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With just under 3000 acres of land and around 100 different stands to hunt in Northern Neck Virginia, Russell Haynie has a lot of options when it comes to Deer hunting, but on Sunday evening November 12, 2017 he chose an option that he will forever cherish.
Russell was born and raised in Richmond County Virginia and his family owns several hundred acres scattered across the Northern Neck region, but one particular 30 acre plot has always been open to extended family and friends and is hunted often. Russell has also hunted this piece over the years, but much favors the vast properties that he and good friend and #1 hunting partner Brandon Dillistin own & lease.
Typically in this region of Virgina Russell tells me that the 6 & 7 point gene is very prevalent for bucks and that the 10 point variety is very rare, but there was one buck that he got on trail camera back in 2015 on the 30 acres that struck his fancy. It was a decent 10 pointer, but it never showed itself during shooting times and Russell had past on hope of the Bucks existence since it hadn’t been seen in a couple years.
Saturday morning November 11 a friend named Brian Wallace that hunts the 30 acres was on his way to his stand and happened to grab his sd card from his game camera that he had not checked since back in August. Once Brian got to his stand he began viewing the pics and to his surprise there was the same buck, although now he had put on a few points and mass and was a true Virginia trophy!
Selflessly Brian who is a long term member of the Coast Guard sent the pic to Russell who was also on stand hunting on property that he & Brandon shared. Russell was awestruck and thought how in the world could that buck still be alive and in the area, and avoided all the hunting pressure!
Russell climbed down out of his treestand around lunch time and headed over to the family property and met up with Brian where he promptly thanked him for his service because it was Veterans Day, and they shared in the excitement of the picture of the giant buck!
It was now just past mid day and Russell decided to go to the only food source on the property which was a bean field and freshen up a historic scrape site with a some Tinks synthetic Trophy buck attractant as well as his own urine and he hung a cuddeback camera over the scrape and got out quick.
Sunday morning Russell spent time with his family and wife Kasey before heading in to hunt the bean field that afternoon. All the time even as he was using his Summit climber to ascend the tree near the field he was discounting his chances of seeing this mythical buck, but the words of encouragement he received from long time friend and fellow hunter Gary Warren, whom he had shared the picture with on Saturday stuck in his head. Russell calls Gary one of the top two hunters that he knows and Gary encouraged Russell to hunt that buck until you kill him, because you may never see another one like it.
So up the tree he went and settled in about 2pm. Russell used his Extinguisher deer call to perform a sequence of doe bleats followed by quick buck grunts, continuing to call periodically through the afternoon, but no signs of deer.
As light began to fade slightly a doe appeared and was standing in the mock scrape he had made the day before. Then she moved into the field and began munching on beans. Russell was watching the woods behind her and he caught a glimpse of movement then he noticed some antlers and all the sudden there the buck of his dreams stood!
It quickly dawned on Russell that the old school cuddeback camera model he was using had a flash that goes off when taking pictures. He didn’t want this to scare the buck so he steadied his custom made 45 caliber CVA smokeless muzzleloader, centered the cross hairs on the buck's vitals and gently squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped without movement and Russell sat for a moment in amazement, then called Brandon who was hunting another property and reported the news.Brandon hung up after congratulating his friend and headed straight to the site.
In the meantime Russell reloaded and cautiously walked toward the buck prepared to shoot again if need be.
As he came upon the buck lying on the ground he was overcome with emotion. Standing 6’5” and weighing in at 270lbs Russell tells me that he is typically pretty stoic and not too emotional , but looking down at his buck of a lifetime and reflecting back on Gary’s words he was really moved and tremendously appreciative to the man upstairs.
Once Brandon showed up he too was overcome with joy and once he actually had a chance to grab the buck by its tremendous horns he sat the deers head down and rushed over and gave Russell a big bear hug!
What a great story filled with goodness and perfect timing like so many other Va hunting stories that I have had the honor to cover. Before our discussion ended Russell wanted to acknowledge his father Richard Haynie, who got him started in hunting and has always supported him along the way!
This hunter realizes luck plays a part, but considers scent control to play a major role in his deer hunting success over the years. He dresses head to toe in Scent- lok clothing and stores all of his deer gear in a scent crusher bag and as soon as he climbs the tree he turns on his Ozonics scent eliminating machine.
