Buckmasters Magazine

In the fall of 2013 trail cams revealed a 3 1/2-year-old, tall-tined 8-point buck with lots of promise, so Rush Darnell, of Montgomery, Alabama, and his hunting partners agreed to let him grow up and see what he might become. In 2014, at 4 1/2, he was a 9-point and still growing and again the decision was made to let him grow another year. The buck appeared to have great potential but potential isn’t fully realized until maturity at 5 1/2 when a buck’s skeletal structure is fully developed and then nutrition can be channeled into antler growth.

In the early fall of 2015 the buck had exploded! Trail cam photos were shocking. The buck had put on some 40 inches of antler since the previous year -- no ordinary buck for the Alabama Black Belt and he created quite a stir among the three hunters who knew of his existence. Each of the three friends would have been elated if any one of them bagged Big Boy. “

The buck was fairly active in the late summer and early fall, but as older bucks do, he became less visible as hunting season approached. He was bedding deep in a stand of hardwoods and in order to draw him out, Rush’s hunting party created a 1-acre food plot, which they fenced to keep the cattle out. The big 10-point would appear just before dark to feed. But as the bow season opened in mid October, according to trail cam photos, the buck seemed to appear at the food plot only about every four days.

It was 73 degrees on November 9th and Rush headed for the hunting property with full intentions of trying to arrow a doe. When he arrived he realized there was a perfect wind direction for a stand in the hardwoods between the Big Boy’s bedding area and the food plot. It had been raining day and night for five days but on this day the rain stopped and the sky cleared. Sunshine at last! Rush made the decision to try for Big Boy! He knew that if someone didn’t bag this bruiser fairly soon, the odds were that he would disappear until late January during the rut in rifle season.

At 3:40 p.m. Rush climbed into his treestand about 17 feet above the ground. He would normally place his stand higher but the canopy cover limited the height he could reach in this tree. The tree of choice was strategically close to a creek crossing on the travel route Big Boy used to move from his bedding area out to the food plot and back again.

It was Rush’s custom, at 4 p.m., to put away his cell phone, stand up, ready his bow and prepare himself for the two-hour evening vigil.

Promptly at 4 p.m. he glanced down and to his utter amazement, there stood Big Boy, only 12 yards distant. The forest floor, so saturated from days of rain, enabled the buck to walk silently into hand-shaking range and caught Rush completely flatfooted.

Panic!
Big Boy simultaneously saw Rush but apparently wasn’t alarmed. After a spine tingling stare-down the buck dropped his head and continued to feed on the swamp chestnut acorns.

Rush reached gently for his bow with his left hand, barely daring to breathe.

The wind, which had been in his favor, shifted and the buck raised his head and tested the wind with his nose. He knew something was amiss and started backing up to a 5 O’clock position, putting him somewhat behind Rush and to his right.

As the buck walked and passed behind a tree Rush quickly stood up and hoisted his bow and came to full draw in one fluid movement. While drawing, the bow made a slight sound and the buck stopped behind a tree with his rack showing on either side.

Rush knew he would have to act quickly or forfeit this incredible opportunity. When the buck stepped past the tree at 14 yards Rush, still at full draw, aimed quickly and released his arrow. He knew instantly that he had hit the buck but feared that the shot might have been low.

Then he heard the telltale crash that allowed him to believe this amazing story could have an incredible ending. His nerves were rattled to the max and he quickly called one of his hunting buddies to tell him that he had shot Big Boy.

His buddy tried to calm him down and told him to climb down, find his arrow and see if he could locate the buck. As soon as Rush’s feet hit the ground he saw antlers rising above the creek bed only 32 yards away. The shot was perfect and in spite of the worst possible beginning, Rush had taken the best whitetail buck of his life.

As yet the buck has not been officially scored but Rush has scored it three times at 166 7/8.

To make the event even more special, this was the first deer Rush had taken with his brand new bow, which he had to buy on short notice after someone stole the bow he would otherwise have been hunting with.

The stars have to align perfectly for a hunt to end like this.: a stolen bow, 5 days of steady rain ending on Nov. 9th, being caught flat footed at 12 yards, the buck seeing Rush and then continuing to feed, an unexpected noise that got the buck’s attention and made him start to leave. However, Rush Darnell pulled a trophy rabbit out of the hat – against all odds!

Read Recent Articles:

• Kernel of Truth: Some of deer hunting’s common misconceptions actually have basis in fact.

• The Plot Thickens: How to get the most from your food plot efforts.