Nine-year-old Selby “Eugene” Bass IV was hunting near his family’s farm in Black Creek, NC with his dad on Nov. 3, 2023 when the young hunter killed an 8-point buck.
Bass was hunting from a tripod stand, and allowed another deer to pass as he patiently waited on this Wilson County deer. He shot the buck with a Savage 6.5 Creedmoor.
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.
Click here to follow along on more of Dawson Evans’ outdoor pursuits.
Brian Thomas was hunting on Nov. 1, 2023 when he killed a Martin County giant buck.
Thomas shot the deer, an 8-point buck that had a massive set of antlers, with a .300 WSM.
Youth hunter Eli Tucker killed his first ever buck on Nov. 2, 2023 in Nash County, NC, and it was a doozy. The buck had a wide rack, with thick antlers.
The young hunter’s dad summed up the feeling of seeing his son harvest such a fine animal.
“Words can’t explain how proud I am. Eli has hunted hard since the beginning of the season. This buck finally daylighted on Halloween, so we knew we had to get on him quick. Eli made a great shot, and he expired at 60 yards. Congrats son! That’s a great first buck!” said Travis Tucker.
Hunting in Moore County, NC on Nov. 11, 2023, Dalton Wilson of Cameron killed a monster buck. The deer had a wide rack with heavy mass, and Wilson said killing it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Here’s Wilson’s story of the hunt from his Facebook post:
“First and foremost, I wanna give all the glory to the man upstairs, and there’s two special woman that gained their angel wings this year that are close to my heart, and I’m for sure they had a hand on each shoulder this evening. A once in a lifetime moment, I will forever cherish!”
“A lot of people thought this deer would ruin friendships, but I think it actually brought us closer with everything going on today. It was truly a blessing and a day that will be in our memories forever.
A huge shout out to Dallas Marsh, Justice Ledford, Michael Greene and Barry, for all the help, means the world.
This one’s for you Hazel Nall and Patricia Strider, heavens got some beautiful angels.”
The giant buck was 5 1/2-years old
CT Hallman, 6-years-old, killed a giant 6-point buck that weighed 195 pounds at The Territories in Newberry County, SC on Oct. 18, 2023.
The deer has been aged at 5 1/2-years-old, and he was quite the roamer according to Hallman’s dad, Thomas Hallman.
“The deer was a roamer. Of the 2500 acres we manage here at The Territories, this buck used most of it. My son CT put an end to a 6-week cat-and-mouse game that had no rhyme or reason,” said Hallman.
After seeing the buck show up at a small food plot that was set up in hopes of attracting a doe for the young hunter to shoot, Hallman picked up his son from school and went directly to the stand overlooking that very food plot.
The buck showed up again, and CT shot it with a .243
Kent Porth hunted the same buck throughout a 2-year period, which included 71 different hunts, before sealing the deal on the Orangeburg County 8-pointer that’s been green-scored at 154 inches.
Persistence pays off!
Tracking dog Stella found Harkey’s deer 800 yards away
Tyler Harkey killed a trophy buck while bowhunting on opening day, Sept. 9, 2023, of North Carolina’s archery season. But he lost track of the buck after finding only a little blood, along with his arrow, which was still intact.
Not long after giving up the search, rain pounded the area, dumping 4 inches onto the ground. About 18 hours later, Harkey went to look again, but this time he called Craig Beachum, who brought his tracking dog Stella along.
Despite all the rain and the time that had passed, Stella led the men about 800 yards to the deer’s body. Unfortunately, the buck had been ravaged by coyotes. But the head and antlers were still in fine form and will make a great trophy to help Harkey remember the hunt, and the recovery of the deer.
“I’m at a loss for words, as there is no way I would have found the deer with them,” said Harkey.
Hunter Blackwell killed a 9-point buck in full velvet in Lee County, SC on Sept. 1.
Hunter Blackwell killed a 9-point buck in Lee County, SC on Sept. 1, 2023. He dropped the buck from 263 yards away. The buck’s rack was in full velvet. Blackwell shot the deer with a .308.
Some WMAs in SC will be open for Sunday hunting beginning Oct. 15, 2023.
South Carolina deer hunters, as well as small game hunters, will be happy to see that several of the Palmetto State’s WMAs and two National Forests will begin opening for Sunday hunting as of Oct. 15, 2023.
According to SCDNR, hunting will be allowed on Sundays between Oct. 15 and Jan. 31 for those species in season on the following WMAs:
Edisto River WMA
Webb WMA
Palachucola WMA
Hamilton Ridge WMA
Liberty Hill WMA
Belfast WMA
Woodbury WMA
Sumter National Forest
Francis Marion National Forest
Each WMA has its own set of rules, and some are open to deer hunting only through the Public Lottery Hunts Program. Be sure to get the specifics at dnr.sc.gov