Lots of history comes from Northern Neck Virginia including the birthplace of our nations first president George Washington, and now comes a historic buck. This buck is a mainframe 10 pointer with kickers off both G2’s and has a total of 13 score able points, its G2’s are just over 12” and m G3’s are just over 13”.
As you can see the buck fits the eye test for sure and has it all. Russell chose Matt Jones to do the taxidermy work and Matt B&C green scored the buck at 183 3/8. We will all be able to see this magical Virginia giant at the Game shows that Russell will attend in 2018.
Congratulations Russell you have been truly blessed with a buck of a lifetime my friend!
*SCORING UPDATE
B&C- 164 7/8
Jeff Phillips 11/17/17
With just under 3000 acres of land and around 100 different stands to hunt in Northern Neck Virginia, Russell Haynie has a lot of options when it comes to Deer hunting, but on Sunday evening November 12, 2017 he chose an option that he will forever cherish.
Russell was born and raised in Richmond County Virginia and his family owns several hundred acres scattered across the Northern Neck region, but one particular 30 acre plot has always been open to extended family and friends and is hunted often. Russell has also hunted this piece over the years, but much favors the vast properties that he and good friend and #1 hunting partner Brandon Dillistin own & lease.
Typically in this region of Virgina Russell tells me that the 6 & 7 point gene is very prevalent for bucks and that the 10 point variety is very rare, but there was one buck that he got on trail camera back in 2015 on the 30 acres that struck his fancy. It was a decent 10 pointer, but it never showed itself during shooting times and Russell had past on hope of the Bucks existence since it hadn’t been seen in a couple years.
Saturday morning November 11 a friend named Brian Wallace that hunts the 30 acres was on his way to his stand and happened to grab his sd card from his game camera that he had not checked since back in August. Once Brian got to his stand he began viewing the pics and to his surprise there was the same buck, although now he had put on a few points and mass and was a true Virginia trophy!
Selflessly Brian who is a long term member of the Coast Guard sent the pic to Russell who was also on stand hunting on property that he & Brandon shared. Russell was awestruck and thought how in the world could that buck still be alive and in the area, and avoided all the hunting pressure!
Russell climbed down out of his treestand around lunch time and headed over to the family property and met up with Brian where he promptly thanked him for his service because it was Veterans Day, and they shared in the excitement of the picture of the giant buck!
It was now just past mid day and Russell decided to go to the only food source on the property which was a bean field and freshen up a historic scrape site with a some Tinks synthetic Trophy buck attractant as well as his own urine and he hung a cuddeback camera over the scrape and got out quick.
Sunday morning Russell spent time with his family and wife Kasey before heading in to hunt the bean field that afternoon. All the time even as he was using his Summit climber to ascend the tree near the field he was discounting his chances of seeing this mythical buck, but the words of encouragement he received from long time friend and fellow hunter Gary Warren, whom he had shared the picture with on Saturday stuck in his head. Russell calls Gary one of the top two hunters that he knows and Gary encouraged Russell to hunt that buck until you kill him, because you may never see another one like it.
So up the tree he went and settled in about 2pm. Russell used his Extinguisher deer call to perform a sequence of doe bleats followed by quick buck grunts, continuing to call periodically through the afternoon, but no signs of deer.
As light began to fade slightly a doe appeared and was standing in the mock scrape he had made the day before. Then she moved into the field and began munching on beans. Russell was watching the woods behind her and he caught a glimpse of movement then he noticed some antlers and all the sudden there the buck of his dreams stood!
It quickly dawned on Russell that the old school cuddeback camera model he was using had a flash that goes off when taking pictures. He didn’t want this to scare the buck so he steadied his custom made 45 caliber CVA smokeless muzzleloader, centered the cross hairs on the buck's vitals and gently squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped without movement and Russell sat for a moment in amazement, then called Brandon who was hunting another property and reported the news.Brandon hung up after congratulating his friend and headed straight to the site.
In the meantime Russell reloaded and cautiously walked toward the buck prepared to shoot again if need be.
As he came upon the buck lying on the ground he was overcome with emotion. Standing 6’5” and weighing in at 270lbs Russell tells me that he is typically pretty stoic and not too emotional , but looking down at his buck of a lifetime and reflecting back on Gary’s words he was really moved and tremendously appreciative to the man upstairs.
