Tennessee Hunter’s Giant Velvet Buck Was 3 Years in the Making

Very few places in the country offer hunters the opportunity to bag a big velvet whitetail. Tennessee, with its three-day archery season in late August, might be one of the best. Over the past several seasons, hunters have battled hot weather and heavy insect infestations for the shot at tagging a giant velvet buck.

Joseph Rushing, a long-time Tennessee resident who now lives just over the line in Kentucky, is one of those hunters. All summer, he’d been watching one particular buck that he knew well. The buck had been on Rushing’s trail camera for the past three years.

For hunters searching for a giant velvet whitetail, Tennessee’s early three day archery season might offer the best opportunity in the country. Images by Joseph Rushing

Last season, Rushing estimated the buck to be four years old. While tempting, he knew the deer hadn’t quite reached its full potential, so he passed. A late-December trail camera photo informed Rushing that he’d made the right call; the hunting season was winding down, and the buck had survived.

Rushing passed on the buck last season in hopes that he would pack on antler with a bit more age.

Early this summer, Rushing put trail cameras around the farm, hoping to locate the deer. He was soon rewarded with photos of a now massive buck. “He made a huge jump from last year,” Rushing said. “I knew pretty quickly that this buck was my target this season. I wanted him.”

As soon as he saw the buck on camera this summer, Rushing knew immediately that this would be his target for the season.

Leading up to the three-day velvet season, the buck was a regular on Rushing’s trail cameras. He was pretty sure he had the buck’s bedding area pegged, and he had a tree overlooking a bean field in mind for a stand. “The beans were a little late going in this year, so they were still nice and green, and the deer were hammering them every evening,” he said.

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As opening day drew near, Rushing was concerned. The forecast north wind would keep him from hunting the spot he had picked out. A north wind would push his scent across the beans, spooking every feeding deer around before the larger bucks even left their bedding area.

“With only three days to hunt, it was now or never,” he said. “I decided to get aggressive and hunt right by the buck’s bedding area. I knew the deer were used to seeing us around the farm on our four-wheelers and side-by-sides. I’m pretty sure they stayed bedded and watched us drive by without spooking. I’ve had deer on camera just minutes after we’ve passed through.”

With only three days to hunt, Rushing knew he would need to get aggressive for a chance at the buck.

The afternoon of the opening Friday, Rushing set the plan into motion. He loaded his stand and gear onto his four-wheeler and drove directly to the tree he intended to hunt from. He knew it was risky because, again, the tree was on the edge of the buck’s suspected bedding area.

“I acted just like I was out working on the farm. I wore jeans and a regular t-shirt, my work boots, and the whole bit,” Rushing said.

After leaving his climber and gear at the tree, Rushing got back on his ATV and drove about 150 yards from the tree, where he changed into his hunting clothes and sneaked back to his stand.

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By 3:30 p.m., he was up the tree and ready. By 4 o'clock, several does and small bucks started funneling by. A couple of the older does sniffed around and grew nervous, but they moved on into the bean field to feed without spooking.

Around 6 o'clock, Rushing heard something moving on the opposite hillside. He glanced in that direction and saw the first buck of the bachelor group that the big deer normally traveled with. Then another. The entire bachelor group of bucks, including his target, made its way down the hill and across the creek. A doe had used the same trail earlier, passing by within easy bow range.

Rushing had intentionally climbed the back side of the tree. Expecting the deer to use this exact trail, he wanted the tree between himself and the deer to help break up his outline. Soon, the first buck of the group moved through one of his shooting lanes. Then, he saw his target buck following the same trail.

“He stopped and rubbed his head on some beech saplings,” Rushing detailed. “He was only 30 yards away, but there was too much cover for a shot. I had to wait him out. I put my head down and didn’t even look at him. I knew if I did, I’d have a hard time keeping it together.”

The big buck followed in his younger companions’ footsteps. Just before the buck stepped out into a shooting lane, Rushing drew his bow. The buck stepped out, broadside, at just 20 yards.

After staying behind cover for what seemed like forever, the buck finally stepped into a shooting lane at just 20 yards.

Before Rushing could release his arrow, the buck took another step and jumped up a small incline, changing the angle to quartering away. Settling his pin right behind the buck’s shoulder, Rushing released and watched his lighted nock hit exactly where he was aiming. The buck lurched forward on a dead run, head-on into a large tree, then fell. Rushing worried that he might have broken his rack; suddenly, the buck jumped back up and took off at a dead run.

“The shot felt really good,” he explained. “When the arrow hit, it sounded like a rifle shot going off.”

The arrow stayed in the deer, and Rushing followed the light of his nock as the buck ran. Soon, the deer stopped running, and the nock began to bob up and down, appearing and disappearing every few seconds.

Then, the buck took off again, and Rushing was able to pick up the light moving through the woods. Then, the nock disappeared, and everything went silent.

After waiting for a bit, Rushing quietly slipped down the tree and out to his four-wheeler. He had texted his buddies from the stand after the shot, and, after gathering some lights, the group went to look for the buck about an hour and a half after the shot.

The blood trail was immediate and heavy. Starting where the buck had impacted the tree, then along the trail to where the hunter had watched the lighted nock flashing in and out of view.

“Looking back, I think he was weaving back and forth at that point, trying to stay on his feet, and that is why the nock kept going out of view,” Rushing said.

Rushing’s arrow, and lighted nock, stayed in the deer, giving the hunter a good view of the buck’s exit path after the shot.

The blood trail began to show some dark clots along with the frothy red blood. Just beyond where Rushing had finally lost sight of the deer, the group panned their lights across the forest floor and saw the buck, down for good.

“I lost it a little at that point,” Rushing said. “I praised the Lord for letting me take this buck. He is my biggest by quite a bit and my first velvet buck.”

After retrieving the deer, Rushing’s taxidermist and a good friend taped the antlers. The buck is pretty symmetrical, with the sides measuring out to 82 and 82 ½ inches. After guessing the buck in the low- to mid-160s, Rushing was surprised when the total added up to a whopping 179 4/8 inches, even with a modest 15-inch spread.

“I’m just so excited over this buck. I’m going to get him officially scored after the drying period and probably enter him into the Pope and Young book,” he finished.

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