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<\/p>\nBen Reece first heard about the buck he shot on November 7 in mid-September when a friend spotted it on his trail camera far from where Reece planned to hunt. He thought the buck was impressive, but he didn\u2019t think much more about it after that. This fall would be Reece\u2019s first season on a new 3,800-acre lease in McDowell County, West Virginia, and he was just looking to punch a tag, bring home some venison, and get to know the new ground he was leasing. <\/p>\n
But by late-October, he caught a glimpse of the 17-point giant on one of his own trail cameras\u20143 miles from where the first photos were taken. \u201cI knew it was the same deer when it showed up on my camera because of his triple brow tine on one side and split brow on the other,\u201d he says. \u201cMy buddy told me the buck was probably going to stay put near my stand, and not to hunt any other deer but him. But I\u2019m not the kind of hunter to hold out for one buck.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Photo Courtesy Ben Reese<\/p>\n
On Reece\u2019s third sit, at around 7:00 a.m., he saw the buck again, this time on the hoof. He made a clean shot, anchoring the deer 50 yards from his stand. Here\u2019s how it all went down. <\/p>\n
Rough Country <\/p>\n
Reece was excited to join a new lease at the end of July and started running cameras as soon as he could. \u201cIt\u2019s in one of those bow-only counties in West Virginia,\u201d he says of McDowell, known for its rugged, inaccessible terrain. It\u2019s also known for producing big bucks, which is one reason Reece makes the extra effort to hunt there. By mid- to late-October, he had several decent bucks on camera, including the massive 17-pointer with distinctive brow tines. He felt he was in for a good bow season, but he also knew it wouldn\u2019t be easy. <\/p>\n
From Reece’s door to his spot on the lease, it takes him nearly three hours\u2014including a 25-minute side-by-side ride and a 35-minute hike for a total elevation gain of 900 feet. He also needs to winch that side-by-side over 4-foot mounds that were cut for drainage, and climb rocks on foot to reach the tree he hunts from with his saddle. With all of the work ahead of him, Reece decided to wake up at 2:20 for the morning of his first hunt, which got him up a tree well in time for first light. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are about 3,000 acres on one side of the road and an 800-acre section on the other,\u201d he says. \u201cThe guy I got on the lease with told me that nobody was hunting the 800-acre piece, and it was obvious why after I scouted it. It is extremely rugged terrain. I\u2019ve never hunted anything so hard. The way that the land rolls there, it creates what I call a skinny pinch that\u2019s only about 35 yards wide at my spot.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Photo Courtesy of Ben Reece<\/p>\n
Reece doesn\u2019t like to hunt over bait. Instead, he looks for terrain features to exploit during the rut. \u201cIn that spot, I have a shot at anything that comes in there, as long as it doesn\u2019t wind me first. When I scouted it out, there weren\u2019t any scrapes or rubs, but there was a lot of grass and briar thickets, and the mountains created a nice funnel to put a stand.\u201d <\/p>\n
Even though Reece had logged a few images of the monster 17-pointer near his stand, he wasn\u2019t convinced he would get a shot. \u201cI just didn\u2019t think the buck would ever show in daylight or in range,\u201d he says. For his first two sits, he didn\u2019t have anything to shoot at. Then on his third morning, things started to heat up. <\/p>\n
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Photo Courtesy of Ben Reece<\/p>\n
Third Time’s A Charm<\/p>\n
Reece left home just before 3:00 a.m. and got up in his tree at about 5:30 a.m. after a long ride up the mountain. He had about one hour to kill before shooting light. \u201cI wanted to be there good and early,\u201d he says. \u201cI work for the railroad, so time really doesn\u2019t matter to us. We work all hours of the day and night.\u201d <\/p>\n
When the sun came up, things were quiet at first. Then, at about 7:00 a.m., a button buck walked past his stand. \u201cThe button buck kept looking over his shoulder, so I thought I\u2019d better get ready in case anything comes walking in behind him,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
Shortly after the button buck passed, a buck with tall brow tines came into view. \u201cI just saw legs at first, then I got a quick look at his rack,\u201d he says. When the buck got closer, Reece says the deer saw him standing in the tree, but the button buck was also distracting him. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe walked in at 25 yards, all I could see were tall brow tines, I couldn\u2019t see the splits,\u201d he says. \u201cI thought, man, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s him. I was contemplating passing on him. A lot of buddies say I should probably get my eyes checked. But it was only my third sit, and what my friend had told me about waiting for that buck was in the back of my mind.\u201d <\/p>\n
The buck closed into 18 yards, and though Ben still didn\u2019t think it was the same buck he\u2019d seen on camera, he knew it was a shooter. \u201cHe turned sideways, and I was like, man, he\u2019s got six points on just one side. I figured it was the best buck I\u2019d ever had a chance at, so I thought I\u2019d better shoot.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ben made a perfect shot into the buck\u2019s vitals and watched the deer run about 50 yards before it fell at the bottom of a steep ridge. With the deer down and in sight, he ran over to it and immediately checked the brow tines. Sure enough, it was him. \u201cIn 35 years of deer hunting, I\u2019ve never seen anything like it,\u201d he says. \u201cI almost couldn\u2019t believe what I was looking at.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Photo Courtesy of Ben Reece<\/p>\n
Reece immediately got on the phone with his wife and started sending pictures to friends. There was so much chatter and picture taking that he almost ran his phone out of battery. \u201cSeveral buddies wanted to help me pack him out of there, but I was so far in, I couldn\u2019t even get them to where I was at before dark.\u201d <\/p>\n