Guilford County hunter drills 31-point nontypical buck
https://www.carolinasportsman.com/h...Wlix7SLnK5gMyF1OGvrSjRWFeUjjEsPyu12iqUaY Tory Pegg poses with his Guilford County beast from opening day of the 2019 archery season.
Tory Pegg of Kernersville, N.C. isn’t likely to have another opening day of bow season like the one he experienced on Sept. 7. Just before dark in one of Guilford County’s pristine oak forests, Pegg released an arrow dead inside the engine room of a 199 4/8-inch, 31-point buck at only 10 yards away from his stand situated high in the treetops.
Yet, this buck’s arrival wasn’t quite a surprise for Pegg. He had multiple photos of the deer on his farm from last year and the deer’s antler mass increased at an unusual rate since his 2018 appearance.
“Last year, he was a 14 pointer with significantly smaller antlers that would score in the 115-inch range,” Pegg said. “We believe he was a 2.5-year old buck last year. That only makes him a 3.5-year-old buck this year.”
Over the past year, the buck grew at a tremendous rate, unveiling himself as a true stud to Pegg just recently.
“We started using Wright Whitetail Mineral on our farm this year and the deer really go to it. I am not sure if it has influenced the growth of this deer specifically. Regardless, the deer seem to love this stuff. And this buck was standing on top of the mineral site when I took the shot,” he said.
Pegg got a photo of the deer early in the summer. And then the week before the N.C. Archery Season opened, the deer showed back up making an almost daily scheduled appearance in the afternoons. In fact, the week of the Saturday opener, the deer was on camera both Thursday and Friday afternoon around 7 p.m. each day.
“I saw antlers everywhere”
Pegg knew it was a perfect opportunity to get the deer in his sights long before the rest of the local hunting community started stirring up the woods.
Pegg slipped into the stand at 4 p.m. that afternoon and sat motionless with his Mathews bow in his lap. He didn’t bother hanging the bow like most people do in the stand, because he knew the buck was going to show up in just a short time.