By Jeff Phillips
Most Virginia deer hunters consider November the magical month, but December 2018 has proven to be a remarkable Big Buck harvest month in our state, and Tom Harvey of Campbell County is a shining example, having his Big Buck wish list fulfilled on December 4th.
Tom is an old school hunter spending most of his deer season with a bow in his hand, which includes both Long Bow and Recurve versions. He has also been blessed to have the opportunity to hunt outside of Virginia in such places as New Mexico and the Northwest Territory of Alberta Canada. He has taken elk, bear and deer in these areas including a 211″ buck in Wisconsin in the late 90’s.
With many deer hunts under his belt, Tom knows just how difficult it is to harvest a Boone and Crockett buck in Virginia, especially when it comes to hunting with primitive archery equipment.
On Tuesday December 4th Tom was off work and had plans to burn several brush piles that he had on his Campbell County property, so as the sun rose so did Tom and after a cup of coffee, he headed out to get the brush burning started.
Not long after being outside, he saw a few small bucks running through a swag in the mountain above him. He could tell by the way the deer were acting that they had been pushed, and not long after that he saw an 8 pointer travel the same path, again moving quickly as if being pushed.
This area of Virginia allows for dog hunting and Tom felt this was most likely the reason for the deer movement. The unusual action got him thinking that he should probably arm himself with a rifle, so he went back inside and grabbed his Thompson Center Prohunter 7mm-08 and came back out again ready to start his project.
About that time, he heard more commotion above him on the mountain, but this time he could tell that it wasn’t your average run of the mill deer. Matter of fact, Tom remembered getting a bit queasy at the sight of what appeared to be a true giant Virginia mountain whitetail. The buck much like the deer that came before him was moving as if he was being pushed, but this buck was a bit more cautious hanging tight to the laurel thickets. Tom could now hear dogs in the distance and knew he needed to take the first quality shot that presented itself.
Tom grabbed his rifle that had been resting against an oak tree and pointed it in the buck’s direction, patiently waiting for it to emerge from the laurels and give him a shot. That chance did indeed come quickly as the mountain monster cleared the thicket at about 100 yards and gave Tom the money shot.
Without hesitation, he dismissed a round from his rifle and the big buck fell in its tracks. Even at 100 yards away he could tell that this was a very special buck!
After making his way up the mountain and to the spot where the buck lay dead. he stood for a moment in amazement of what just took place, and when he got a good look at all the unique features that the buck had on top of its head, he decided to phone the game warden just so everything could be properly documented and witnessed.
Although Tom was unaware of this great Virginia buck, it was only hours after he harvested it that many local folks began to come forward to share their trail camera pictures as well as videos through the years. This buck was legendary in those parts. The game warden upon seeing the buck even said “this is the buck that has been causing a ruckus in the local deer hunting community over the past few years”
The key component in this story is very much like most Big Buck harvests, the hunter was at the right place at the right time, and got the job done.
Early non-official green scores have this buck over 210″ B&C, so there is no doubt that this buck will fare well if taken to the Virginia big game shows that will be held in 2019. I will keep everyone updated as the official score becomes available. Regardless of its score, this great Virginia buck doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the “eye test”.
