The 287-Pound South Carolina Whitetail That Almost Outsmarted a Legendary Deer Hunter

# The setup: a family hunt and a missed shot In December 1942 Archibald Rutledge took his son Middleton, daughter-in-law Flora, and nine-year-old granddaughter Elise on a month-long stay at his plantation. On a morning hunt Rutledge placed Middleton on a stand along the drive and put Flora and Elise on a stump at a spot they called Dogwood Hill. Rutledge then moved to an adjacent dry pond to take his own stand.

Flora was given clear instructions: sit, don't read or smoke, and watch straight ahead. Minutes later Rutledge heard two shots and screams. He ran back to find Flora weeping—she believed she had missed "the biggest buck in all the world." Elise, who had watched the scene, confirmed Flora had not hit the deer.

On the second hunt his driver, Prince, took hounds to the head of the drive. Rutledge sat cautiously silent, gun ready, and listened for sign. A burst of noise in a patch of leafless bushes signaled the buck's approach. Rutledge heard twigs crack and heavy hoofbeats before he saw antlers rising and falling through the cover.

# The encounter: a monstrous buck and a dangerous position When the deer appeared it came straight at Rutledge. He believed this was the same buck Flora had missed. The deer proved exceptional: Rutledge said he had seen thousands of whitetails but none equal to this animal.

The buck stopped about 55 yards away and, deliberately, placed itself between two large yellow pines. That stance left almost nothing exposed except the animal's breast and brisket. The brisket sits ahead of the heart and acts as an armored shield when a deer stands squarely in cover.

Rutledge put his gun on the deer. He carried an old 12-gauge Parker double with 32-inch barrels. In the left-hand barrel was a shell loaded with No. 1 buckshot—16 pellets. Rutledge assessed the situation: at 40 yards a shotgun with buckshot is typically deadly, but scatter increases by 50–55 yards and uncertainty grows.

# The decision point: shoot or wait? Rutledge reasoned about the buck's senses and likely behavior. The deer had not shown obvious movement to detect him, and deer rely more on scent than sight for close detection when hunters remain motionless. Rutledge also worried the buck might detect his scent and break back through the thicket, ending the opportunity.

Faced with a narrow window—if the buck stepped forward enough to expose a shoulder and flank Rutledge judged he could make the shot—he still had to decide whether to fire at long range with buckshot. The narrative in this account reaches the moment he answers that question.

# What the excerpt records and what it doesn't The excerpt ends as Rutledge weighs the shot and decides. It records the location names (Wambaw Corner, Dogwood Hill), the people present (Middleton, Flora, Elise), the driver Prince, the gun and load, and the buck's defensive positioning. The outcome of Rutledge's decision is not included in the provided text.

This is a first-person hunting recollection focused on situational judgment: how a hunter evaluates distance, spread, cover, and the anatomy of a deer when a rare opportunity appears.