Crossbow Hunter Shoots Huge Buck With Overlapping Main Beams

Dean King took this outstanding whitetail on the third afternoon of Kentucky’s archery deer season. Photo courtesy of Dean King.

North Carolina hunter Dean King has been deer hunting with Whitetail Heaven Outfitters in Kentucky for 7 years. He loves the place so much that he buys a season pass, which gives him access to any of Whitetail Heaven’s Kentucky properties all fall. He said that it’s the way to go because he can pick and choose hunting dates based on the weather forecast.

The property that King was hunting on during the early season this year is around 1,000 acres, and a handful of other hunters were strategically positioned throughout it. The property features several native-grass food plots, which are about a half-acre each. King spent the first three afternoons hunting from the same stand, which was overlooking one of the native-grass food plots. On the trail cameras were a few respectable bucks, and one absolute screamer. That deer, however, had never appeared on the trail cameras in the daylight.

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This season, King’s first two days of hunting were slow in terms of buck activity, although plenty of does moved. His luck turned for the better on the third afternoon. “That afternoon, I saw a couple does, a small buck, and the buck I killed,” he said. “Conditions were extremely dry. You could hear everything walking through the woods. The deer all came from behind me. Eventually, I could hear antlers hitting on trees. The biggest buck in the area had been on the trail camera just a couple of days earlier in full velvet. I couldn’t see him, but I just had a feeling that it was him and that he was cleaning off the last bits of velvet.”

In case his hunch was correct, King, who was crossbow hunting due to a shoulder injury, prepared his Ravin crossbow for a potential shot opportunity.

The buck was the largest of several respectable deer that were roaming the property King was hunting. Photo courtesy of Whitetail Heaven Outfitters.

“At one point, he was only 15 yards behind me,” he explained, “but I still couldn’t see him. The doe and small buck that were already in the food plot meandered away, and the buck behind me started walking toward where they were leaving the plot. Meanwhile, a different doe appeared. I could still hear the big buck’s footsteps in the timber. It became evident that he wasn’t going to step out where I had initially anticipated. There was a thin strip of woods to my left that I could barely see through. When he stepped in there, I didn’t know it was him, but it was obviously a buck that was big enough to shoot.”

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Some intense moments followed. “When the buck fully emerged, I knew it was him because of his distinctive kicker points,” King noted. “I knew that he was big from the trail camera pictures, but he looked even bigger. He was 25 yards away and facing directly at me. My crossbow was steady on a shooting rest and my scope was perfectly on him. I was just waiting for him to turn. I was shaking, and I just kept reminding myself to calm down.

“I waited and waited,” he continued, “and I lost track of time because I was so worried that he would see me shaking. Then, he became alert, took two steps backward, and looked right at me. He was about to bolt. I was so steady on my shooting rest that I was 100 percent confident I could make the shot.”

The Kentucky monster was fresh out of velvet when it stepped in front of Dean King. Photo courtesy of Dean King.

King held right below the buck’s throat patch and shot. “My bolt had a lighted nock, and I saw that I’d made a good clean hit,” he said. “The buck wheeled and ran back where he had come from, and then I heard him crash. I knew I was supposed to wait a while, but my nerves got the best of me. I immediately climbed down and walked over to where he had been standing to look for my bolt and/or the blood trail.”

King found neither his bolt nor any blood initially, but he didn’t lose confidence because he knew the buck had crashed.

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“I took a few more steps and found lots of blood everywhere,” he said. “I saw several spots where he had clearly slid. I came to a small hill, and I knew he’d be just on the other side. Sure enough, he had fallen down into a little bowl. When I reached him and put my hands on his antlers, I was shocked by how much bigger they were than what I’d initially thought. His body size was also unbelievable.”

King said that the other hunters who he’s shared hunting camp, shed seasons, and pre-season scouting trips with at Whitetail Heaven have become like family. “I’ve been hunting with Whitetail Heaven and many of the same hunters for years,” he explained. “Getting to share the woods, and a successful hunt like this, with so many friends is a lot like hunting with a local hunting club or lease at home.”

The impressive buck sported 15 scoreable points and mass that carried throughout the entire rack. The main beams tallied 50 inches (combined), and more interestingly, they overlap, which means the buck couldn’t have put his antlers around a tree to rub it even if he’d wanted to. With a gross score of 187 1/8, King won’t likely best this buck anytime soon.