Note to Self: A stagger doesn’t always precede a blood trail.
Any honest deer hunter will tell you that shooting a mature buck requires a little luck.
Skills and preparedness — not to mention his choice of time and place — helped Justin Braswell of Greenwood, Mississippi, connect with a giant buck on Dec. 18, 2014. But he’s quick to credit Lady Luck for last season’s taxidermy bill.
Knowing the whitetail rut was winding down in Tallahatchie County, Justin decided to take off work and hunt that afternoon, hoping the deer would be out of their beds and moving. He did not go afield with a particular buck in mind.
“We never had a trail camera picture of this buck,” Justin said. “We had a good deer on camera last year, but we’re not sure if it’s the one I shot.”
When he arrived at his stand around 2 p.m., the light northwest wind and overcast sky were just the conditions he wanted.
He patiently watched the power line planted in wheat and oats for several hours, but he didn’t see a deer until 4:50, when two does and a 6-pointer appeared.
“The 6-pointer started walking away from me,” Justin said. “I wondered why it was going that way. When it got about 200 yards from me, another doe popped out, and I figured that was why.”
Justin was a little surprised as he watched the young buck slip back into the WRP that surrounded the area. While watching the deer ease through the brush, he glanced back at his lane and saw a monstrous buck standing in the wide open.
Instantly impressed with the rack’s width, he didn’t bother trying to count points.
“I didn’t even get my binoculars,” he said. “I went straight for my rifle.”
The excited hunter quickly poked his gun barrel out of the window, lined up his crosshairs on the target, and squeezed the trigger.
“The buck kind of whirled around, a little funny like,” Justin said. “It didn’t run off; just made two hops and disappeared back into the WRP. I thought he died right there.”
Justin had no idea just how big the buck was, and he had no reason to believe he’d missed it.
“I knew only that it was a shooter. I could see the tips of his antlers and how wide they were, but that’s all,” he said.
Enter Lady Luck.
As Justin glassed the area, making sure the buck hadn’t regained its feet, he looked back into the lane and was shocked to see it standing there, apparently unscathed. He knew that getting two shots at a deer that size is rare, so he took extra care to compose himself before pulling the trigger that time.
“As soon as I saw it, I chambered another round, shouldered my gun again, and took my time,” he said. “I even took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before firing.”
The second shot from his Remington 7mm Ultra Mag dropped the deer in its tracks at 207 yards. Justin wasted no time in getting down to get a better look at the deer.
“When I finally walked up on it, I yelled out something and jumped about as high as my truck,” he said. “I could not believe how great a deer it was.
“I called my brother-in-law and told him I’d just killed the biggest deer of my life. By the time he got there, I’d walked a mud hole around the deer from amazement.”
They later discovered that Justin’s first shot never touched the deer. He’s still amazed he got another opportunity.
“I’ve named him Second Chance because he gave me that second shot,” Justin smiled.
Hunter: Justin Braswell
BTR Score: 195 1/8
View BTR Scoresheet
This article was published in the February 2016 edition of Rack Magazine. Subscribe today to have Rack Magazine delivered to your home.
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