Davidson County buck among the best ever taken in state by bowhunter

D.R. Harrison had been stalking a monster deer for more than a month before he finally bagged his big one.

The quest started Oct. 3 when Harrison first saw the giant whitetail.

"He came in just out of bow range about 65 yards and I knew that he was something special," Harrison said in an e-mail to the Post. "I have taken great deer all over the country, but I knew this would be my largest bow kill ever and my largest N.C. deer ever."

He left the stand after that first sighting to dream for another 2 1/2 more weeks about getting back into the woods in southern Davidson County.

The last week of October, Harrison did something he doesn't normally do: went into his hunting area to trim limbs out for his camera. He is CEO of Antler Addiction TV show and magazine, and he said, "When you film for a TV show, there is a lot more involved in the whole hunting process than just getting up in the tree. To my amazement, I went into the woods around lunch time and I jumped this deer with a doe."

He was sick about missing his chance — he thought the big buck was gone for a lifetime.

But on Nov. 20, things were hectic at Antler Addiction. He packed his camera gear and bow, kissed his wife and daughter goodbye and headed to the farm.

He arrived around 2 p.m, later than normal, and headed to his stand to set up all the camera gear and began shooting footage. At about 3:30 p.m., a doe come over a ridge and the giant buck stepped out behind her.

"I was in shock because of what had happened just a couple of weeks before," he said.

The doe bedded down and the buck did the same.

Harrison sat there for about 45 minutes before deciding to try to make something happen.

"I pumped three squirts of doe estrus and grunted about three times, and the buck jumped straight up out of his bed," Harrison said. "When he did, it startled the doe and she jumped up and started trotting down the ridge. When that happened that buck got worried she was leaving, so he started in a slow trot right toward the doe."

Harrison drew back and held the string for what seemed like eternity, but in reality it was about a minute.

The buck stepped out 17 steps from the tree and Harrison let the arrow fly. It found its mark.

The buck's rack was 26 inches wide and has 24-inch main beams. The buck weighed 172 pounds and the 11-pointer was officially green scored at 162 7/8 on the Boone and Crockett measurement scale. That crushed the Davidson County record for bowhunting. The final ranking in the state won't be figured for another couple months, but it will be one of the greatest taken with a bow in North Carolina.