Dawson Evans killed a nice 7-point, wide-racked buck on Nov. 5, 2023 in Franklin County, NC. It was a buck he had been watching for some time. And the hunt was over in just a matter of minutes.
“God aligned the stars yesterday evening. At 2:15 p.m., I sat down in the stand. At 2:19, I took the shot,” said Evans.
But his pursuit of this deer lasted much longer than that day’s hunt.
“We have been watching him since early September,” he said.
Evans was so familiar with the buck that he even had a nickname for the animal. He called the deer “Empire.”
And while many hunters may not consider a 7-pointer anything to get excited about, this one was special.
“Empire was a big-rack 7-pointer, around 20 inches wide,” he said. “He was top 3 on the hit list.”
The deer started off playing hide-and-seek from Evans.
“He stepped out in broad daylight. Then he stepped behind a tree and laid down around 40 yards. I grunted a few times, and he got back up and started walking. Once I stopped him, it was game over,” he said.
It’s the biggest buck Evans has killed so far, and he said it’s a hunt he’ll never forget.
“The best deer hunt of my lifetime. Beyond blessed to take the biggest buck of my life so far,” he said.
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