit hole would be. I shot, he bolted about 70 yards in a semi circle out of sight but when I heard him crashing and thrashing I knew he was down. Being such a high angled shot prevented much of any blood trail but thanks to the days of rain the ground was soft and I could see almost every track made on his last run. He's my first archery deer and my biggest buck ever. He may have weighed more than I guessed but I'd rather be under than over. Also. The side with 5 has a 1-inch long kicker at the base. I didn't know whether to count it as a point so I called him an 11-point. But might be a 12.