Once Brandon showed up he too was overcome with joy and once he actually had a chance to grab the buck by its tremendous horns he sat the deers head down and rushed over and gave Russell a big bear hug!
What a great story filled with goodness and perfect timing like so many other Va hunting stories that I have had the honor to cover. Before our discussion ended Russell wanted to acknowledge his father Richard Haynie, who got him started in hunting and has always supported him along the way!
This hunter realizes luck plays a part, but considers scent control to play a major role in his deer hunting success over the years. He dresses head to toe in Scent- lok clothing and stores all of his deer gear in a scent crusher bag and as soon as he climbs the tree he turns on his Ozonics scent eliminating machine.
Lots of history comes from Northern Neck Virginia including the birthplace of our nations first president George Washington, and now comes a historic buck. This buck is a mainframe 10 pointer with kickers off both G2’s and has a total of 13 score able points, its G2’s are just over 12” and m G3’s are just over 13”.
As you can see the buck fits the eye test for sure and has it all. Russell chose Matt Jones to do the taxidermy work and Matt B&C green scored the buck at 183 3/8. We will all be able to see this magical Virginia giant at the Game shows that Russell will attend in 2018.
Congratulations Russell you have been truly blessed with a buck of a lifetime my friend!
*SCORING UPDATE
B&C- 164 7/8
Jeff Phillips 11/17/17
With just under 3000 acres of land and around 100 different stands to hunt in Northern Neck Virginia, Russell Haynie has a lot of options when it comes to Deer hunting, but on Sunday evening November 12, 2017 he chose an option that he will forever cherish.
Russell was born and raised in Richmond County Virginia and his family owns several hundred acres scattered across the Northern Neck region, but one particular 30 acre plot has always been open to extended family and friends and is hunted often. Russell has also hunted this piece over the years, but much favors the vast properties that he and good friend and #1 hunting partner Brandon Dillistin own & lease.
Typically in this region of Virgina Russell tells me that the 6 & 7 point gene is very prevalent for bucks and that the 10 point variety is very rare, but there was one buck that he got on trail camera back in 2015 on the 30 acres that struck his fancy. It was a decent 10 pointer, but it never showed itself during shooting times and Russell had past on hope of the Bucks existence since it hadn’t been seen in a couple years.
Saturday morning November 11 a friend named Brian Wallace that hunts the 30 acres was on his way to his stand and happened to grab his sd card from his game camera that he had not checked since back in August. Once Brian got to his stand he began viewing the pics and to his surprise there was the same buck, although now he had put on a few points and mass and was a true Virginia trophy!
Selflessly Brian who is a long term member of the Coast Guard sent the pic to Russell who was also on stand hunting on property that he & Brandon shared. Russell was awestruck and thought how in the world could that buck still be alive and in the area, and avoided all the hunting pressure!
Russell climbed down out of his treestand around lunch time and headed over to the family property and met up with Brian where he promptly thanked him for his service because it was Veterans Day, and they shared in the excitement of the picture of the giant buck!
It was now just past mid day and Russell decided to go to the only food source on the property which was a bean field and freshen up a historic scrape site with a some Tinks synthetic Trophy buck attractant as well as his own urine and he hung a cuddeback camera over the scrape and got out quick.
Sunday morning Russell spent time with his family and wife Kasey before heading in to hunt the bean field that afternoon. All the time even as he was using his Summit climber to ascend the tree near the field he was discounting his chances of seeing this mythical buck, but the words of encouragement he received from long time friend and fellow hunter Gary Warren, whom he had shared the picture with on Saturday stuck in his head. Russell calls Gary one of the top two hunters that he knows and Gary encouraged Russell to hunt that buck until you kill him, because you may never see another one like it.
So up the tree he went and settled in about 2pm. Russell used his Extinguisher deer call to perform a sequence of doe bleats followed by quick buck grunts, continuing to call periodically through the afternoon, but no signs of deer.
As light began to fade slightly a doe appeared and was standing in the mock scrape he had made the day before. Then she moved into the field and began munching on beans. Russell was watching the woods behind her and he caught a glimpse of movement then he noticed some antlers and all the sudden there the buck of his dreams stood!
