This 8 pointer is especially important to me because it is the largest buck I have taken with a bow.  I was on a hunting trip down in Bertie county, NC with my friend Rich Moxley from CT.   It was September the 25th 1999.  We were both bow hunting, and it was the last evening of the hunt. At about 6:30 pm on Saturday evening this guy shows up and presents me with a 15yard broadside shot.  I  didn't hit him where I would have liked to (a little far back but still in the kill zone) but the end result was the same. He ran about 40 yards and piled up and the rest is history.

This eight point buck came from the same corn field that the ten pointer below came from. It just happened to be 2 years later. On 11/14/98 I had been in my stand for about 2 hours. It was starting to rain. It was around 4:30 pm and I was starting to get cold. Then all of a sudden  this buck appears from out of nowhere. 2 shots from my trusty 30/06 put him down quickly. This buck wasn't feeding but merly passing thru. Sorry about the photo. By the time my hunting partner got there to take the picture it was dark. This photo was taken at the door way to our deer cooler. The hanging rope is still around his horns.

This 6 pointer was taken on November the 23rd 1994 in Alexander county. This was not my first buck but it was the first nice rack that I had ever taken. It was thanksgiving day and my son was 12 years old at the time. I had taken several deer out of a good stand I had this year. So I thought I would let my son use that stand. I told him I would let anything walk that was coming his way. I dropped him off at my regular stand and proceeded to walk about 150 yards past him on into the timber. I found a tree I liked and climbed up it. Around 8:30 am this deer came between him and me heading toward me from my back. Once he got about 30 yards out in front of me and I knew my son would not get to see the deer it took 1 shot from the old 30/06 and the rest is history. My son didn't see anything but continue on down to see his first deer.

This 10 pointer was taken in Bertie Co. North Carolina on the 26th of october 1996.  I had gotten to my stand about 6:45 am.  My stand is about 145 yards in the direction of the way I am looking.  I had been hunting in the swamp close by but was not having any luck.  So I figured I would try my luck at the corn fields just really planning to maybe take a doe for some good tender venison.  Everyone knows that a big buck won't show up in a wide open field during daylight hours.  Anyway about 30 minutes after daylight I heard something move not 25 yards to my right.  When I looked over there I could see the rear portion of a deer.  A very large deer.  As I was waiting for the deer to show itself I guess it decided that this was not a good place to be and started running hard for the cut over that you see behind me in the photo.  When he took off I could tell he was a keeper.  I shouldered my 30/06 and began whistling to stop him for a shot.  I finally got him to stop at about 145 yards out with a quartering away view.  I rested the cross hairs right behind the shoulder and pulled the trigger.  He dropped on the first shot but got up and ran taking 3 more to bring him down for good.  The buck weighed in at 182lbs.  This is a large deer for the eastern part of NC.  He scored 116 net B&C.  This is my best to date.  So much for big bucks in fields during daylight.

Here are two fine alexander county bucks. Both of these bucks come from our home town. I have grouped them together because sometimes being at the right place at the right time and a little luck is better than all the skill in the world. One hunt wasn't even planned and the other wasn't on time. But both are great memories.

The one on the left was a 7 pointer that I took on the next to last day of the season in 1996. I had went in on friday afternoon about 2:30 to put my climber around the tree that I planned to hunt on the last day. I had my rifle with me so I climbed up the tree to see how my stand set and once I got up there I decided to stay till dark. Well at 3:10 This big boy shows his self from a near by thicket about 30 yards away. I waited till he got right under my tree and one shot later he was as good as on the table. He weighed in at 190lbs. with a 17" spread.

The photo to the right was taken on 11/28/98. I didn't hunt this day but my son Bryan, my brother-in-law Jeff, and his Son Josh did. My son was in his stand well before daylight. Jeff and Josh slept late and didn't get on stand till after 8:30 am. Right after they got settled in Bryan shot his first of the year which is the doe that's also in the photo. Making it Bryan's 6th deer in his 4 years of deer hunting. Just a little after 9:15 Jeff sees this wallhanger not 40 yards away. After missing a ten pointer last year with his muzzleloader all he could think of was what if I miss. With this close range I don't think so. After all shooting a scoped 270 at 40 yards is a little easier than an iron site muzzleloader at 100 yards. Then again with a hoss like this one your heart beats would make the cross hairs jump pretty good. As you can tell by the photo he didn't miss this time. One 130 gr bullet from his 270 hit right in the boiler maker to drop him in his tracks. This one weighed in at 150 lbs. with a 17" spread and had 8 points. This is Jeff's best deer to date. He'll have a hard time beating this one. His son Josh that's beside him in the photo is still waiting for his first. But I've got a space saved here for when he gets it. I hunted for 8 years before I took my first deer so hang in there Josh. Your day's coming.