Bowhunter Bags BTR Record 8-Pointer

Brandon Burman, his brother-in-law, Josh Newton, and their good friend DeeDee Cecil are a package deal when it comes to deer hunting. Not only do they hunt and scout together, they help one another hone in on target bucks. Last year, DeeDee drew the lucky straw and ended up taking an incredible 170-class buck on a different farm.

This year was Burman’s turn, and he knew the deer he was after well. He’d had him on camera for three years now, and had passed him multiple times last season. The distinctive buck had incredible mass and a high, tight 8-point rack.

Burman’s buck featured a high rack and incredible mass. Image by Brandon Burman

“I first thought he would score in the high 150s. Then I talked myself into him going mid 160s,” Burman said. “Two weeks ago, we got some good trail camera photos and did the math. I’m not a score freak, but I got pretty excited with what we were coming up with for a total.

As Burman watched the buck over the summer, he began to realize just how large it truly was. Image by Brandon Burman

“Late October and early November is my favorite time of the year to hunt big bucks, but I was most excited about early season this year,” Burman continued. “I took the entire first week off to concentrate on this buck before he changed his early season pattern. We had a plan to get in on him.”

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate. With stands set mostly for a south / southeast primary wind, opening weekend’s north winds didn’t allow Burman to get into any of his sets. He knew the cold front would probably have the buck on his feet during daylight hours, and trail camera photos later proved his assumption true, but he also knew that the wind would be blowing directly into the buck’s bedding area. He didn’t want to risk the deer winding him. It would be the sixth day of season, Thursday the 12th, before wind conditions allowed Burman to hunt. By then, his week off work was nearly over.

He was getting worried, too. After being extremely regular before and early in the season, the buck hadn’t appeared on camera in several days. Burman suspected the buck had shed its velvet and was beginning to change his summer patterns.

Despite the high score, the buck only had a 16” inside spread. Image by Brandon Burman

Thursday afternoon finally presented a good wind. Burman made his way down the 500-yard-long creek bottom that the three hunting buddies had purposely cleared to provide a quiet entry to the stand. Standing beans flanked both sides of the setup, and Burman was happy to see the falling pressure and steady wind.

Two hours in the stand turned into three. Despite good conditions, the deer weren’t moving. A few turkeys finally moved through the area, giving Burman a much-needed break from the quiet woods.

All that time without deer movement had given Burman time to think about things. He had lost his grandmother, affectionately known as Nana, late last year, just days before his son was born. A cardinal landed in the tree right beside him, making him think of her. He said a little prayer asking God to guide him and asking for good health for his son, who had been battling some recent issues.

As he was closing his prayer with Amen, Burman looked up to see antlers approaching. “I’d been looking at pictures of this deer all summer long, but seeing him coming in from a direction I wasn’t expecting messed with my mind. It took me a few seconds to realize it was him. Then he turned his head and I saw the mass and knew right away which buck it was,” Burman said.

The buck was at 80 yards and closing quickly. Burman just had a feeling that everything was going to work and the buck was going to give him a shot. The buck skirted a rocky area at the edge of the beans. Burman moved his single pin sight to 40 yards. The buck stopped, just before offering a clear shot, then turned to walk away. “I pleaded, ‘no, don’t get away’ as I watched him,” Burman said.

Then the buck stopped and turned again, this time coming all the way in to 15 yards, too close for a clear shot because of cover. Burman could feel his heart beating all the way to his wrists. The buck passed by his stand and Burman adjusted his sight to 30 yards. When the buck turned broadside, he drew his bow.

“I’m a big guy and I shoot a heavy poundage bow a lot, but between sitting down and the adrenaline rush, I struggled to get the bow back,” he said. “I dropped the pin into place right behind the buck’s shoulder and released the arrow. I watched the Lumenok disappear right where I was aiming.”

The big buck bolted uphill and effortlessly jumped a fence, giving Burman a slight pause. “I was sure the shot was good, but man, he jumped that fence pretty easy. It made me start to wonder a little.” A few seconds later, he heard the buck crash and everything got quiet.

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He called Josh and DeeDee to tell them what had happened. DeeDee was at work and told him he was leaving right then to come help look. Burman told him he would wait until everyone was there before going in.

Josh was the first to arrive, as well as another good friend, Hunter Fenley. “I got down and we looked for the arrow. It was covered in blood and bubbles and we knew he was down just by looking at it and the blood trail. It was funny, grown men jumping up and down and hugging each other,” Burman laughed.

After waiting for his buddies to arrive, Burman found his buck after a short track. Image by Brandon Burman

As much as they wanted to follow the trail, the trio stayed true to their word and waited for DeeDee to arrive. The group then followed the blood trail to where the buck had jumped the fence. Another 30 yards and they were standing over a massive 8 pointer.

Even though the buck only had a 16-inch inside spread, the incredible height and mass quickly added up. An official Buckmasters scorer came up with 174 ⅛ inches with the spread and 157 7/8 without the spread, making Brandon Burman’s archery trophy the biggest 8-pointer ever scored by Buckmasters.

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