Hunter: Holt Barwick
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Jeff Davis
Season: 2024-2025
Hunt Story
It was the day prior to the 2024 rifle opener, and I was sitting in the tree with a rifle. It almost felt illegal. It was 42 degrees at sunrise with a clear sky and a west wind blowing 5-10 mph. I chose this location based on aerial maps. It was thinned pines approximately 18 years at the corner of the property with a creek edge and thick pine bedding approximately 60 yards from my tree. This morning, I had my summit climber, so I got up pretty high - maybe 38 feet. 7:30 rolled around and nothing showed up. While I don’t typically do this, I decided to blind call. I hit a snort wheeze with my mouth and sat down with my rifle hooked on a hero clip behind me. About two minutes rolled by and I heard movement coming my way. Shortly after, I saw what was thought to have been a coyote. I wondered, am I allowed to take out coyotes on this WMA hunt. As the animal got closer, I realized it was a buck. Then once, the deer got within 20 yards; I realized it was a buck and he was looking for a fight. I squeezed the trigger and missed a 10-yard shot. He runs and stops at 40. I bolted another round, squeezed the trigger again. As the deer runs off, I see blood and know I hit him. I just wasn’t sure how great of a shot I made. I lose sight of him behind a bush at the end of a road and assume he ran into the woods to bed down. I waited for it out for about an hour and go look to find out I made a gut shot. The deer had been feeding at someone’s feeder on the private land side and I found corn. I tracked the deer to where I last saw him and he was down. The quartering-away gut shot proved lethal with an exit hole just behind the shoulder. We started hunting this land on Thursday and managed to get it done on Friday morning. A great deer that I would have used a season tag on and an even better deer knowing I have two tags left.
