Marine Corps Veteran Tags Double Droptine Buck

Currier Gill, 26, arrowed a giant Kentucky drop-tine buck on Nov. 2. He and his hunting pals operate two-dozen trail cameras on the properties they manage, keeping tabs on deer health and buck movement.

“We had photos of this buck for years and watched him grow into a nice 10-pointer last year,” says Gill, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan. “In fact, I sent a friend to try and take him last year, but he shot another nice 10-pointer instead.”

The buck vanished during the 2020 season but reappeared in 2021, significantly larger and with a giant drop tine on one side of its rack.

Rain was clearing to a light drizzle when Gill shot the 13-pointer from his treestand 40 feet up on the edge of a swamp.

“I was after bigger bucks in that area,” Gill said.

The drizzle quit about 8 a.m., and Gill heard a buck grunt close behind him. He turned and saw the drop-tine buck just 15 yards away.

“I didn’t know that buck was in the woods, and I thought I blew it because he took off running,” Gill said.

At 4 p.m., Gill returned to the same stand. Two scrapes were within 30 yards of the tree, and a well-used game trail was 20 yards away. Gill saw nothing for 30 minutes, then spotted the drop-tine buck 120 yards off.

“I wheezed at him once, and that got his attention,” Gill said. “He walked in a half circle around me, rubbed and worked over a small tree for about 20 minutes. Then he walked straight to my tree, looking for the buck he thought I was, I guess. It took him about 30 minutes to get within bow range.”

Gill had to wait for the deer to turn at 30 yards before drawing his Mathews VXR bow.

“He finally turned, pretty far around, but I was able to shoot an arrow into him as he was quartering away,” Gill says. “It was a tough shot angle, but when I let the arrow go, it zipped right through him. When he tried to run, he just plowed into the ground. He didn’t go 100 yards, and I saw him fall.”

Gill had friend Ryan Watkins help load the estimated 210-pound deer into the truck bed, which they were able to get just 50 yards from the whitetail.

The 13-point buck is a giant, with two droptines coming off one main beam. The bigger droptine is nearly 13 inches long. The deer is estimated to be 6.5 years old. Its rack hasn’t been measured.

“I hate throwing numbers at a deer’s rack,” Gill says. “The deer is old and big enough for me, with a rack having character. When someone asks me what he scored, I just say ‘six-and-a-half,’ and they get my point.”

“I hate throwing numbers at a deer’s rack,” Gill says. “The deer is old and big enough for me, with a rack having character. When someone asks me what he scored, I just say ‘six-and-a-half,’ and they get my point.”