Hunter: Tim Johnston
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Cobb
Season: 2015-2016
Hunt Story
I was hunting approximately 5 acres, a small track of land that provides a natural travel corridor for deer to get from one point to the next. There were lots of mature pines on one side and approximately 2.5 acres of kudzu on the other. I had seen several bucks the day before on a trail cam that I put out two weeks before the hunt. (I love my Browning trail cameras, they are the best and they're simple to use!) I decided to set up in the pines near the edge of the kudzu. I had noticed several intersecting deer trails leading to and from it in an area around the tree that I chose to climb. After viewing the bucks on the camera the day before, my blood was pumping adrenaline from the time I climbed into the tree stand. In fact, it was heart pounding adrenaline for more than two hours. I was late getting on stand, but the cameras showed the bucks were consistent on the times they were coming through. Two hours later, right on time, just 35 yards over my left shoulder, I heard antlers clashing together. My stomach got tied in knots, My heart was pumping more adrenaline then I thought I could safely handle. It was the buck in the picture and one other buck I had seen on the camera that was still in velvet lightly sparring! Or perhaps another buck that had very dark antlers. I never saw that buck, only his antlers! I stood and waited on an opportunity to take a shot. Less then five minutes later the buck had worked its way to 15 yards out. The wind was 5 mph and variable from all directions. The buck was standing behind light cover, using his nose frequently... He looked straight up at me three times but did not seem to mind too awful much that I was there. After the third stare down, he stepped from behind the last Kudzu vine and presented his front right shoulder. I took the shot using a RAGE 125 grain two blade broad head. (Expensive but well worth the money if you want your game to bleed out quickly) I took the shot just behind the right shoulder. The arrow hit an inch or two higher than I like to see but it took out both lungs and still went 8 inches into the ground! The buck turned, he tucked his tail and plowed the ground right back into the Kudzu from which he came. I heard him go about 60 yards or so, then I heard that familiar sound of thrashing we all love to hear once we take that shot. What a relief it was! Tracking a deer through Kudzu that is 6-8 feet high can be a nightmare. I made sure he got the normal 30-45 minutes of lay there and bleed time before making any attempts to retrieve him. It took less than five minutes to find this Kudzu Buck once I was on the ground! I am very impressed with the entry and exit wound RAGE broadheads leave in deer! It can only be compared to that of a high powered centerfire riffle. These broad heads definitely live up to their specifications. I do not believe I will ever use anything else.
