Even though Hurricane Helene had dislodged his climbing stand, Ohio's Brent Williamson powered through and managed to hunt that afternoon. After a quiet sit, he returned the next day in much nicer weather and put a tag on his target buck!
November 05, 2024
By Clifford Neames
The 135-inch buck that Brent Williamson spotted on his cell camera in September of 2023 disappeared until the following February. Considering that Ohio is brimming to the top with whitetails that size, it was no big loss at the time and the buck was off his radar quickly. Deer season closed and life moved on, until July when Brent put his cameras back in the field.
He began receiving images of a bachelor group, and one of them was a giant with a familiar look. Brent reached out to a friend who confirmed that the “new” buck was that same deer from the previous season, but now it was growing an enormous new set of antlers. And by September, it had morphed into a world-class whitetail.
Brent posted his pictures online, and was immediately contacted by two other hunters familiar with the deer. Indeed, one of them had wounded it in the previous season, but obviously not fatally.
Could this wound be the source of the major upgrade in antlers?
Williamson's buck was a 135-incher in September of 2023, but blossomed into a 190-inch giant as a 4 1/2-year-old. Lesson learned. Determined to keep the deer away from other hunters, Brent began a program to offer the buck anything and everything it needed. He planted a special food plot and provided all the corn it could consume for weeks ahead of the 2024 season. Along the way, he noticed that after he restocked using his side-by-side, the buck would not be around for a few days. Brent decided to walk the corn in, even though it was much more labor intensive. It worked, and the buck was once again on his cameras regularly.
A week before the bow opener, Brent moved a climbing stand into an area of white oaks. He was set. But Hurricane Helene smashed its way across the country, bringing excess rain all the way to Ohio on the 28th, and when Brent got to his stand he noticed a tree had fallen and dislodged it. After a quick fix, his hunt continued. The big buck was a no show, the storm wasn’t quite gone, and he got drenched for his effort — so much for opening day success!
The next afternoon’s weather was much better, but it was still drizzling off and on. Brent decided to go in and wait it out, arriving at 4:15 PM. As it cleared out, deer began moving, and three hours later the 4 ½-year-old giant arrived.
In an attempt to keep the buck nearby, Williamson planted a special food plot for him in the summer of 2024. It's safe to say that his efforts paid off quite nicely! “I looked up, and there he was 40 yards away,” he said. “He was running the other deer off the corn pile!”
Brent drew the bow as he stood and made a quick but deadly shot at only 20 yards. The monster lunged away, but it was too late — he crashed within 35 yards.
The mainframe 10-point features a giant split right brow tine, heavy mass, several stickers and a drop on the left beam, bringing the total score to an even 190 inches.
“I would do it all over again,” Brent exclaimed!