It quickly dawned on Russell that the old school cuddeback camera model he was using had a flash that goes off when taking pictures. He didn’t want this to scare the buck so he steadied his custom made 45 caliber CVA smokeless muzzleloader, centered the cross hairs on the buck's vitals and gently squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped without movement and Russell sat for a moment in amazement, then called Brandon who was hunting another property and reported the news.Brandon hung up after congratulating his friend and headed straight to the site.
In the meantime Russell reloaded and cautiously walked toward the buck prepared to shoot again if need be.
As he came upon the buck lying on the ground he was overcome with emotion. Standing 6’5” and weighing in at 270lbs Russell tells me that he is typically pretty stoic and not too emotional , but looking down at his buck of a lifetime and reflecting back on Gary’s words he was really moved and tremendously appreciative to the man upstairs.
Once Brandon showed up he too was overcome with joy and once he actually had a chance to grab the buck by its tremendous horns he sat the deers head down and rushed over and gave Russell a big bear hug!
What a great story filled with goodness and perfect timing like so many other Va hunting stories that I have had the honor to cover. Before our discussion ended Russell wanted to acknowledge his father Richard Haynie, who got him started in hunting and has always supported him along the way!
This hunter realizes luck plays a part, but considers scent control to play a major role in his deer hunting success over the years. He dresses head to toe in Scent- lok clothing and stores all of his deer gear in a scent crusher bag and as soon as he climbs the tree he turns on his Ozonics scent eliminating machine.
Lots of history comes from Northern Neck Virginia including the birthplace of our nations first president George Washington, and now comes a historic buck. This buck is a mainframe 10 pointer with kickers off both G2’s and has a total of 13 score able points, its G2’s are just over 12” and m G3’s are just over 13”.
As you can see the buck fits the eye test for sure and has it all. Russell chose Matt Jones to do the taxidermy work and Matt B&C green scored the buck at 183 3/8. We will all be able to see this magical Virginia giant at the Game shows that Russell will attend in 2018.
Congratulations Russell you have been truly blessed with a buck of a lifetime my friend!
*SCORING UPDATE
B&C- 164 7/8
Jeff Phillips 11/17/17
With just under 3000 acres of land and around 100 different stands to hunt in Northern Neck Virginia, Russell Haynie has a lot of options when it comes to Deer hunting, but on Sunday evening November 12, 2017 he chose an option that he will forever cherish.
Russell was born and raised in Richmond County Virginia and his family owns several hundred acres scattered across the Northern Neck region, but one particular 30 acre plot has always been open to extended family and friends and is hunted often. Russell has also hunted this piece over the years, but much favors the vast properties that he and good friend and #1 hunting partner Brandon Dillistin own & lease.
Typically in this region of Virgina Russell tells me that the 6 & 7 point gene is very prevalent for bucks and that the 10 point variety is very rare, but there was one buck that he got on trail camera back in 2015 on the 30 acres that struck his fancy. It was a decent 10 pointer, but it never showed itself during shooting times and Russell had past on hope of the Bucks existence since it hadn’t been seen in a couple years.
Saturday morning November 11 a friend named Brian Wallace that hunts the 30 acres was on his way to his stand and happened to grab his sd card from his game camera that he had not checked since back in August. Once Brian got to his stand he began viewing the pics and to his surprise there was the same buck, although now he had put on a few points and mass and was a true Virginia trophy!
Selflessly Brian who is a long term member of the Coast Guard sent the pic to Russell who was also on stand hunting on property that he & Brandon shared. Russell was awestruck and thought how in the world could that buck still be alive and in the area, and avoided all the hunting pressure!
Russell climbed down out of his treestand around lunch time and headed over to the family property and met up with Brian where he promptly thanked him for his service because it was Veterans Day, and they shared in the excitement of the picture of the giant buck!
It was now just past mid day and Russell decided to go to the only food source on the property which was a bean field and freshen up a historic scrape site with a some Tinks synthetic Trophy buck attractant as well as his own urine and he hung a cuddeback camera over the scrape and got out quick.
Sunday morning Russell spent time with his family and wife Kasey before heading in to hunt the bean field that afternoon. All the time even as he was using his Summit climber to ascend the tree near the field he was discounting his chances of seeing this mythical buck, but the words of encouragement he received from long time friend and fellow hunter Gary Warren, whom he had shared the picture with on Saturday stuck in his head. Russell calls Gary one of the top two hunters that he knows and Gary encouraged Russell to hunt that buck until you kill him, because you may never see another one like it.
