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Modern day deer hunting is a bit different than days of old. Technology has afforded us the ability to take inventory of our hunting properties through the use of trail cameras, and often times we are able to follow particular deer through the years and pin a name and age on them.
But when a Virginia Giant with no prior photo shoot or past sightings walks into a hunters view the word "surreal" comes into play.
That's precisely how November 10th, of 2019 unfolded for 19-year-old TJ Rogers of Rawlings, Virginia. TJ and his step brother Mason Summerfield sat out on an afternoon still hunt on a piece of property that their hunt club leases in Prince George County. Prior scouting of the property led TJ to carry his climber to a particular spot where several habitats converge and deer sign was abundant.
After climbing into his chosen tree he sat for several hours without seeing anything but frolicking squirrels, and as shooting light began to wane again he heard the leaves rustling and almost dismissed it for nut gatherers, but as he looked up he immediately noticed a buck with well-endowed headgear moving through the woods on a mission. All TJ could remember of that first glimpse was that the buck had at least 7 points on one side and looked to be massive.
The buck was approximately 100 yards away but traveling in the opposite direction so a shot needed to be taken soon. TJ tried several times unsuccessfully to stop the buck with grunt calls, now he knew he would have to take a shot as soon as the woods provided an opening. The buck finally came to a window type opening and TJ dismissed a 50-caliber round from his Traditions muzzleloader and the buck fell immediately!
As TJ was trying to regain his composure he sent a text to his stepbrother to alert him as to what had just happened, and as he he hit "send" on the message he looked up to see the buck get to his feet and gingerly walk back from where he came. TJ now began to reload as the buck walked out of view, but seemed to crash again within ear shot.
Now the anxiety was beginning to build, Mason showed up moments later and TJ filled him in on the situation. The hunters decided to walk to where the buck first fell to try and start putting the pieces of the puzzle together. As they arrived, they found blood but determined by the smell that it had food matter mixed in so they knew that a stomach hit was apparent. They waited 45 minutes and did a short grid search in the direction the buck had last traveled, but the search turned up nothing and as darkness now fell upon them they decided to back out and return the next day.
A sleepless night was spent for TJ, but he did recruit the help of a blood trailing service dog for the search and the next morning they returned to the property. TJ's father, Tony accompanied the search party as well and off they went. Those of you who are familiar with Virginia's far eastern counties know that there are lowlands which often contain swampy areas. As fate would have it the blood trail ended in the swamp and some of it was as deep as 5 feet, and after a little more searching with the dog they ended up buckless.
TJ unwilling to give up, went and got his chest waders and returned to the swamp and got in the ice-cold water and searched for hours, but the swamp search rendered nothing but despair.
The replay of the events that transpired on the afternoon of November 10th was on a constant stream in TJ's mind and the conversations with family and friends became exhausting throughout the holidays.
As the time passed TJ began to think that maybe the mythical Virginia whitetail that he was so lucky to encounter had survived the hit, at least that was his hope. "It was the only way I could keep myself sane" he told me.
On December 28th his hunt club organized a man-drive on that same property, and one of the older hunt club members ask if TJ would take his stand that was deeper into the property. He accepted the request and thought at least it will provide another chance to search for the buck that had stolen his heart and mind for the past 48 days.
TJ walked deep into the swamp using higher ground and as he made his way around a blown down tree the buck that he was trying to put into his past was now going to be part of his future forever!
The Giant Virginia swamp monsters skeletal remains with headgear intact was laying on a small island only 50 yards from where they had last searched.
As surreal as the initial sighting was, this time it doubled as TJ knelt down and put his hands on the 27 score-able point rack!
"I had no words, but only tears of joy as I stood there with a flood of emotions going through me" said TJ.
Thank you for taking me along on the journey TJ, I enjoyed every step, and I will keep the Va Hunting Community posted on the B&C score as it becomes available.
