Northeast Man Suddenly Surprised With Massive, Old Connecticut Buck

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Andrew Poirier and his friends expect 100-inch bucks on their place in Connecticut. The tract is small, so there is really no chance to manage for trophy bucks. Instead, they enjoy hunting together and take what the land has to offer.

In 2022, the option of pursuing a bigger buck came when their cell cameras notified them of a newcomer deer. The buck’s rack was tall, narrow and carried heavy mass, and the beams crossed over each other. It was the largest deer any of them had ever seen on the property. No one had seen him before the photos came in that evening, so he quickly shot to the top of their target-buck list.

Andrew had work and family commitments the next day, so he could not hunt the buck. Then the wind was all wrong to go into the area where the new deer appeared. The clock was ticking, and no one knew how long the new buck might stick around.

On Sept. 28, one of Andrew’s friends eased into the thickets and set up in a tree saddle. The effort paid off, and he spotted the buck staging in the brush just as legal light faded. The big buck was feeding on pin oaks, so the hunter sat waiting for an hour after dark, trying not to spook it when he left.

The next day, with a favorable wind, three of the group snuck back in and set up surrounding the area for an afternoon hunt. And after just a few minutes, Andrew spotted the freak rack just 60 yards from his tree. The buck was feeding again, and he seemed relaxed but moving slowly.

He wove his way back into the thicket, so Andrew made two soft grunts to pull him closer. The buck responded, easing back into the opening and thrashing a small tree with the side of his rack only 40 yards away.

“He couldn’t get the trunk between his beams, because of the crossed beams,” Andrew recalls. “I sat there for 20 minutes telling myself: ‘Patience, Patience, Patience,’ as he was moving in closer.”

When the monster buck got to 8 yards, there was no more waiting. The buck looked away, and Andrew sent a broadhead through both lungs! After two short bounds, the deer began swaying. “And just as I was considering a second shot, he rolled over,” Andrew says!

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The Northeast Big Buck Club certified the 5 1/2-year-old deer was the largest non-typical taken in Connecticut in 2022. The buck scores 154 6/8.