If asked how long it takes him to reload his crossbow, Christian Cummins is apt to answer in yards rather than minutes. Fifty yards, to be precise.
The Kentucky deer hunter’s only point of reference is the deer he shot last month in Fayette County. He took his second poke at the charging 13-pointer a blink or two after bolt No. 2 hit the weapon’s rail.
The episode occurred the first time he hunted a new piece of ground to which he and a friend had only recently gained access.
The guys were catching fish bait in a creek outside of Lexington when a neighboring landowner came to see what they were doing. That confrontation led to a newfound friendship and, eventually, an invitation to bowhunt the man’s nearly 50 acres.
“The land was just sitting idle. There were no crops on it,” Christian told Dale Weddle, who’s writing the story for Rack magazine. “It contains two creeks. The main one sort of wraps around this overgrown bottom.”
Two days after setting up a trail camera over a corn pile, Christian retrieved a photo of a buck he guessed would score in the 160s, far bigger than any he’d ever taken. A week later, he returned to hunt it.
He arrived about 4:00 on Oct. 6 and was impressed with the number of deer beds in the vicinity. He was also thrilled to find a white oak dropping a few acorns close to where he’d put out corn.
“I was carrying a tripod chair, and I decided to get back in the brush and sit down,” he said. “The only climbable trees grow along the creeks.”
At sunset, a little buck and a doe approached the free buffet. They were between 15 and 20 yards ahead of the deer he’d hoped to see.
The second buck’s rack had to be every bit of 25 inches wide, and the wild-eyed hunter began shaking. Not surprising, Christian’s first shot hit the deer in the brisket.
“The deer jumped, turned and ran right at me, full speed, while I was trying to reload the crossbow,” he said. “It stopped about 10 or 15 yards short and turned broadside just as I finished.”
The second bolt did the trick. The animal went to ground after running maybe 30 yards.
With a BTR score of 188 6/8 inches, Christian’s buck is No. 3 among Kentucky Typicals in the crossbow category. It’s the largest in its class recorded from Fayette County.
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