I'm thinking 200 plus:)
Jeff Phillips
1/20/20
Modern day deer hunting is a bit different than days of old. Technology has afforded us the ability to take inventory of our hunting properties through the use of trail cameras, and often times we are able to follow particular deer through the years and pin a name and age on them.
But when a Virginia Giant with no prior photo shoot or past sightings walks into a hunters view the word "surreal" comes into play.
That's precisely how November 10th, of 2019 unfolded for 19-year-old TJ Rogers of Rawlings, Virginia. TJ and his step brother Mason Summerfield sat out on an afternoon still hunt on a piece of property that their hunt club leases in Prince George County. Prior scouting of the property led TJ to carry his climber to a particular spot where several habitats converge and deer sign was abundant.
After climbing into his chosen tree he sat for several hours without seeing anything but frolicking squirrels, and as shooting light began to wane again he heard the leaves rustling and almost dismissed it for nut gatherers, but as he looked up he immediately noticed a buck with well-endowed headgear moving through the woods on a mission. All TJ could remember of that first glimpse was that the buck had at least 7 points on one side and looked to be massive.
The buck was approximately 100 yards away but traveling in the opposite direction so a shot needed to be taken soon. TJ tried several times unsuccessfully to stop the buck with grunt calls, now he knew he would have to take a shot as soon as the woods provided an opening. The buck finally came to a window type opening and TJ dismissed a 50-caliber round from his Traditions muzzleloader and the buck fell immediately!
As TJ was trying to regain his composure he sent a text to his stepbrother to alert him as to what had just happened, and as he he hit "send" on the message he looked up to see the buck get to his feet and gingerly walk back from where he came. TJ now began to reload as the buck walked out of view, but seemed to crash again within ear shot.
Now the anxiety was beginning to build, Mason showed up moments later and TJ filled him in on the situation. The hunters decided to walk to where the buck first fell to try and start putting the pieces of the puzzle together. As they arrived, they found blood but determined by the smell that it had food matter mixed in so they knew that a stomach hit was apparent. They waited 45 minutes and did a short grid search in the direction the buck had last traveled, but the search turned up nothing and as darkness now fell upon them they decided to back out and return the next day.
A sleepless night was spent for TJ, but he did recruit the help of a blood trailing service dog for the search and the next morning they returned to the property. TJ's father, Tony accompanied the search party as well and off they went. Those of you who are familiar with Virginia's far eastern counties know that there are lowlands which often contain swampy areas. As fate would have it the blood trail ended in the swamp and some of it was as deep as 5 feet, and after a little more searching with the dog they ended up buckless.
TJ unwilling to give up, went and got his chest waders and returned to the swamp and got in the ice-cold water and searched for hours, but the swamp search rendered nothing but despair.
The replay of the events that transpired on the afternoon of November 10th was on a constant stream in TJ's mind and the conversations with family and friends became exhausting throughout the holidays.
As the time passed TJ began to think that maybe the mythical Virginia whitetail that he was so lucky to encounter had survived the hit, at least that was his hope. "It was the only way I could keep myself sane" he told me.
On December 28th his hunt club organized a man-drive on that same property, and one of the older hunt club members ask if TJ would take his stand that was deeper into the property. He accepted the request and thought at least it will provide another chance to search for the buck that had stolen his heart and mind for the past 48 days.
TJ walked deep into the swamp using higher ground and as he made his way around a blown down tree the buck that he was trying to put into his past was now going to be part of his future forever!
The Giant Virginia swamp monsters skeletal remains with headgear intact was laying on a small island only 50 yards from where they had last searched.
As surreal as the initial sighting was, this time it doubled as TJ knelt down and put his hands on the 27 score-able point rack!
"I had no words, but only tears of joy as I stood there with a flood of emotions going through me" said TJ.
Thank you for taking me along on the journey TJ, I enjoyed every step, and I will keep the Va Hunting Community posted on the B&C score as it becomes available.
