Sean Chandler with the nice 8-point he got with his CVA Scout .35 Whelen on private property in East Baton Rouge Parish on Jan. 10. The buck weighed 220.4 pounds and had a spread of 14 3/4 inches.
“My name is Sean Chandler. This is the story of my 2023-24’ season buck! The morning started off fairly normal, except it was cold on Jan. 10. After making some coffee and reading my Bible, I almost went back to bed. But I had a day off of work and decided to make the best of it in the woods. After arriving to the box stand a little late, I made myself comfortable and tried to stay warm. Despite being bundled up I still felt a little more cold than I prefer. However I would be warmed up quickly due to some unexpected events. Around 0650, I had four does jump across the trail through the woods, followed by a buck that was not slowing down from a full run. After I collected myself, I grabbed my gun and binoculars to search the thickets around that area for the buck that I had no clue of his size. After a few minutes he chased the does around and made it about 60 yards through the woods to me and I caught a glimpse of his rack. A nice 8-point. He didn’t appear that big, normal 160-180-pound buck.
After attempting a clear shot he pushed the does further into the woods in the opposite direction from me. Once I gave up hope of that buck I let out a few grunt calls with no prevail. Next I calmed myself and studied the woods with great effort. While waiting for more deer, I decided to scroll on my phone for a minute, I just sat and took it all in while thanking God for all his creation and praying for a while. At 7:40, my prayers and efforts were rewarded, a doe stood in the middle of my shooting lane, then hastily walked off. To my surprise, I looked into the woods after hearing some commotion thinking it was an armadillo or squirrel, the same 8-point was running through the brush and trees! He followed exactly where the doe went down the trail. I speedily threw my brand new cva scout, .35 whelen up and waited for a few seconds for him to clear the brush and step into my lane! Right before he came out, in the last thick patch of brush, I grabbed my phone and hit record. At 7:43 he stepped out and I let a shot ring out. After my hearing loss, I watched him buck kick twice and take off! Once again I attempted to calm myself and text my dad the details of the situation. I then sat and waited. About 0800 I looked behind me where he ran to and watched him slowly walk, ears pinned back, tail wagging, limping and mouth agape. I knew he was hit well, but didn’t know how well. Then he slowly hobbled off. About 0915 myself and one other person started the tracking process, never found blood until the first spot he bedded, about 25 yards down his trail. Then started finding bone and thick dark blood. Mind you, I still can not hear my own footsteps in the leaves and brush. So my companion walked in front of me, investigating the situation. After about 50 yards we hear a slight commotion in the hilled area he ran into, and shortly thereafter watch a 2-2.5” dead tree topple over. I’m freaking out at this point thinking he is going to take off and I’ll never see him again…. Slowly walking through the trees, my companion quietly tells me “It is a big 8, he is down.” Which just made me more excited. My companion was walking a short ridge in between a Y shaped fork of two deep washouts in the hillside and the buck was in the right one, I was coming around the right side to try and lay eyes on him. My companion then grabbed a stick and tapped his antlers and told me
“He is dead, this thing is huge!” I then hastily slide down the washout and start really getting excited. After the tagging process, and a good photo session, we start to drag him out of the washout, which was far easier said then done! Next we struggle to get him onto the four wheeler and headed back to the truck with my trophy! On the hoof he weighed 220.4 pounds, a spread of 14 3/4”, 4” brows, 7”G2s and 4”G3s. He had also been a fighter, one of my images depicts a scab that had mostly fallen off, and a decent scar that it had come from.
He was taken on Jan. 10, 2024, at 0743 in the morning, in East Baton Rouge Parish on private property. Still chasing does!!
