Bowhunter Arrows Full-Velvet 45-Point Buck

Kevin Summers knew there was something odd about one of the bucks hanging around his hunting area last season. The deer held onto its velvet long after all the other bucks in the area had shed, and all through the winter. Summers figured the buck would score around 125. He had countless trail camera photos of it, and figures he passed on it 15 times.

After passing the buck several times last season, Summers was excited to see what he had turned into this season. Image by K. Summers

So, he was excited to see what the buck might look like this season. Summers put cameras out in the spring to scout for turkey season and in June, he got a picture of the buck — which was incredible by this point. Summers knew right away that it was the velvet buck from the year before, but the antlers had exploded in size. Summers quickly put out more cameras in the area and got more photos. Zooming in, he could count at least 40 points, though he knew some more probably weren’t visible.

The buck blew up from last year, with antler points in every direction. Image by K Summers

After what seemed like an eternity, opening day finally arrived, and Summers was in the stand that afternoon. The woods had been quiet most of the evening, but Summers wasn’t worried because the big buck had been showing only in the last hour of daylight. Just before 6 p.m., a trio of raccoons ambled by, giving Summers at least something interesting to watch.

The buck had been showing each evening just before dark. Image by K Summers

After a few minutes, something made the hunter lift his gaze to scan his surroundings. He saw the buck heading toward him, 65 yards away and slipping through the brush. Summers was self-filming his hunt, and he adjusted the camera in the buck’s direction. The deer continued getting closer but then stopped, acted spooky, and then turned and walked out of the camera frame.

Summers slowly turned his head to see the deer circling around his stand, and this time it walked all the way in. When the buck stopped at 25 yards, Summers drew his bow, settled his sight pin, and let fly. The buck turned at the shot and crashed into the timber.

At the shot, the buck crashed into the timber and out of sight. Image by K Summers

“I never like to go look right away after a shot. I always give the deer some time,” Summers said. He called his uncle and a couple buddies. Around 90 minutes later, everyone had arrived and they started the search for the buck.

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“My 8-year-old nephew was there as well. We were all looking and following the blood trail when my nephew shouted out that he had found him. We all thought he was kidding, then we got to him and saw the buck for ourselves,” Summers said. “I’ve taken some good bucks and I never thought I would be able to top last year’s 185-inch buck, but this thing just kept growing the closer I got.”

The buck had the opposite of ground shrinkage, and seemed to get larger the closer Kevin summers got to him. Image by K Summers

When Summers started to field dress the buck, he noticed that it had only one small testicle. “I’m not sure if it was born that way or if it was some kind of injury that made him suddenly hang on to his velvet last year, but it was obvious that something was going on,” he said.

The giant buck had 45 scorable points and green scored 280 inches. Buckmasters certified scorer Hunter Schmittou soon arrived to put a tape on it. “It took nearly an hour to come up with a score. There were just so many points. The bases were so thick that they almost touched,” Summers said.

Summers finished with this: “I’ve been lucky over the past 10 or so years to take a nice buck each year with archery equipment. Everyone asks what the secret is. Mineral helps, but the most important thing is to let them mature. You never know what a buck’s potential might be if you kill him before he reaches it. Just let them grow.”

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