Hunter: Jason Stoughton
Points: 12 (5L, 7R)
County: De Kalb
Season: 2023-2024
Hunt Story
My relationship with the resilient and elusive 'Wide Load' urban buck began not in the field, but through the lens of trail cameras. These electronic eyes chronicled his life in the woods, capturing moments of majesty and, unexpectedly, vulnerability. This past summer, I noticed 'Wide Load' had suffered a severe hip injury, assuredly from a collision with a car. Along with a large hairless scar on his hip and inner thigh (that was still healing when I shot him), this injury also manifested in his antlers, with the right side growing in a rugged, non-symmetrical pattern. His left beam, however, a perfect, wide, long, heavy-beamed, long-tined 5-pt main frame — the kind I dreamt about as a bowhunter since I was a kid. For weeks, 'Wide Load' vanished, only to reappear sporadically, almost always at night in the camera footage, but each daylight sighting was a rare treasure. His movements, once predictable, became erratic, adding to his mystique and the challenge of our pursuit. Then, on 11/16, my wife’s birthday, she graciously gave me the gift of pursuing 'Wide Load' on her special day. As the afternoon shadows lengthened, the final chapter in 'Wide Load's' saga began to unfold. Hidden among the privet and thick brush, I saw movement. It was ‘Wide Load,’ alone, and definitely not in a hurry. I watched him move my direction in a tortoise-like gray pixilated dance through the thick brush. Each movement was measured, deliberate. For twenty agonizing minutes, he covered a mere 25 yards. The tension palpable in the stillness of the woods as I studied each intentional and meticulous step from my perch in a large cedar tree 25 ft. above. Then, presenting a slightly quartering away opportunity at 18 yards, I took the shot in the exact opening I was praying he’d walk through. In a display of respect and intention, I released an arrow that found its mark precisely at the center of his heart. 'Wide Load' came to rest within eyeshot, just 25 yards away. His final moments, punctuated by two deep and resonant grunts, seemed a personal farewell to me — a dignified epilogue for a remarkable creature who thrived at the intersection of Georgia's wild woods and urban living.
