West Virginia Hunter Shoots Giant Bear, Giant Buck in the Same Season

It took two seasons for West Virginia hunter Jimmy George to connect the dots to this outstanding whitetail. Images courtesy of Jimmy George.

Jimmy George, owner of Scent Assassin, began hunting a big West Virginia buck back in October of 2024, when the deer first appeared on his trail camera. The deer was frequently on camera, but it never showed up while George was hunting. Often, the crafty animal appeared on his trail camera shortly after he left the woods. The buck seemed to have him patterned. As they say, big bucks don’t get big by being stupid.

The buck’s stomping grounds were on George’s 1,300-acre lease, which he manages and plants with food plots. Although some other nice deer were roaming the lease in 2025, his heart was set on the big deer that had given him the slip in 2024. And so, he passed up some tempting bucks in fall 2025, waiting on that monster.

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“My very first encounter with him was during bow season in early October,” George explained. “He came into my food plot around 9:30 one morning. Then, he left, and a rainstorm rolled through. But he came out again around 10:30 once the rain had stopped. But he didn’t walk within range.”

Once the pre-rut gave way to some chasing action, George encountered the buck at another stand location about a mile away. He encountered the deer in that area several times, but always out of range.

The buck was a regular on the cameras, but outfoxed George and other hunters until Dec. 5, 2025.

On Nov. 13, George’s pursuit of the world-class buck made a plot twist. That afternoon, the winds were screaming, and he was afraid of falling out of the tree he was in, so he moved to a different stand down in a holler. He had no trail cameras around that stand and wasn’t sure what to expect, but at least he was out of the wind.

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“It was my first time hunting the stand last fall,” George explained. “I wasn’t there more than several minutes when I got a picture of a big buck by the stand I had just left up on the ridge. It wasn’t the buck I was after, but I was still questioning my move. Then, about 45 minutes before dark, I saw something coming up out of the holler. It was a bear that looked like a Smart Car. There was a tree across the road that he was walking on. He paused and looked at it, then put his front paws on it and shoved it down, snapping it.”

Now, the bear was about 40 yards away and checking the wind as it moseyed along. The bear’s size became evident when it stood and began scratching its back on a beech tree. After that, the bruin proceeded and walked right down the pipe, stopping 11 yards beneath George, who drew his bow.

Screaming winds caused George to change stands on Nov. 13, which yielded an 11-yard shot opportunity at this monstrous black bear.

“I shot him,” he said, “and he ran about 35 yards up the other side of the holler. He stopped on top of a rock and looked back my way, and then he jumped out of view. He didn’t death moan, so after a little bit, I got down and inspected my arrow. It was covered in blood, and I knew I had 10-ringed him. I walked up to the rock where he had stopped and saw that he was dead right beneath it.”

Then came rifle season. “I had hunted from daylight until dark the entire first week of gun season,” George said. “I sat a lot and also put a bunch of miles on my boots. The weather was uncooperative until the end of the first week. I was also having a bad week with some personal things weighing on me. On Friday, Dec. 5, I went to the lease and wasn’t even planning on hunting. I was just planning to check on some things, but I was seeing a lot of deer on the way. I decided I should wear my orange vest and carry my rifle.

George was in awe when he finally put his hands on those tremendous 170-class antlers.

“At the lease, I parked next to my camper,” he continued. “There’s an old gas road that goes along the back of the property to the food plot. I always see a lot of deer around that area. I walked about half a mile and was near the gas well when I noticed two deer standing in thick cover. I was looking to see if they had antlers when I caught some movement; it was a buck turning its antlers. He was right in between the two other deer, which were does. I instantly knew it was him.”

The buck hopped over the point of the ridge, and when it did, the two does trotted only about 10 feet and stood, watching the hunter.

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“I knew I needed to slip around the point,” George recalled. “When I did, I spotted the buck. He was standing there looking back toward the does. All I had was a shot at his neck, but he was only 60 yards away, so I lifted my rifle and put it on him. I smoked him, and he fell right there.

Jimmy George was having a bad week with some personal matters weighing on his mind, but his week got better when he caught this buck standing between two does. A well-placed 60-yard shot finished the two-season pursuit.

“I wish I had gotten him with my bow,” George admits, “but with a buck of this caliber, it doesn’t matter. I got him, and I’m happy. I know he had been on other leases and that other hunters knew about him. All along, though, I had the feeling that I was going to get him. I didn’t know when, but I just had that feeling because he was spending a lot of time on my lease in the daylight.”

George’s buck carries a 10-point main frame and sports nine gnarly points down on the bases. The inside spread is about 19 1/2 inches. One of the brow tines is slightly curled, and the mass is exceptional from the bases all the way out. All told, the buck grossed 171 1/8 inches.