So up the tree he went and settled in about 2pm. Russell used his Extinguisher deer call to perform a sequence of doe bleats followed by quick buck grunts, continuing to call periodically through the afternoon, but no signs of deer.
As light began to fade slightly a doe appeared and was standing in the mock scrape he had made the day before. Then she moved into the field and began munching on beans. Russell was watching the woods behind her and he caught a glimpse of movement then he noticed some antlers and all the sudden there the buck of his dreams stood!
It quickly dawned on Russell that the old school cuddeback camera model he was using had a flash that goes off when taking pictures. He didn’t want this to scare the buck so he steadied his custom made 45 caliber CVA smokeless muzzleloader, centered the cross hairs on the buck's vitals and gently squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped without movement and Russell sat for a moment in amazement, then called Brandon who was hunting another property and reported the news.Brandon hung up after congratulating his friend and headed straight to the site.
In the meantime Russell reloaded and cautiously walked toward the buck prepared to shoot again if need be.
As he came upon the buck lying on the ground he was overcome with emotion. Standing 6’5” and weighing in at 270lbs Russell tells me that he is typically pretty stoic and not too emotional , but looking down at his buck of a lifetime and reflecting back on Gary’s words he was really moved and tremendously appreciative to the man upstairs.
Once Brandon showed up he too was overcome with joy and once he actually had a chance to grab the buck by its tremendous horns he sat the deers head down and rushed over and gave Russell a big bear hug!
What a great story filled with goodness and perfect timing like so many other Va hunting stories that I have had the honor to cover. Before our discussion ended Russell wanted to acknowledge his father Richard Haynie, who got him started in hunting and has always supported him along the way!
This hunter realizes luck plays a part, but considers scent control to play a major role in his deer hunting success over the years. He dresses head to toe in Scent- lok clothing and stores all of his deer gear in a scent crusher bag and as soon as he climbs the tree he turns on his Ozonics scent eliminating machine.
Lots of history comes from Northern Neck Virginia including the birthplace of our nations first president George Washington, and now comes a historic buck. This buck is a mainframe 10 pointer with kickers off both G2’s and has a total of 13 score able points, its G2’s are just over 12” and m G3’s are just over 13”.
As you can see the buck fits the eye test for sure and has it all. Russell chose Matt Jones to do the taxidermy work and Matt B&C green scored the buck at 183 3/8. We will all be able to see this magical Virginia giant at the Game shows that Russell will attend in 2018.
Congratulations Russell you have been truly blessed with a buck of a lifetime my friend!
*SCORING UPDATE
B&C- 164 7/8
Jeff Phillips 11/17/17
With just under 3000 acres of land and around 100 different stands to hunt in Northern Neck Virginia, Russell Haynie has a lot of options when it comes to Deer hunting, but on Sunday evening November 12, 2017 he chose an option that he will forever cherish.
Russell was born and raised in Richmond County Virginia and his family owns several hundred acres scattered across the Northern Neck region, but one particular 30 acre plot has always been open to extended family and friends and is hunted often. Russell has also hunted this piece over the years, but much favors the vast properties that he and good friend and #1 hunting partner Brandon Dillistin own & lease.
Typically in this region of Virgina Russell tells me that the 6 & 7 point gene is very prevalent for bucks and that the 10 point variety is very rare, but there was one buck that he got on trail camera back in 2015 on the 30 acres that struck his fancy. It was a decent 10 pointer, but it never showed itself during shooting times and Russell had past on hope of the Bucks existence since it hadn’t been seen in a couple years.
Saturday morning November 11 a friend named Brian Wallace that hunts the 30 acres was on his way to his stand and happened to grab his sd card from his game camera that he had not checked since back in August. Once Brian got to his stand he began viewing the pics and to his surprise there was the same buck, although now he had put on a few points and mass and was a true Virginia trophy!
Selflessly Brian who is a long term member of the Coast Guard sent the pic to Russell who was also on stand hunting on property that he & Brandon shared. Russell was awestruck and thought how in the world could that buck still be alive and in the area, and avoided all the hunting pressure!
