Hunter: Matthew Harris
Points: 10 (5L, 5R)
County: Fulton
Season: 2021-2022
Hunt Story
Looking at the weather on Monday night and seeing that the temperature was supposed to drop below freezing I thought this would get the bucks on their feet. So I was in my stand at 5:45 a.m. At 6:30 before daylight three Does came to the feeder. They fed around until about 6:45 and then wandered off. At about 7:20 a doe busted out of the privet bushes behind my stand right beneath me followed by a young Buck. The two quickly raced off to my right and disappeared off into the distant trees. I set there for a few moments then in my mind I could hear my Dad say "Son you need to get up and get ready." So I stood up with my bow and snapped my release on the string. After a few minutes of waiting, movement to my right caught my attention. I could see it was a deer and it had large antlers. I wasn't sure what deer it was or how big but could tell it was a shooter. The buck was traveling on the trail the other two had turned onto. I had one clear shooting lane that he was headed toward. I drew back and aimed down the lane. This buck was walking quickly and I knew my only chance at a shot was to slow or stop him. As soon as he stepped into the lane I yelled "HEY!!!" which was just enough to get him to pause for a split second. That was my only chance and I took it. I touched the release and sent the Gold Tip pushing that Rage right to the target. A split second later I heard the arrow hit and the Buck raced away in the direction he was headed. I heard him running for a few seconds then everything went quiet. I went ahead and climbed down. Walked to where I shot at him to see if I saw the arrow. I found the arrow and blood everywhere. This blood trail was unbelievable. I walked a few steps down the trail and immediately saw a white belly. I froze in my tracks to make sure he was lights out. After watching for a few minutes I could tell he was not moving or breathing. I walked over to him and could not believe my luck. This was a buck I had had on camera since the 2017 season! Not only was he big, he was also a very mature buck.
