Cancer Survivor Bags Giant 19-Point Buck

For most deer hunters, getting a crack at a 194-inch giant whitetail would be a dream come true, especially after devoting an entire year toward taking that specific deer. Kentucky hunter Brady Lawson planted food plots, ran trail cameras, created mock scrapes, and hunted countless hours to get that golden opportunity in 2024. Unfortunately, his arrow struck the buck’s shoulder blade, and barely penetrated. Lawson’s dream quickly became a deer-hunting nightmare.

Kentucky hunter Brady Lawson experienced heartbreak when a neighbor got his target buck last season, but made up for it this year with a 200-inch buck on another farm. Photos courtesy of Brady Lawson

Then things got even worse. A few days later, Lawson learned that a neighbor had taken the buck. The giant deer had been his only target buck on the 80-acre farm that he’d hunted his entire life. Some hunters might have given up and called it a season. Not Lawson. He’d faced tougher circumstances than this and came out ahead.

Don’t Miss: MISSOURI HUNTER BAGS BRUISER BUCK ON LAST DAY OF SEASON

Let’s rewind. Back in 2021, at age 19, Lawson was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Treatment lasted three years and included 27 rounds of chemo and some stem-cell transplants. His faith in God and his love of the outdoors got him through. He even hunted when he felt up to it.

“The chemo weakened my immune system, and I couldn’t be around other people,” he explained. “But I could be alone in the deer stand, and that is where I really wanted to be anyway.”

While fighting cancer, Brady sought peace and comfort in the deer stand.

His time on stand paid off with an impressive 147-inch 8-pointer in 2022. After overcoming such adversity, Lawson wasn’t about to let the loss of his target buck get him down. Let’s pick back up where we left off.

“After hitting the buck in the shoulder, I felt like the 80 acres I was hunting needed some rest,” he said. “Fortunately, I had been scouting on onX previously and gained permission to hunt a 163-acre property owned by an out-of-state real estate investment firm. I called the landowner, and we hit it off.”

Don’t Miss: COYOTE ALMOST STEALS RECURVE HUNTER’S BIG PUBLIC-LAND BUCK

Lawson gained permission to hunt the farm in exchange for keeping an eye on it. In mid-summer of 2024, he got serious about scouting the property. It was mostly open with a small patch of timber on one end. Lawson hung several cameras. He almost immediately started getting photos of deer, the largest being about 120 inches.

Lawson said, “My grandfather always told me, ‘Son, you have to pass good to get to great,’ so none of the bucks really caught my interest.”

Lawson has tried to heed his grandfather’s advice on passing good bucks to get to great bucks.

Then, in December 2024, he got a photo of a great buck, a clean 10-pointer with towering tines, likely in the 170s. He immediately hung a stand, and the first evening he hunted it, the buck appeared 100 yards away. Lawson grunted. The big buck turned and immediately began walking straight in. He walked within easy bow range, but never presented a shot opportunity. After standing for a few seconds, the buck turned 180 degrees and walked away on the same trail.

“He got out of bow range, and then he turned, shaking his head, working a scrape, and putting on a show,” Lawson detailed. “I knew if I didn’t get a shot at him, and he made it, that he would be a giant in 2025.” He hunted the deer for the 2024 season’s remainder and didn’t get another opportunity.

Lawson went to work in 2025. He put in more food plots and hung cameras all around the acreage. The effort paid off. On July 4, 2025, he got a picture of the buck in velvet. Its already immense rack had exploded with the additional year’s growth. Lawson knew the buck would now push the 200-inch mark.

“I don’t like to hunt over corn (legal in Kentucky) and, while I do put some out in front of my cameras before season to see what’s around, I have much better luck hunting both mock and natural scrapes,” Lawson said.

Don’t Miss: BOWHUNTER STALKS AND SHOOTS 185-INCH OHIO BUCK AT 15 YARDS

After seeing that first photo, the buck stayed regular on camera. Archery season opened, and Lawson hunted as much as possible — to the point of losing sleep — but didn’t see the buck in the daylight. Then, in October, the animal disappeared. Lawson took the opportunity to scout other areas of the property. He was walking the perimeter when he found a massive natural scrape. He hung a camera, and four days later, it captured the world-class whitetail working the scrape.

From Oct. 20 through Nov. 3rd, the buck visited the scrape nightly, but always in the dark. On Nov. 3rd, though, Lawson finally saw the buck in daylight, locked on a hot doe. He had seven encounters with the buck over the following week. With the firearms season opening on Nov. 8, he knew he needed to be in the stand as much as possible, and he even took off work to hunt every morning and evening.

As big bucks often do, the giant disappeared again for three days. With firearms season open and the surrounding areas being heavily hunted, Lawson grew worried. But on the morning of Nov. 13th, he finally got another photo of the buck chasing a doe. He knew they would likely still be close by, so he took off work and headed to the stand.

Check Out Our Latest Camo Pattern: Realtree APX

“I’ve been strictly an archery hunter for years, but this buck was special,” Lawson explained. “Since the firearm season opened, I’d been carrying both my bow and rifle in case he stepped out beyond bow range.”

That afternoon, Lawson decided at the last minute to leave his bow in the truck. He climbed up into the stand just before 2 o’clock. Squirrels were rampant in the area. “One in particular kept running back and forth along the ground doing squirrel things,” Lawson remembered. “It sounded just like a deer, and I turned to look every single time it made a noise.”

Eventually, Lawson willed himself to quit being fooled by the squirrel. Then, he heard it again and gave in for a quick look. He noticed a lone doe standing there.

“I had just enough time to wonder why she was alone when I heard leaves crunching just below my feet,” he said.

Looking down, Lawson was shocked to see the giant buck emerging from the tree line directly beneath his stand. “It figures,” he said. “The one day I leave my bow in the truck, and there he is in easy range,” Lawson laughed.

With the buck so close, Lawson’s adrenaline surged. He eased up his rifle and twisted to aim straight down at the buck. It was a tough shot angle. Finally getting a decent sight picture, he squeezed the trigger but missed. Given the awkward position to get the straight-down shot, he pulled the shot.

Luckily, the buck was more interested in the doe than the rifle’s report. It ran about 30 yards and turned broadside. Lawson quickly racked another round and took a second shot with his .270. This time, his bullet was true. The buck kicked and bolted, running about 80 yards before collapsing. Lawson sat down in the stand to gather himself. He quickly said a prayer of thanks, then called his dad.

Lawson’s buck featured a symmetrical massive 10-point frame with nine additional scorable points.

Lawson knew the buck was big, but walking up to it reframed his appreciation for the tremendous animal. “I’ve hunted basically my entire life, and I hope to hunt for the rest of my life,” he said. “I’ll probably never see another buck this size. I owe everything, this deer, the fact that I am still here and able to hunt, all of it, to God.”

The giant buck taped out at 201 6/8 inches with heavy mass and 19 scorable points. Even with the extra points, the 10-point mainframe was incredibly symmetrical, with just 18 inches of abnormal points.

Don’t Miss: HUNTER TAKES BLIND-EYED KENTUCKY BOONER