Hunter: Mark Hamby
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Jones
Season: 2015-2016
Hunt Story
It was the first afternoon of the Primitive Weapons Hunt at Piedmont NWR. It was overcast and quite warm. My stand was overlooking a hardwood draw that divided a stand of 30+ year-old pines with heavy undergrowth from a newer section of select cut pines. I had several white oaks dropping acorns around my stand. There was a large logging deck to my left that was littered with fresh tracks. I was kind of discouraged about the warm weather and the swarming no-see-ums that welcomed me to this spot. I covered myself from head to toe to keep the bugs at bay and got settled into my stand anyhow, as this was way better than sitting at camp. At about 5:15, I caught movement out in front of my stand. It was a buck with a decent rack, and he was moving across the draw at a quartering-away angle from about 100+ yards away. I scanned ahead and found a good opening to make a shot. As the buck entered the opening at 120 yards, I took the shot. When the smoke from my CVA Optima Elite .45 cleared, I could clearly see his white belly lying in the very spot where I shot him. God is good and he blessed me with my best muzzleloader buck yet.