Russell climbed down out of his treestand around lunch time and headed over to the family property and met up with Brian where he promptly thanked him for his service because it was Veterans Day, and they shared in the excitement of the picture of the giant buck!
It was now just past mid day and Russell decided to go to the only food source on the property which was a bean field and freshen up a historic scrape site with a some Tinks synthetic Trophy buck attractant as well as his own urine and he hung a cuddeback camera over the scrape and got out quick.
Sunday morning Russell spent time with his family and wife Kasey before heading in to hunt the bean field that afternoon. All the time even as he was using his Summit climber to ascend the tree near the field he was discounting his chances of seeing this mythical buck, but the words of encouragement he received from long time friend and fellow hunter Gary Warren, whom he had shared the picture with on Saturday stuck in his head. Russell calls Gary one of the top two hunters that he knows and Gary encouraged Russell to hunt that buck until you kill him, because you may never see another one like it.
So up the tree he went and settled in about 2pm. Russell used his Extinguisher deer call to perform a sequence of doe bleats followed by quick buck grunts, continuing to call periodically through the afternoon, but no signs of deer.
As light began to fade slightly a doe appeared and was standing in the mock scrape he had made the day before. Then she moved into the field and began munching on beans. Russell was watching the woods behind her and he caught a glimpse of movement then he noticed some antlers and all the sudden there the buck of his dreams stood!
It quickly dawned on Russell that the old school cuddeback camera model he was using had a flash that goes off when taking pictures. He didn’t want this to scare the buck so he steadied his custom made 45 caliber CVA smokeless muzzleloader, centered the cross hairs on the buck's vitals and gently squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped without movement and Russell sat for a moment in amazement, then called Brandon who was hunting another property and reported the news.Brandon hung up after congratulating his friend and headed straight to the site.
In the meantime Russell reloaded and cautiously walked toward the buck prepared to shoot again if need be.
As he came upon the buck lying on the ground he was overcome with emotion. Standing 6’5” and weighing in at 270lbs Russell tells me that he is typically pretty stoic and not too emotional , but looking down at his buck of a lifetime and reflecting back on Gary’s words he was really moved and tremendously appreciative to the man upstairs.
Once Brandon showed up he too was overcome with joy and once he actually had a chance to grab the buck by its tremendous horns he sat the deers head down and rushed over and gave Russell a big bear hug!
What a great story filled with goodness and perfect timing like so many other Va hunting stories that I have had the honor to cover. Before our discussion ended Russell wanted to acknowledge his father Richard Haynie, who got him started in hunting and has always supported him along the way!
This hunter realizes luck plays a part, but considers scent control to play a major role in his deer hunting success over the years. He dresses head to toe in Scent- lok clothing and stores all of his deer gear in a scent crusher bag and as soon as he climbs the tree he turns on his Ozonics scent eliminating machine.
Lots of history comes from Northern Neck Virginia including the birthplace of our nations first president George Washington, and now comes a historic buck. This buck is a mainframe 10 pointer with kickers off both G2’s and has a total of 13 score able points, its G2’s are just over 12” and m G3’s are just over 13”.
As you can see the buck fits the eye test for sure and has it all. Russell chose Matt Jones to do the taxidermy work and Matt B&C green scored the buck at 183 3/8. We will all be able to see this magical Virginia giant at the Game shows that Russell will attend in 2018.
Congratulations Russell you have been truly blessed with a buck of a lifetime my friend!
*SCORING UPDATE
B&C- 164 7/8
Jeff Phillips 11/17/17
With just under 3000 acres of land and around 100 different stands to hunt in Northern Neck Virginia, Russell Haynie has a lot of options when it comes to Deer hunting, but on Sunday evening November 12, 2017 he chose an option that he will forever cherish.
Russell was born and raised in Richmond County Virginia and his family owns several hundred acres scattered across the Northern Neck region, but one particular 30 acre plot has always been open to extended family and friends and is hunted often. Russell has also hunted this piece over the years, but much favors the vast properties that he and good friend and #1 hunting partner Brandon Dillistin own & lease.
