Rick Carney finally got him and the big eight-point buck weighed in at 229 pounds.
Carney, 64, of Mapleton has shot quite a few big bucks, he said, although it would be difficult to top his prize from 2005 that weighed 275 pounds.
This season’s buck was special because Carney has been stalking him for 2 ½ years.
“It’s nice when you see something like that walk in front of you,” he said.
Carney has had game cameras set up on old roads trying to catch a glimpse of the big buck as part of watching and learning the animal’s behavior patterns.
It was raining hard on Nov. 7, but Carney said he especially likes to hunt in those conditions because it’s harder for the deer’s acute senses to detect hunters. He saw two doe deer early in his hunt, then walked to the end of a 2,000-foot woods road.
He had started walking back when some does appeared on the road. He watched them for a few minutes. Suddenly he saw horns coming out of the bushes. The big buck walked to the road, stopped broadside and stared at Carney.
Carney shot him with his 300 Winchester Magnum that he had bought from a friend in 1977. He has shot a lot of deer with that gun, he said.
He called a friend to help him get the buck on a truck and to the tagging station.
“It took the two of us to load him. We had to breathe a little heavy, but we got him on there,” he said.
Carney said he passed on some small bucks this season to let them grow into bigger bucks. He tried for an antlerless deer permit in the state’s lottery, but didn’t get one.
The latest buck will be a head and shoulder mount, like two other significant mounts he has. He also has numerous racks mounted on plaques.
He puts his Big Buck Club patches from The Maine Sportsman magazine and any news articles in a frame to tell the story of his special deer, he said.
Carney only hunts during rifle season, saying that it’s too cold during muzzleloader season. He enjoys his hunting hours as his personal quiet time, and loves the outdoor life.
He has been hunting since he was 5 years old, at first with his father and grandfather, Carney said. Now he is passing it on to his sons. He has eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild as well.
“They are too young, but trust me, they will be out there,” Carney said.
