Buck Score: 15-pointer (180-plus inches)
Date of Harvest: November 21, 2022
Location of Harvest: Wicomico County, Maryland
Weapon of Harvest: Mathews V3
Daniel Calloway tagged a phenomenal 5 ½-year-old buck this season. Even more interesting is that it had 15 points, scores well over 180 inches, and came out of Maryland. He knew about the deer last year, but this fall, the buck became a priority.
It started with about a dozen trail camera photos in 2021. He used a specific hedgerow to travel from bed to feed. So, fast forward to 2022. Having hunted the area for about five years, he thought he knew the property well enough to catch up to the buck.
“The first day I got a picture of this deer was on October 28,” Calloway said. “I immediately knew what deer it was from the mass and shape of his rack from the year prior. I hunted for that deer steady over the next few weeks, as access allows easy entry and exit without disturbing the deer around me.”
He had two in-person encounters with the buck that didn’t come to fruition. The first was on November 17, when the buck passed by but didn’t enter a shooting lane. The second was on November 18, when Calloway did get a shot opportunity, but the arrow clipped a limb and sailed over the buck’s back. “I went home devastated, knowing I’d probably missed my opportunity at this giant,” he said. “I tried the following evening once again, but had my hunt ruined by a lady walking the woods talking to her cat as she tried to penetrate the thicket to get back home. I figured all hope was lost at this point.”
But then, on November 21, 2022, everything aligned. The buck hit a camera that morning. It was three days after a cold front hit. Clear skies, high pressure, and temps with highs in the 40s set the stage with solid conditions. Hope remained. Calloway went hunting.
He planned to do a hang-and-hunt but forgot his straps in the truck. So, after settling into the climbing stand that was already in the woods, the afternoon action kicked off with birds and squirrels. The afternoon air was filled with blue jays and other songbirds. Traffic buzzed on a nearby highway. Due to low temperatures, the frost stayed on the ground for quite some time. Eventually, some of it burned off, but much remained.
Calloway’s stand location was in a bottleneck that connected to a large block of timber that ran for several hundred yards to a field of standing soybeans. The stand has two holly trees growing next to his stand location, which offered extra concealment. “The deer would bed along the grown-up, grassy, vine-filled field that were spotty along the hedge that ran toward the fields,” Calloway said. “The terrain was mixed hardwoods with fingers of holly trees running along its length allowing travel in secure cover throughout the woods.”
Around 3 p.m., deer started moving. “I heard a loud snap, looked to my right, and saw the buck standing at the edge of the woods,” Calloway said. “A doe busted into the woods passing by at 32 yards. I assumed he was about to do the same. I got ready, and as he passed by on the same trail, I made several attempts to get him to stop. He ran into the clearing back behind me and spent the next hour with the doe and two smaller bucks mere yards from my stand.”
About 4:45 p.m., he heard a deer approaching from the thicket next to him. The big deer appeared 20 yards away with a large, mature doe. It freshened a scrape and continued straight toward Calloway’s position.
A few seconds later, he came to full draw, and waited for an opportunity. The buck stopped at 8 yards quartering-away, and Calloway sent it. The arrow blew through the vitals, entering about 6 inches behind the shoulder and exiting through the sternum. The deer ran 70 yards, stopped, stood still, and then slowly walked off.
Given the buck’s reaction, and cold temperatures, he and his father waited until the next morning to begin blood trailing. The blood dwindled, and it soon became a body search. “We suspected the deer had gone across the property line and we didn’t obtain permission until 3 p.m. the day after I shot him,” he said. “Thankfully it was cold all day.” They recovered the deer about 150 yards away in a hedgerow.
“To me, it’s all about the chase and the challenge of pursing older-age-class bucks. When I saw the first picture of this deer, I knew it was my goal for the season. The heavy-horned buck carried his mass throughout the entire rack. Deer with such qualities are hard to come by around here. I knew he would be a challenge to get, and that just drives me more. I have a huge respect for whitetail deer, and wildlife in general.”
Reflecting on the hunt, there are two things that Calloway believes played significant roles in his success for this deer. “I use a product called Carbon Synergy,” Calloway said. “It’s a carbon powder that absorbs odors and can be applied in water as a spray, a dip application for your clothes, or dry as a powder application. On the evening I shot the buck, he stayed 70 yards downwind with five other deer for an hour and 45 minutes and walked straight to my tree.”
“I also believe in being mobile, and when things are not happening, you need to adjust your game plan and get closer to where you believe those deer are spending the most time,” he continued. “I’ve killed more big deer out of a climber then any stand set. Last fall, I killed a 170 1/8-inch buck out of the climber after several days of sitting and not seeing the deer and taking that climber and sneaking into the edges of bedding on the first sit.”
While the Maryland buck hasn’t been officially scored, the big 15-pointer likely scores 180-plus inches. Regardless, it’s a true trophy, and one Calloway is certainly proud of. “I’d love to hit a reset and do it all over again. Sometimes you win and sometimes they win, but at least you got to play the game and be out there with nature and see all it has to offer. That’s what this deer means to me, and I’ll always have these memories and stories to share for a lifetime.”
