Hunter: Merlin Paulk
Points: 10 (5L, 5R)
County: Turner
Season: 2021-2022
Hunt Story
It was a cool morning with temperatures in the upper 40s. A young, smaller 8-point came out early chasing a doe about 50 yards away and ran her into a thick privet cluster, not far away from my stand. Five minutes later, I heard some crashing in thick volunteer pines from behind me. Next, I heard something that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. A buck let out a loud snort wheeze about 30 yards in the thicket directly behind my stand. He did this a few times before he came out of the thick cover. I have hunted for many years and never before heard a deer make a snort wheeze, much less this close. A buck came out of the woods that we had seen on a trail camera a few times that we named “Captain” because his right beam had a crab claw that forms the letter “C.” He made his way toward the smaller 8-point and ran him off with no contest and started chasing the doe. He ran 25 yards in front of my stand and that is where I made the shot with my Matthews compound bow. I was glad both my brother and dad were there to share the memory with me that day.
