Hunt-club guest takes big Anson whitetail

An invitation to his boss’s hunt club resulted in Anthony Nance taking this great Anson County buck.

Anson County continues to produce large white-tailed bucks, and last November featured offered another impressive buck.

“He’s a main-frame 10-pointer that’s been green scored at 158 1/8 inches that a lot of people had been after for three years, but they only got trail-camera photos,” said Anthony Nance of Indian Trail.

Nance, a 30-year-old Union County hardwood floor installer, was invited to a hunt on the Grey Hunting Club by his employer, Bain Myatt, who is a member. The club, which has about 20 members, leases a large section of Anson County land marked for timber harvests.

"The property has a creek on one side and the Pee Dee River on the other," Nance said. "It’s all pine trees and hardwoods. I was in an old-school climber I’ve had forever on the top of a ridge. My boss had trail-camera photos of the deer, but they mostly were at night."

The rut was in full swing by Nov. 23, and the buck made the mistake of chasing does in daylight.

"My stand was in some pines on top of a hill with several (shooting) lanes," Nance said. "I’d killed an 8- and a 10-pointer out of the same tree (in the past).

"I saw the buck come out of some thick pines. He was walking in some of the thinned-out pines to my left and chasing a doe. The doe was jumping around; her movement caught my eye first, then I saw his antlers moving up the hill. I said, ‘Wow’ and had to catch my breath I was so excited."

When the buck stopped 65 yards from his stand, Nance raised his Stevens .270 rifle and put the crosshairs of the Simmons scope on the animal’s shoulder.

"I was totally camouflaged; (I) had on a head net and camo gloves," he said. "There was no way he could see me."

When Nance pulled the trigger, the buck crashed to the ground almost immediately.

"I hit him broadside in his right shoulder and the bullet went through both lungs," Nance said. "He turned to run but he crashed after going five yards."

The buck’s almost symmetrical main frame 5x5 rack had only one small abnormal point near the end of the left main beam. It had an inside spread of 18 4/8 inches and main beams longer than 24 inches with four tines between 7 7/8 and 10 1/8 inches.