Typically in this region of Virgina Russell tells me that the 6 & 7 point gene is very prevalent for bucks and that the 10 point variety is very rare, but there was one buck that he got on trail camera back in 2015 on the 30 acres that struck his fancy. It was a decent 10 pointer, but it never showed itself during shooting times and Russell had past on hope of the Bucks existence since it hadn’t been seen in a couple years.
Saturday morning November 11 a friend named Brian Wallace that hunts the 30 acres was on his way to his stand and happened to grab his sd card from his game camera that he had not checked since back in August. Once Brian got to his stand he began viewing the pics and to his surprise there was the same buck, although now he had put on a few points and mass and was a true Virginia trophy!
Selflessly Brian who is a long term member of the Coast Guard sent the pic to Russell who was also on stand hunting on property that he & Brandon shared. Russell was awestruck and thought how in the world could that buck still be alive and in the area, and avoided all the hunting pressure!
Russell climbed down out of his treestand around lunch time and headed over to the family property and met up with Brian where he promptly thanked him for his service because it was Veterans Day, and they shared in the excitement of the picture of the giant buck!
It was now just past mid day and Russell decided to go to the only food source on the property which was a bean field and freshen up a historic scrape site with a some Tinks synthetic Trophy buck attractant as well as his own urine and he hung a cuddeback camera over the scrape and got out quick.
Sunday morning Russell spent time with his family and wife Kasey before heading in to hunt the bean field that afternoon. All the time even as he was using his Summit climber to ascend the tree near the field he was discounting his chances of seeing this mythical buck, but the words of encouragement he received from long time friend and fellow hunter Gary Warren, whom he had shared the picture with on Saturday stuck in his head. Russell calls Gary one of the top two hunters that he knows and Gary encouraged Russell to hunt that buck until you kill him, because you may never see another one like it.
So up the tree he went and settled in about 2pm. Russell used his Extinguisher deer call to perform a sequence of doe bleats followed by quick buck grunts, continuing to call periodically through the afternoon, but no signs of deer.
As light began to fade slightly a doe appeared and was standing in the mock scrape he had made the day before. Then she moved into the field and began munching on beans. Russell was watching the woods behind her and he caught a glimpse of movement then he noticed some antlers and all the sudden there the buck of his dreams stood!
It quickly dawned on Russell that the old school cuddeback camera model he was using had a flash that goes off when taking pictures. He didn’t want this to scare the buck so he steadied his custom made 45 caliber CVA smokeless muzzleloader, centered the cross hairs on the buck's vitals and gently squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped without movement and Russell sat for a moment in amazement, then called Brandon who was hunting another property and reported the news.Brandon hung up after congratulating his friend and headed straight to the site.
In the meantime Russell reloaded and cautiously walked toward the buck prepared to shoot again if need be.
As he came upon the buck lying on the ground he was overcome with emotion. Standing 6’5” and weighing in at 270lbs Russell tells me that he is typically pretty stoic and not too emotional , but looking down at his buck of a lifetime and reflecting back on Gary’s words he was really moved and tremendously appreciative to the man upstairs.
Once Brandon showed up he too was overcome with joy and once he actually had a chance to grab the buck by its tremendous horns he sat the deers head down and rushed over and gave Russell a big bear hug!
What a great story filled with goodness and perfect timing like so many other Va hunting stories that I have had the honor to cover. Before our discussion ended Russell wanted to acknowledge his father Richard Haynie, who got him started in hunting and has always supported him along the way!
This hunter realizes luck plays a part, but considers scent control to play a major role in his deer hunting success over the years. He dresses head to toe in Scent- lok clothing and stores all of his deer gear in a scent crusher bag and as soon as he climbs the tree he turns on his Ozonics scent eliminating machine.
Lots of history comes from Northern Neck Virginia including the birthplace of our nations first president George Washington, and now comes a historic buck. This buck is a mainframe 10 pointer with kickers off both G2’s and has a total of 13 score able points, its G2’s are just over 12” and m G3’s are just over 13”.
As you can see the buck fits the eye test for sure and has it all. Russell chose Matt Jones to do the taxidermy work and Matt B&C green scored the buck at 183 3/8. We will all be able to see this magical Virginia giant at the Game shows that Russell will attend in 2018.
Congratulations Russell you have been truly blessed with a buck of a lifetime my friend!
*SCORING UPDATE
B&C- 164 7/8
Jeff Phillips 11/17/17
