South Carolina Whitetail 2022 (blessings abound)

[Boarmaster]

Nice

 

[typhoon916]

South Carolina never seems to disappoint, especially this time of year when bucks are chasing does. After watching the weather forecast a good bit over the last couple of days, I chose to pull the trigger on taking an impromptu vacation day and get in the woods with my dad. (50 degree weather, sunny, and barometer was 30.47). Right after first light, I saw a buck to my left on the edge of the thicket at 7:26 am. It never came near me. At 9:40 am, I heard and saw movement in the thicket to my right. Within no time, a doe and then a spike came through the middle area below me. Dad and I had agreed to get down and meet at 10:30 am. I climbed down and cinched up my stand. I turned around and looked up the road in between the two transition thickets. Low and behold, there was a large bodied buck. It looked to be one of the large 8 or 10 point shooters that we have seen on camera. I crouched down and then after watching him for about 30 seconds, he vanished into thin air.
Dad and I went to Waffle House for lunch and then decided after going back home hat we would leave a little bit earlier and be in the woods at 2:30 pm. Dad ended up sitting near the potholes and dam. I ended up hunting in the hardwoods but around the wild azaleas and perpendicular to the rhododendrons. Over the course of the next 2.5 hours, 12 separate does came in and out of that hillside. At around 4:45 pm, i heard movement and a huge buck was right above the rhododendrons. He walked diagonally across the hilltop, even looking at the does that were close to him. When he turned and gave me a vitals shot, I squeezed off a shot. He jumped in mid air and bulldozed his way down the hill. This is the most symmetrical, tall, whitetail that I have ever killed. He is not huge but will look great mounted. Wow, look at those tall brows.
Something that is unique to this time of year is that this is 2 years ago when my great uncle passed away. My largest previous whitetail was the story below. As I said in that thread, Uncle Doyle would have been very happy with this deer and would have talked about it for days to anyone that would listen.

My best SC Whitetail (They are chasing for sure)

My great uncle is the best example of a man that I have ever had an experience to see live his life out loud. He went home to be with the Lord last Friday AM. He turned 98 on 11/3/20. I have been blessed to be able to hunt with him for most of my life, and to hunt on his land for the last 20...

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A toad bro