Ryan Byrd finally caught up to this buck after four years of hunting it.
September 18, 2024
By Josh Honeycutt
Ryan Byrd had four years of trail camera photos of a really big deer. Unfortunately, the deer always disappeared in September. Byrd’s neighbor had photos of the deer in fall and winter. They were in contact with each other quite often. By 2023, they think the deer was 7 ½ or 8 ½ years old.
Incredibly, a black bear was living in the same area. It kept running the deer off, which increased the challenge.
“For several weeks, it was there every other day, or so,” he said. “I’d have pictures of that big deer standing there, him running off, and that big bear coming in there. It was getting to the point of not knowing what to do about that bear. Then, one day, it decided to not show up anymore.”
Byrd’s hunting area is a big ridge that consists completely of timber. Once the season opened, he threw several hunts at this buck, but each one was unfruitful. Unfortunately, he had to go back to work on Tuesday and Wednesday. Like clockwork, on Wednesday, September 6, the buck showed during daylight. He took off Thursday and Friday to hunt, but the deer didn’t show.
Each year, the buck disappeared in September and moved to a neighboring property. Fortunately for Byrd, in 2023, he arrowed the deer before it transitioned to its fall range. On September 9, 2023, Byrd hunted again. To cut down on overheating and sweating, he wore a t-shirt and shorts up the hill. Further up the hill, he changed into his hunting clothes. Eventually, he settled into his hang-on treestand. With all his gear ready and in place, he started scanning his surroundings. His stand was on an oak flat, mostly of the white oak variety.
“I had been driving my side-by-side halfway up this hillside,” he said. “I’d been parking there and walking to cut down on sweating. He was there five out of seven days during daylight the week before. I just had it in my head that he had me patterned with the sound of my buggy. So, I parked at the bottom of the hill and walked in.”
The day brought rain during the morning hours. So, by that afternoon, the landscape cooled off. Byrd expected deer to move. The conditions were very similar to when the deer daylighted on Wednesday.
The action was slow until the last hour of daylight. Around 7:10 p.m., the big fellow walked into view. He appeared about 80-90 yards away and popped up out of a hollow. He headed straight for one of Byrd’s shooting lanes.
Finally, the buck offered a shot. Byrd had already ranged his lanes. Eventually, the buck turned broadside at 27 yards. Ederer settled the pin, and took the shot. It smacked the vitals and the buck bolted for cover out of sight.
This massive deer looks great from every angle, and scored 215 inches. “I couldn’t see him, but I could see a bunch of trees, and it sounded like a crash,” Byrd said. “I knew he was done, but I couldn’t make myself believe it. He ran about 75 yards and fell over.”
One of his friends drove his buggy up the hill and met him. They retrieved the arrow, and it was covered in good blood.
“That’s when the nerves really set in,” he said.
About an hour after shooting the buck, he and his friend walked over and found the deer.
“Anybody who knows me knows I’ve been obsessed with this deer for years now,” Byrd said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t try to kill him the first year I had him on camera. He just kept giving me the slip. I’d run cameras through November, and he’d just never show back up. I’ve been after this deer hard.”
Obviously, it all worked out, and he had a 215-inch buck to show for it.
