Clarendon County hunter bags unique trophy
Long-distance head shot took down 14-point bean field buck
After a clean miss, Spanky Bryant connected on his second chance at a 175-pound, 14-point bean field buck in Clarendon County, S.C.
He shot the deer in the head with a Remington .270 at 225 yards just seconds after his first shot failed to connect. The deer stood still long enough for Bryant to reload and get the crosshairs back on target. But the head and antlers were the only parts of the buck visible above the soybeans.
Figuring that when the world gives you lemons, you make lemonade, Bryant decided for a head shot.
“I knew I had missed, so I reloaded quickly. This time, I put the crosshairs on the side of his head and touched off the shot,” he said.
And just like that, the antlers no longer stood above the beans as the buck dropped in his tracks, falling back into its bed. Bryant’s once-in-a-lifetime shot hit its mark, landing a new trophy on the Bryant’s living room wall.
A better year
The 14-point buck was the second one Bryant has killed this year, after blanking all of the 2021 season.
“It’s like someone left a horseshoe in my truck,” said Bryant.
During the 2021 season, Bryant worked tirelessly to locate deer. He used cameras and scouted regularly. He often found sign, but was never able to connect the dots. So this season, he chose a different plan. He decided to simply enjoy the hunt and let the deer do their thing. No cameras. No scouting. Just sit in the stand and enjoy his time in the woods with his son.
“I had no idea this buck even existed. I saw his rack as he stood up from the beans and it seemed like there were just point going in every direction,” he said.
The hunt started out as just another day to enjoy time in the woods with family.
“It was just like any other day. On my way back from work, I picked up my son Ty who wanted to go hunting. I was just wearing jeans and a shirt that I had on at work. I quickly changed into a camouflage shirt and grabbed my gun on the way out the door,” he said.
A hunt to remember
A normal day with nice weather and a beautiful sunset going down over the tree line, it turned out to be hunt to remember forever. Once the buck stood up from the beans, Bryant knew this was one for the wall. The unique-looking rack was bright and vivid against the backdrop of the dark green soybeans.
After texting his son that he was going to mount the buck if he made the shot, he settled the crosshairs on the buck’s neck and gently squeezed the trigger.
“I looked through my scope and all I could see where his antlers still sticking high above the soybeans,” he said.
That’s when he reloaded and squeezed off the headshot, ending the hunt and beginning another chapter of memories made with his son.
Bryant is having a mount created by Kenny Jackson of Jackson’s Taxidermy in Sumter. He described the buck’s unique rack.
“Spanky’s buck sports eight points on one side and six on the other, with great mass and unique forked G3s. He is a beautiful buck, but it’s all about the memories,” said Jackson. “Just look at the smile on his face in the photos and you will see that he and Ty will have memories of this hunt to remember forever.”
The rest of Bryant’s season will be spent just like the first few weeks. He wants to enjoy his time in the woods with family. He hopes a big buck will walk in front of his son, but either way, the memories of time spent together will last forever.
