Source: Whitetails Unlimited Magazine

An Incredible Night

By Katelyn Utter ~ Berlin Heights, Ohio 

Last season on Friday, November 5, we had an awesome night. It was 6 p.m. on the dot and I had a buck come toward my feeder. Some patience, and then BAM!—a 20-yard shot with my crossbow. I texted the group chat with my mom, dad, and fiancé: “BUCK DOWN!”

I stayed put to not push him, and then, at 6:05 p.m. my mom, Laurel Utter, also texted the group chat: “BUCK DOWN!” We gathered together, ready to track our deer and celebrate. We decided to go track my deer first. We went out and followed the blood trail and my buck was still alive so we backed out. We then went to find mom’s deer.

We found her deer just 20 yards from where she shot, a beautiful 8 pointer! We went back to find my deer, but thought we heard something stand and then fall. We decided to play it safe and back out until the morning. My fiancé and I went out in the morning to find my deer while my mom took her deer to the processor. We followed the blood trail, and in the distance, noticed antlers in a thicket—there was my deer. Talk about a great feeling.

This was my second buck since I’ve started hunting, and he is a great 8-pointer!

Unfortunately, my mom and I were unable to get a picture with both of our deer together, so we took a picture with just the head of hers after she had taken it to the processor. This was a great day—mother and daughter double down on the 8’s. After an entire night of celebrating, we were prepared for another day of it. We are so grateful for our 2021 harvests—it was a great season!

 

One Eye, One Shot

By Brian Meldahl ~ Lanesboro, Minnesota

We had been seeing trail camera photos of a one-eyed buck for three years, but no one, including myself and six neighbors, had ever seen him during the day, or even captured him on a trail camera in the daylight. Naturally, everyone called him “One Eye.”

It was a Thursday on December 9, and a significant snowstorm was forecast for the next day. I was rushing to move my deer stand that afternoon, and it was running close to 3:30 before I was able to sit in the stand. When I headed out, I didn’t even know if I would have time to sit in the stand, and if I did, I was not expecting to see anything. I didn’t have my knife, and just had one load in the muzzleloader with no reloads.

Sure enough, 10 does moved into the food plot, followed by old One Eye! I knew that there was no margin for error, but One Eye’s mistake proved to be good luck for me. He green scored 1704/8, even with missing one brow tine.

 

Bonus Bucks

By Josh Marzula ~ Monroe, Georgia

In September, I was drawn for a quota hunt on a new piece of public land in the state of Georgia. When the hunt rolled around, I was really excited because I had already used both of my regular season buck tags and was ready to get back in the woods. I made the two-hour trip the morning after Thanksgiving and decided to do some still-hunting.

The first morning of the hunt, I shot a cowhorn spike cruising for does along an old logging road. I quartered him up and packed him out about a mile to the truck. The rest of day one was filled with scouting, trying to come up with a plan to kill a good buck.

The following morning, I walked the main logging road away from my camp. I stopped every two or three steps, looking and listening. The morning was cold and the wind was calm. The sunshine started breaking through the trees and lit up one of the most beautiful mornings I have had in a long time.

About a mile from camp, I ran into the first buck sign I had seen all morning, a fresh rub on the left side of the road. I made it maybe ten steps past that rub when I accidentally stepped on a stick, “CRACK!”

I froze, thinking I would surely see a white tail waving ‘goodbye’ from a distance. However, to my right, I heard a deer walking toward me. The thick underbrush in the pines was like a solid wall, making it impossible for me to see more than maybe 10 feet. Just then, I saw the top of a sapling start to thrash back and forth, throwing white leaves in every direction. My heart felt like it was going to jump from my chest. I knew it was a buck, but I couldn’t see him, only making it that much more exciting.

The buck broke the sapling off in the middle and threw it with his antlers. He began to walk closer to the road, and I moved up, trying to gain a better vantage. I caught a glimpse of a long main beam as he wrapped it around another tree, beginning to shred it like he did the last one.

Just then, the wind changed in his direction, and he looked up at me. I put the front post on the only part of his neck that was visible and squeezed off. The buck fell where he stood.

I absolutely lost it. That was by far the most exciting encounter I have ever had. He was by no means the biggest deer I have shot, nor was he the first I had shot from the ground. But, to go across the state to new land, hunt hard, and kill a good buck, was just so special to me. Shooting the deer at seven yards while he was putting on a rut display was just gravy on top.

« Top »