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A special buck for Sonny Hodges

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As dusk approached on Dec. 1, Sonny Hodges of Hardy was thinking that his long sit in a treestand at his Floyd County hunting spot was going to produce squirrel sightings and nothing else. Then at 5 p.m. Hodges heard leaves crunching behind him. He turned to see this gorgeous buck, about 100 yards away. The buck was about 110 yards away when Hodges pulled the trigger. The buck piled up after running about 40 yards.

Not only was this 12-pointer the biggest buck of Hodges' life, it was extra special because he was hunting with an old Winchester 30-30 that had been passed down from his late grandfather, Perry Dillon.

The rack has a 20-inch outside spread. It also has impressive mass, which is more evident in another shot Hodges sent me. Its most unique feature is the split G-2s on both sides. Hodges said he's been passing up shots at smaller bucks for the past six years. This is what can happen if you have that kind of patience.

Comments

# 1

[January 16, 2008 4:13 PM]

moe

WOW Sonny !!! What a buck. That right there is worth waiting 6 years for. Glad to hear it paid off for ya.....Congrads to ya....Moe

# 2

[January 16, 2008 9:47 PM]

John

Looks as if this deer was hit 4 times, he probaly died of lead poison,,,,

# 3

[January 16, 2008 11:22 PM]

Sonny Hodges

Thanks, John ...

# 4

[January 17, 2008 10:37 AM]

Mark Taylor

I've had one-shot kills that looked a lot worse than this deer afterward. And I've had more-than-one-shot kills that looked better. My record is three shots. Afterwards my friends said, "We thought you were in a shootout up there." That was actually the nicest thing they said. Giving each other a hard time is part of the fun of hunting. But that's among friends.

Sonny didn't say how many shots this took. I don't care. To hit a deer at 100-plus yards with a 30-30 with open sights (I should have included that detail earlier) is tremendous. This buck is awesome, and you can tell by Sonny's smile that he is happy and proud. That's what matters.

mt

# 5

[January 17, 2008 12:10 PM]

Joey H

Any wildlife harvested at 100 plus yards with open sights is about as tuff as it gets congrats on an awesome buck and the shot

# 6

[January 24, 2008 1:49 AM]

Backlash

News worthy

Boy, 6, With Rare Allergy Can Eat Only Deer Meat

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A 6-year-old Plainville, Conn., boy is suffering from a rare food allergy and deer meat is the only solid protein the boy can stomach, according to his family.

Timmy Armstrong has eosinophilic esophagitis, a condition in which food allergies trigger an intense inflammation of the esophagus,

In addition to venison, Timmy is able to stomach small amounts of natural oats, salt and sugar, according to his father, Tim Armstrong Sr. Timmy is fed through a tube.

The disease is relatively new but on the rise, so doctors do not know what the long-term effects will be. Dr. Jeffrey Hyams at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center told WTNH that the disorder has become widespread in the last 10 to 15 years and that doctors are seeing an average of two new cases a week.

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About this blog

Mark Taylor holding a fish.

While growing up in rural Southern Oregon, Mark Taylor developed a passion for the outdoors while he and his younger brother tagged along with their father on fishing, hunting and camping adventures.

Graduating from Northwestern University in 1988, Taylor spent four years as an officer in the U.S. Navy based in Norfolk before moving into journalism.

After five years writing about the military for a Norfolk-based publishing company, he became the outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times in 1998. He lives in Roanoke with his wife and twin daughters.

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