Hunter Drops a Massive 256-Inch Non-Typical Buck in Indiana

• Hunter: Brandon Scott
• Buck: 256 4/8”
• Date of Harvest: Nov. 18, 2024
• Location of Harvest: Indiana
• Weapon of Harvest: CVA Scout .44 Mag.

Brandon Scott got his first glimpse of a unique buck on his Central Indiana property on Nov. 10, 2023.

He explains, “I caught a photo on my trail cam. It’s hard to tell for sure, but it seems to be the same deer. His unique rack, with lots of points, is present in the photo.”

The buck in the image has the same general shape and some of the non-typical characteristics as the one he’d eventually take during the 2024 season. That would be the only time that Brandon, along with his son Jackson (who also deer hunts) — would get a glimpse of that particular buck during the ‘23 season. It would be almost one year to the date that they’d get their second one, and — as it turned out — the wait would be well worth it.

“On November 9, 2024, I had my first encounter with what I believe to be the same deer," Scott remembered. "That evening was a crazy one for deer to be moving. There were three different bucks (traveling) through the field; one small four-pointer and two larger, mature bucks.” 

Brandon’s wife, Alysha, had tagged along with him as they shared a two-man ladder stand on the east side of a long, somewhat narrow CRP field that runs north to south from their barn back to the wooded area of their property. Unbeknownst to them, they were in for quite a spectacle that evening.

One of the mature bucks accidentally got his rack caught up in a single strand of an old barbed wire fence on the western edge of the fallow field. Brandon realized he was looking at a truly giant buck, and he was half-tempted to put some sort of a stalk on him.

“It took all I had to sit in my stand when I wanted to be closer, but hunting teaches patience, right? I really thought there was a chance he would run right by my stand once he broke free,” he explained.

However, that was not the case. He ran the other way, through the field, and disappeared in the brush. At that point Brandon’s heart sank as he figured he’d never see this buck again, but all was not lost thanks to some quick thinking on Alysha’s part.

Alysha had the presence of mind to use her smartphone to zoom in as best she could with the video feature of her camera. Although a bit grainy, the video captures enough useful footage to give one the idea of what kind of behemoth this buck actually was. It’s pretty wild footage, too. The buck strugglesd for a few moments to free himself, but after just over a minute he was successful. After the hunt, they watched it over and over again.

The Scott's wouldn't have long to wait to get another opportunity at the buck as Indiana’s firearms season began on November 16th. For all of the anticipation that “opening weekend” brings to so many folks, it turned out to be a bit of a bust for them.

“My son and I spent a lot of time in the stands that weekend," said Scott. "We were a little disappointed to see only a few small bucks and some does. It sure wasn’t the weekend we had hyped ourselves up for.” 

Brandon then had to reckon with some remodel work on their house that they’d purchased along with the land that next Monday.

“I got up early to spend the day working on the farmhouse. At 3:00 p.m, I called my son to see if he would like to go hunting," Scott explained. "He was frustrated from not seeing much the previous weekend and I was exhausted from hanging drywall all day. I was hoping he didn’t want to go so I could rest. He wanted to go, so I made the trip to pick him up and we were in the stands by 4:00. He decided that instead of sitting in his normal stand he would go into the woods and sit over a scrape line."

Brandon opted to sit in his son’s stand.

"There is a natural funnel on our land that could either help push them toward where I sat, or into the woods where he sat," Scott said. "As I said, I was worn out from hanging drywall. I dozed off in the stand. My son texted me about 5:00 to see if I had seen anything. I told him I hadn’t because I fell asleep. I was really glad his text woke me up because about 15 minutes later I saw a good-sized buck come out from the corner of the woods, heading my way."

The buck stopped broadside from Brandon at just under 100 yards. Scott took a look at the buck and almost immediately saw one of the droptines and realized he was looking at the giant from a little over a week prior. He was actually quite calm as he was able to watch the buck saunter a bit closer from across the field toward him. From there, it was purely instinctual.

“I took a deep breath, put the crosshairs on him, and pulled the trigger," he explained. "I shot, and it was like everything was in slow motion. I could hear the impact of the bullet and knew I hit him. He stumbled forward maybe 30 yards, almost falling over. I could see him go down in the tall thicket of the field. My phone immediately rang with my son asking, ‘Did you get one?’ I said, “Yes!” I think I just killed the giant we have on camera. He said he was on his way and I waited for him to meet me at my stand."

Jackson then called his mom to report the good news to her. Before long, their phones were lighting up their inner circle of family and friends to tell them the good news.

The next day, a former P&Y measurer stopped by the Scott’s to have a look. After looking it over, he told Brandon he thought it’d end up measuring somewhere between 240 and 260 inches as a non-typical. That's when Brandon found a copy of a recent Hoosier Record Buck Program (HRPB) record book and realized at that score he’d be looking at possibly placing fairly high — and comfortably inside the top 10 all-time — in the Firearms Non-Typical category for Indiana. Suffice it to say that he was extremely excited at that point.

Look for the details and final score of the Brandon Scott Buck in the December Issue of NAW. 

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