Chad Bennett, October 16, 2009, 11 pt buck, Asheville, NC
Road Crew member Chad Bennett brings us a glimpse of his hometown while hunting in Asheville, NC. Chad harvested an 11 point buck in the mountains of Western North Carolina on October 16, 2009. Although he didn’t capture the hunt on film he did get some footage and photos to share of this awesome deer.
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The story actually starts on a rainy day in late October 2008. I was slipping around and caught a glimpse of a mature 10 point on his feet before dark. The next four days I hunted two different spots but I never saw him again.
The 2009 season rolled around and I decided to set up close to the bedding area where I thought he might be spending most of his time. A few days passed by with no sign of the deer. I decided to go into the bedding area and see where he might be coming out. The buck wasn’t there at the time but I found a faint trail leading in a direction I would not have expected. I decided to follow the trail and it came out in the most unlikely place.
I decided to stay out of the area for a while and went back into the area on October 13th. There were a few promising rubs but nothing special. I decided to leave it for another day and went to another spot to set up to hunt. That evening I harvested a mature doe. The excitement of the first deer of the season got me fired up to set in on getting the buck I had seen the previous year.
Around 1:00pm on October 16th I decided to go in and hang my stand. The buck had definitely been there and I thought he might be holding up until dark to come out. I put my scent-lock on and got back up in the tree stand around 3:00pm.
The evening went by fast. I was excited at the thought of getting to see the deer one more time. The sun set and the light was fading fast. There was an opening about 40 yards in front of me and I saw the 10 point coming my way. He walked all the way up to my stand and I stopped him at about 7 yards. The arrow passed through perfect and I saw him go down about 50 yards in front of me. It took a minute for it to sink in. I realized that this was one of my biggest accomplishments as a bow hunter. Very few hunters get to see a deer like that in Buncombe County, North Carolina let alone get to arrow him with a bow. It was the hunt of a lifetime. Even though I didn’t have the opportunity to film the hunt for the show, it was a blessing to get to share the details of this hunt with family and friends. Be sure to catch the photos and video I shot after the kill on the website for Life on the Road. I’m off to Kansas the first week in November to hunt with a good friend, Stacy Burnette and hopefully we will be able get a whitetail on film! As we travel away from our families keep us in your prayers and we will hopefully be bringing home a big buck from Kansas! Chad
