David Frattarelli hadn’t hunted the old Montgomery County farm in over a decade. After 11 years in the military, he moved back to Tennessee in April. By August 22, he was back in a stand with a familiar goal in mind.
“It was my first sit back on the farm,” Frattarelli says. “We used to hunt it all the time before I moved away. It felt good to be back.”
The buck that brought him back had been on camera for a few weeks. A tall, symmetrical 12-pointer in full velvet, it was the clear target.
That evening, Frattarelli climbed into a stand tucked along the edge of an overgrown field they had recently disced up for a food plot. The edge bordered thick native grasses and a small creek bottom—a perfect travel corridor for a bedded buck.
“At 7:35 p.m., he came across the creek,” Frattarelli says. “He was walking the edge, doing exactly what we hoped. I knew right away it was him.”
But it wasn’t a chip shot. Several does and younger bucks were nearby, and David had to get drawn without tipping anything off. With tight shooting lanes and minimal room for error, he carefully drew his Bowtech RPM and waited for the right angle.
“He gave me a good shot, and I took it,” he says. “Then I climbed down and eased out into the field, and I could see him laying there. I hit FaceTime immediately and called the boys.”
The buck, a 12-pointer in full velvet, scored 149 5/8 inches, making it Frattarelli’s second-biggest velvet buck and third-biggest deer overall. But the score was only part of the story.
“I didn’t even walk up to him at first. I waited for my buddy Chase to get out of the stand,” he says. “We actually spent 25 minutes looking for his phone in the woods before we even went to see my deer. The anticipation was killing me.”
Chase Griffin, Frattarelli’s longtime best friend and the owner of the farm, was there for the recovery and celebration. The moment marked more than just a good hunt—it was a return to a place full of memories.
Frattarelli credits the deer to good habitat work and patience.
“Put the work into the habitat they need and want and let them grow,” he says.