I'm thinking 200 plus:)
Jeff Phillips
1/20/20
Modern day deer hunting is a bit different than days of old. Technology has afforded us the ability to take inventory of our hunting properties through the use of trail cameras, and often times we are able to follow particular deer through the years and pin a name and age on them.
But when a Virginia Giant with no prior photo shoot or past sightings walks into a hunters view the word "surreal" comes into play.
That's precisely how November 10th, of 2019 unfolded for 19-year-old TJ Rogers of Rawlings, Virginia. TJ and his step brother Mason Summerfield sat out on an afternoon still hunt on a piece of property that their hunt club leases in Prince George County. Prior scouting of the property led TJ to carry his climber to a particular spot where several habitats converge and deer sign was abundant.
After climbing into his chosen tree he sat for several hours without seeing anything but frolicking squirrels, and as shooting light began to wane again he heard the leaves rustling and almost dismissed it for nut gatherers, but as he looked up he immediately noticed a buck with well-endowed headgear moving through the woods on a mission. All TJ could remember of that first glimpse was that the buck had at least 7 points on one side and looked to be massive.
The buck was approximately 100 yards away but traveling in the opposite direction so a shot needed to be taken soon. TJ tried several times unsuccessfully to stop the buck with grunt calls, now he knew he would have to take a shot as soon as the woods provided an opening. The buck finally came to a window type opening and TJ dismissed a 50-caliber round from his Traditions muzzleloader and the buck fell immediately!
As TJ was trying to regain his composure he sent a text to his stepbrother to alert him as to what had just happened, and as he he hit "send" on the message he looked up to see the buck get to his feet and gingerly walk back from where he came. TJ now began to reload as the buck walked out of view, but seemed to crash again within ear shot.
Now the anxiety was beginning to build, Mason showed up moments later and TJ filled him in on the situation. The hunters decided to walk to where the buck first fell to try and start putting the pieces of the puzzle together. As they arrived, they found blood but determined by the smell that it had food matter mixed in so they knew that a stomach hit was apparent. They waited 45 minutes and did a short grid search in the direction the buck had last traveled, but the search turned up nothing and as darkness now fell upon them they decided to back out and return the next day.
A sleepless night was spent for TJ, but he did recruit the help of a blood trailing service dog for the search and the next morning they returned to the property. TJ's father, Tony accompanied the search party as well and off they went. Those of you who are familiar with Virginia's far eastern counties know that there are lowlands which often contain swampy areas. As fate would have it the blood trail ended in the swamp and some of it was as deep as 5 feet, and after a little more searching with the dog they ended up buckless.
TJ unwilling to give up, went and got his chest waders and returned to the swamp and got in the ice-cold water and searched for hours, but the swamp search rendered nothing but despair.
The replay of the events that transpired on the afternoon of November 10th was on a constant stream in TJ's mind and the conversations with family and friends became exhausting throughout the holidays.
As the time passed TJ began to think that maybe the mythical Virginia whitetail that he was so lucky to encounter had survived the hit, at least that was his hope. "It was the only way I could keep myself sane" he told me.
On December 28th his hunt club organized a man-drive on that same property, and one of the older hunt club members ask if TJ would take his stand that was deeper into the property. He accepted the request and thought at least it will provide another chance to search for the buck that had stolen his heart and mind for the past 48 days.
TJ walked deep into the swamp using higher ground and as he made his way around a blown down tree the buck that he was trying to put into his past was now going to be part of his future forever!
The Giant Virginia swamp monsters skeletal remains with headgear intact was laying on a small island only 50 yards from where they had last searched.
As surreal as the initial sighting was, this time it doubled as TJ knelt down and put his hands on the 27 score-able point rack!
"I had no words, but only tears of joy as I stood there with a flood of emotions going through me" said TJ.
Thank you for taking me along on the journey TJ, I enjoyed every step, and I will keep the Va Hunting Community posted on the B&C score as it becomes available.
I'm thinking 200 plus:)
Jeff Phillips
1/20/20
Modern day deer hunting is a bit different than days of old. Technology has afforded us the ability to take inventory of our hunting properties through the use of trail cameras, and often times we are able to follow particular deer through the years and pin a name and age on them.
But when a Virginia Giant with no prior photo shoot or past sightings walks into a hunters view the word "surreal" comes into play.
That's precisely how November 10th, of 2019 unfolded for 19-year-old TJ Rogers of Rawlings, Virginia. TJ and his step brother Mason Summerfield sat out on an afternoon still hunt on a piece of property that their hunt club leases in Prince George County. Prior scouting of the property led TJ to carry his climber to a particular spot where several habitats converge and deer sign was abundant.
After climbing into his chosen tree he sat for several hours without seeing anything but frolicking squirrels, and as shooting light began to wane again he heard the leaves rustling and almost dismissed it for nut gatherers, but as he looked up he immediately noticed a buck with well-endowed headgear moving through the woods on a mission. All TJ could remember of that first glimpse was that the buck had at least 7 points on one side and looked to be massive.
The buck was approximately 100 yards away but traveling in the opposite direction so a shot needed to be taken soon. TJ tried several times unsuccessfully to stop the buck with grunt calls, now he knew he would have to take a shot as soon as the woods provided an opening. The buck finally came to a window type opening and TJ dismissed a 50-caliber round from his Traditions muzzleloader and the buck fell immediately!
As TJ was trying to regain his composure he sent a text to his stepbrother to alert him as to what had just happened, and as he he hit "send" on the message he looked up to see the buck get to his feet and gingerly walk back from where he came. TJ now began to reload as the buck walked out of view, but seemed to crash again within ear shot.
Now the anxiety was beginning to build, Mason showed up moments later and TJ filled him in on the situation. The hunters decided to walk to where the buck first fell to try and start putting the pieces of the puzzle together. As they arrived, they found blood but determined by the smell that it had food matter mixed in so they knew that a stomach hit was apparent. They waited 45 minutes and did a short grid search in the direction the buck had last traveled, but the search turned up nothing and as darkness now fell upon them they decided to back out and return the next day.
A sleepless night was spent for TJ, but he did recruit the help of a blood trailing service dog for the search and the next morning they returned to the property. TJ's father, Tony accompanied the search party as well and off they went. Those of you who are familiar with Virginia's far eastern counties know that there are lowlands which often contain swampy areas. As fate would have it the blood trail ended in the swamp and some of it was as deep as 5 feet, and after a little more searching with the dog they ended up buckless.
TJ unwilling to give up, went and got his chest waders and returned to the swamp and got in the ice-cold water and searched for hours, but the swamp search rendered nothing but despair.
The replay of the events that transpired on the afternoon of November 10th was on a constant stream in TJ's mind and the conversations with family and friends became exhausting throughout the holidays.
As the time passed TJ began to think that maybe the mythical Virginia whitetail that he was so lucky to encounter had survived the hit, at least that was his hope. "It was the only way I could keep myself sane" he told me.
On December 28th his hunt club organized a man-drive on that same property, and one of the older hunt club members ask if TJ would take his stand that was deeper into the property. He accepted the request and thought at least it will provide another chance to search for the buck that had stolen his heart and mind for the past 48 days.
TJ walked deep into the swamp using higher ground and as he made his way around a blown down tree the buck that he was trying to put into his past was now going to be part of his future forever!
The Giant Virginia swamp monsters skeletal remains with headgear intact was laying on a small island only 50 yards from where they had last searched.
As surreal as the initial sighting was, this time it doubled as TJ knelt down and put his hands on the 27 score-able point rack!
"I had no words, but only tears of joy as I stood there with a flood of emotions going through me" said TJ.
Thank you for taking me along on the journey TJ, I enjoyed every step, and I will keep the Va Hunting Community posted on the B&C score as it becomes available.
I'm thinking 200 plus:)
Jeff Phillips
1/20/20
