If you’ve ever run deer dogs through thick Carolina cutover, you know there’s nothing like that rush. And for Darren Madison, that rush turned into a moment he won’t forget—dropping a giant buck on the opening day of the 2025 South Carolina season.
The hunt took place in Walterboro, South Carolina, during a drive with his buddies from Big Bucks Hunting Club and their brotherhood club from the area. Madison has hunted the property a few times a year, and while he didn’t know this particular buck was in the area, he knew the land was known for holding big deer.
“We’d just kicked off the drive and the dogs got fired up,” Madison says. “I was standing on my block and heard them opening up on something good.”
It didn’t take long before the deer broke out. Around 9:30 a.m., a big-bodied buck came slipping through the woods, and Madison was ready. At about 50 yards, he leveled his shotgun and took the shot.
“I hit him, but I wasn’t sure how good,” he says. “That feeling of not knowing if he was going down or making it to the next stander—it gets your heart going. But when we heard him crash in the cutover and I walked up on him, that’s when it all sank in. I couldn’t believe I dropped a hammer buck on opening day.”
The hunt was more than just the deer. It was the camaraderie, the adrenaline, and the celebration with the crew that made it a memory for life.
“The whole hunt was memorable,” Madison says. “Just hearing the dogs light up on that buck, being there with all my guys—those are the kind of mornings you live for.”
His advice for other hunters chasing a buck like this?
“Just be patient,” he says — because when you least expect it, the right buck will step out. That patience is what makes it all come together.
Solid words from a hunter who proved it pays off.
See how Darren’s Lowcountry deer drive unfolded:
