A small band of caribou fed about 250 yards in front of us. In the herd were 3 stags that would score around the P & Y minimum of 220”, a few cows, a couple more immature stags and one great stag that would go about 270”. As we watched them feed out in the open we spotted one more animal along the tree line. It was another stag, who dwarfed the 270, and it didn’t take us long to realize we were looking at a world class animal. Around lunch time earlier that day, my Newfoundland Guide, Paul, and I had a conversation about the legendary whitetail that the world knows as “The Hanson buck”….after spotting this Monster Woodland my guide Paul jokingly referred to it as the “McCormack Stag”. We both got a kick out of it and quickly formulated a plan to go after it. Bad wind, fading light and a few nosey cows made a shot opportunity with a bow difficult so we decided to back out and comeback at first light for another go-around.

We spent the next morning glassing and hiking, and around 10AM we spotted the 270 at approximately 100 yards heading directly away from us. We followed him on a well used trail but after the initial sighting we could never get closer than 200 yards from him. We lost sight of him for a while, ran into a few cow moose then spotted him again standing on top of a hill with no cover, just watching. The stalk turned our way around the hill and stalked slowly and quietly to within 120 yards of the monster. There we were, on top of a small hill looking across to another small hill where the caribou were all gathering. As we crouched behind some small spruce trees we watched the herd sleep in the afternoon sun that had emerged. After a long 2 hours, the herd began to get up, some fed, and two stags began to spar. This lasted for another hour and during this time the herd inched closer to our position all the while the Boone and Crockett monster laid there and watched.

The entire herd was below us at 80 yards when a small stag came within 10 yards of us and didn’t like what he saw, we thought the stalk was over. The young bull grunted, put his nose in the air and trotted down the hill, past the herd and up the other side right to the McCormack stag; it reminded me of a little kid running to his dad to tell on his brother. The small stag ran off and not 30 seconds later the big boy was in tow as the rest of the herd continued on with their business.

It was time to move, the stag ran off the hill and down to our left into a large open bottom that bordered a lake. We crouched low and progressed only when our movements were concealed by trees. I worked my way to the bottom of the hill into the row of trees and began ranging the caribou, Paul was behind me grunting at it and it actually stopped trotting and moved in closer. Nervous and unsure of what I was, the beautiful bull would not stay put long enough for me to range him and pull off a shot so I ranged him and mentally calculated how far he traveled until he stopped again, He was out there a ways but I had an open shot, he wasn’t moving, and I was confident. I settled my pin and released. I out to be fruitless as he disappeared into the timber as we closed the distance. The rest of the morning was slow although I was able to film a cow and a half rack stag swimming nearly a quarter mile across a lake which was awesome to see, they are unbelievable swimmers. The afternoon was spent glassing another part of the hunting area where a few cow moose and two cow woodlands were spotted.

Day four and we were back at it in the same basin. The morning began with sideways rains and wind with no caribou in sight. We did see two bull and two cow moose and tried to put a stalk together but neither the weather nor the animals cooperated. After the attempted stalk on the moose we began to walk, he hiked through some of the thickest timber I have ever seen and spent hours on the move. We came to a high point for some last minute glassing as we were losing faith in this basin and were going elsewhere for the afternoon hunt. The weather began to break, and shortly after we began glassing we spotted the 270 on the same hillside as we did the day before. At this point he was 3 quarters of a mile away and there were two bogs in between us but we knew what we had to do and we high-tailed it over there. We reached the same path as the day before and as we followed it we came across a group of caribou, 5 stags and some cows, with some of the stags sparring. We figured this was the same group that e saw on the 2nd day but we didn’t see the McCormack Stag or the 270. We carefully made our way over and as we approached I saw the 270 up on the hill in the same place as he was the day before. He was in a difficult position to stalk and as we were formulating a plan the McCormack stag walked out and towered over the 270. It was on now; we changed our plan of attacked and worked watched the arrow arc towards him and hit home. We watched the bull slowly walk up the hill less than a hundred yards and bed down. He wouldn’t last long but I slowly stalked closer and released an insurance shot.

It’s hard to explain how I felt as I stood there looking at the old boy; excitement, happiness, relief, astonishment, but I also couldn’t help feeling just a little sad. My sadness didn’t last long however, as I realized that this majestic bull lived a long life and will be appreciated and cherished by me for the rest of mine.

Mike

My guide Paul Broughton passed away suddenly a few weeks after I shot this bull. This was the last caribou Paul guided and incidentally it was the biggest one he ever guided. Thanks again Paul.

HUNT NOTES:

The outfitter for this hunt was Ray’s Hunting & Fishing and I booked through Mark Buehrer of Bowhunting Safari Consultants.

My equipment included a Hoyt Vetrix XL, Easton Axis arrows, Swarovski 10 x 42 EL’s, Sitka gear and King of the Mountain Wool clothing.

Three trips and never had been in range of a decent Muley, yet I still decided to get a deer tag during my 2009 elk bow hunt. I figured statistically I had a good chance to see a decent Mule deer being that I hadn’t seen squat in the previous 3 years! This year proved that I made a good choice. On the morning of our third day hunting we were working our way down a draw, following a herd of elk when we spotted a good Muley feeding in the open sage. We quickly got the camera out, and ranged him at 53 yards. I was pumped!

The only problem was that he was facing us and I had no shot, there was also the problem of us standing in the wide open with no cover and as soon as he picked his head up he spotted us. We froze, but when he finally turned broadside his vitals were obscured by a tree branch. Slowly i inched down the hill for a clear shot. No dice, the buck bounded off and I was a little disappointed. I was so close I thought for sure I wont get another chance like that. I was wrong. We continued to chase elk that morning, weathered a short rain shower in the afternoon and continued to glass after the rain.

Around 6PM I spotted a buck about 3/4 of a mile away coming out of some timber to feed in the sage. We pulled out the spotting scope and confirmed that he was the same buck that we ran into that morning and he was actually in a stalkable situation. I wasted no time, I hurried down the trail, around the mountain and up the other side. I had my buddy Erick filming and spotting for me from afar and we were communicating via walkie-talkies.

The buck was feeding in some open sage with timber to the South of him and a rock spine to the North, with the wind in my face I crept up the rock spine and peeked over to see the buck feeding with his head down, broadside. I pulled out my range finder-53 yards…I took a deep breath, nocked and arrow, aimed and let fly. My Easton axis tipped with a 4 blade slick trick sliced completely through the deer. He ran about 30 yards and stood there. As I eased down the rock spine for a follow up shot a doe spooked the buck, he slowly walked into the timber and I knew he was about to fall over soon but I decided to be safe and return in the morning.

After a night of difficult sleep I found him on the trail where I had last spotted him. I was relieved and very excited. We gross scored him at 152 1/8 and he netted over 147″ which exceeds the Pope and Young minimum of 145″! Although I was happy the buck scored Pope and Young, that is not the reason that this hunt was successful. If the buck scored 144 I would have been just as excited, not to mention I was on an elk hunt and the deer was a bonus in itself.

Mike

Third time’s a charm…..That’s what I said to myself as I headed for my third bowhunting trip to Idaho in four years. Hunting public land and high-pressured elk is tough. Then you add a bow & arrow in the mix, and your odds are again reduced. I was optimistic and excited to start a new hunt. I always had a great time during those trips even though I never pulled my bow back on a bull, and I only had one really exceptional day of elk hunting in the past two trips. It happened to be a day that I was carrying a camera instead of a bow. I was more than happy to have videoed my good buddy Erick shooting a great bull, but I still couldn’t wait until we really got into some good action this year.

My 2008 elk hunt started with some great excitement from the very beginning. Each day we would get up at 3:30, and would spend the days and evenings chasing elk. Even though we were seeing elk, we could not seem to close the deal. As each day passed we knew our luck was going to change. To quote my hunting partner, “There are too many bulls and too many bow’s for something not to happen!” Well Wednesday came and it started off the same as all the other days, a several mile hike up the hills in the dark. We found a bull first thing in the morning, but a short chase ended with us sitting on hillside thinking about our next move.

After taking a quick rest George used a hyper lip to make a cow call…almost instantly we heard a bull bugle down in the timber below. We gave each other a quick pound, and we were off. As we set up with the wind in our favor, we were right in the mix of elk. Some cows and a spike passed by me but the bull would not come. We could hear him moving down the valley but could not see him at this point. Quickly, George and I ran down behind the ridge to the base of a timber patch where we heard the bulls. We set up in the timber and started to cow call before we realized that there were two bulls ripping bugles up above us! The wind was still in our favor, and in the distance I could see a bull up ahead in the dark timber, he headed to my right following some cows and quickly was out of my view. After a few more minutes I could see another bull stalking through the trees and heading directly for George’s cow call. My heart was pounding as I was searching for a shooting lane in the thick timber! I also ran through the mental checklist, pick a spot, stay calm, make sure nothing is in my way of drawing back…. When the bull approached, I drew and released as soon as he walked through my only shooting lane at 30 yards. I heard the distinctive “whack” of my arrow tearing into the bull’s chest. The shot was directly behind the shoulder but lacked great penetration only getting one lung. I found my bull further from my shot than I originally expected. In the end I had a great 6 x6 bull on public land, it also happened to be my first elk with a bow & arrow.

The kill isn’t a great barometer for measuring the success of a hunt. If you see beautiful animals & countryside and get to have fun with some great friends and meet new people, then I consider that successful.

However, when you do get to wrap your hands around some big antlers, that’s a feeling I can’t explain.

January 22, 2007 – Just got back from Arizona. Mike and I decided to
extend are season for another month by chasing coues deer around the
mountains of southern Arizona. We had a great time with our
friends Joe and Ron as always. Let me tell you first hand Arizona was
not sunny and warm, by any means. It was really windy a lot of the
days and freezing for a few nights 10-15 F).

After a few days of search for these sneaky little deer we found a
valley with quite a few and definitely the best opportunity for a
stalk. On the 3rd day of hunting this big valley, Ron and I spotted a
beautiful buck walking across the foothills in search of a friend or two in the
middle of the afternoon. I knew there was no chance of getting him by
sitting were I was so I circled around the valley and crossed the
stream (down wind) below the buck. I slowing crept through the forest of
stunted trees on route to where I though the buck may be. The bucks
were not bedding down, but on their feet searching most of the time I
saw them. So I just inched closer until I found the best situation
possible for any shot opportunity. It was on the edge of a burn where
the forest cleared some, so I had some chance of a shot. I saw legs
about 40 yds out. I had a small tunnel in front of him about 40 yds
long and below me. He walks into it at 33 yds but I can only see the
top half of him because he was slightly below me. Well he turns and
walks straight towards me to 26 yds and stares in my direction. He is
facing me and unaware of my presence in the beginning. He looks at me
and to my left a few yards for at least 6 minutes. I am like a statue
but have no chance unless something else gets his attention.

Coues deer close are at least twice as attentive as spooked whitetails on the
ground. He turns quickly and walks away. This was one of the best
bucks I saw, I am guessing around 100 inches (8 pt, or 3×3 western
count). My best chance would have been when he first walked into my
small shooting lane. I could of shot him facing me but don’t think he
would have been there by the time my arrow got there and I never like
head on shots.

So I still hunted through the tree until I came out at this small
valley where a few trails converged towards the creek bottom. The last
two nights does poured down these trails in the evening so I figured it
was my best chance for the rest of the afternoon. Only 5 minutes into
sitting beside some big rocks three does pass below me at 50 yds. The
wind was blowing my scent up over top of them. A half hour later I
look up to see a buck rocketing towards the creek bottom. I have no chance
of stopping him. So I hurry to the ledge that looks over the creek.
He is already 70 yds out and going away from me. He is running through
the water with his head down sucking up water. He falls on a slippery rock
and scramble back to his feet. Then he slows down at a larger pool of
water. I grunt to him twice, he does a 180 and heads towards me. He
falls down again on the same rock! Here he comes, head down still trying to
get more water. I know if he keeps coming he would be 30 yds below me in the creek bottom, so I take two steps to clear some nearby branches. He kind of sees me move,
unbelievable! He stops and starts heading up the creek bank. I range
him at close to 70 yds!

I take a few yds off for the angle and draw my bow. He stops and
looks at me. I split my 60 and 70 yds pins, and release. He shoots up
the hill like he was shot out of a cannon. Its 5:30 pm and getting
dark fast. I find first blood in the creek bottom where he was standing and
decide to back off for the night. Joe, Ron, and I return in the
morning to find him piled up after 150 yds. A heavy, mature 6 pt. Coues deer
buck! I couldn’t be happier.

Thanks Joe, Ron, Mike and everyone who read my entire (long) story.

Good Hunting,

Sincerely, Erick

On the afternoon of Sat., Nov. 4th 2006 I was hunting in Licking County, Ohio on land that we have hunted for about 4 years. I had been in the stand since about 1 PM. I had not seen a single deer until 4 PM. My stand is in a tree that sits on a fence row (behind me) in the middle of a patch of woods. I looked up the fence row and saw a heck of a buck cross the fence about 150 yards up. I tried grunting and bleating to get him to turn, but he kept heading parallel to my stand and I lost him in the woods. I was kind of bummed, but happy to have seen him. At that point, I had no idea how big he was as I only saw his rack for a split second, but his body was HUGE.

At 5 PM, I heard something coming directly towards my stand in front of me. The stand overlooks a small patch of briars/deadfall in the middle of the woods. On the opposite side of this patch is a small ravine, so I could not see what was heading my way. I could tell it was a deer working his way around the thick patch when all of a sudden I see a massive rack rounding the edge and heading right towards me (this is at about 24 yards)! As soon as I saw his rack I knew he was a big deer and that I would shoot if I had an opportunity, so I did not look at the rack again (and still really did not know how large he was). He continued straight towards me and I was worried he was going to turn to my left, walking right in front of my stand. If so, I would have to turn to the left a little with him at about 4 yards to make the shot. However, thankfully, he angled a little right and when his head went behind a large tree (the tree was 5 yards in front of my stand and the deer was about 10 yards behind the tree), I drew. He continued on towards the fence row that runs behind my stand and I stopped him at all of about 7-9 yrds. with a mouth grunt. Here is where it gets REALLY ugly…

I had a solid anchor, the pin was perfect and I released. He did a HUGE back kick with his back legs and then jumped the fence. He ran about 15 yards, stopped and started to wobble. I thought, “Please go down!” However, as I looked at him I could see the very back of my fletching sticking out of his rib cage much further back than I had aimed. To my horror, I knew I had gut/liver shot him! I have no idea what happened, but I can only figure one of two things…either my arrow hit a branch off of a treetop that was on the ground in front of him (I never saw the little twig sized branches) or I just pulled the shot and had a poor follow through (probably option b…I think I was just anxious to see the shot and did not have a good follow-through). Keep in mind that I do practice quite a bit and consider myself a good shot, but at 9 yards, how could I blow this one!!??

I watched him walk off very slowly, directly away from me (still wobbling a little) until he got to the edge of an overgrown pasture. That is where I last saw him and thought he laid down right there. As much as I wanted to try to convince myself that I had a good hit, I knew it was bad and waited an hour. I then quietly backed out of the woods and let him go. It was the longest night of my life…I knew he was a good buck, but had no idea how big he was.

The next morning, my brother and a buddy of ours headed out. We went to where he was standing when I shot and I found fur, but no blood. We proceeded to follow the trail I knew he took and started seeing blood. It was not a lot, but he was bleeding from both sides. We trailed him to where I last saw him and found more blood, but no deer. We stayed on the trail and the blood continued to increase until we came to half of my arrow. Once he kicked the arrow, the blood all but stopped! We were following drops at this point. About 20 yards later we lost the trail and were looking for it when my brother told us to be quite because he heard a deer in the overgrown fence line that was 20 yards away (a different fence line running perpendicular to the one behind my stand). We waited about 5 minutes and heard a branch break. After about another 5 minutes, it was silent.

I began to slowly parallel the fence line with the wind in my favor. About 25 yards down, I looked through some thick brush with my binoculars and saw a deer lying there! I could only see the white of his hind end, but could make out legs and tail. At that point, I had no idea if he was mine or another deer someone had shot and lost. I eased up towards him after I realized he was not breathing and saw half of his rack sticking up. It blew me away! Finally, I eased all the way up to him and my brother and buddy joined me. He was down and he was HUGE! I could not believe all the character he had, but I felt blessed and thankful for having had the opportunity to harvest such an amazing deer.

I did not have him weighed, but I am sure he weighed somewhere between 275 and 300 lbs. on the hoof and it was a bear dragging him out! He has 18 scoreable points and my taxidermist green scored him at 186.25 gross. His neck is 22″ and he aged at 6.5 years old.

I could not be happier!!! FYI, I now am a 100% firm believer in giving them time if you are at all uncertain of the shot. If I would have pursued him at all Sat. evening, I would have bumped him from his bed and probably never found him. Handling it the way I did, he ended up dying about 110 yards from my stand from a bad hit (I did nick his liver).

Bill

May of 2006 promised to be an exciting month, my turkey hunting was going to be cut short but I wasn’t complaining about the reason. I’d be taking a trip, my destination was the Canadian wilderness and my goal was a black bear with a bow and arrow. On the 11th I was going to be flying to Fort McMurray via Toronto and Edmonton. From there I would board a bush plane that would take me into the Alberta wilderness, 70 Nautical Miles west of the booming oil town of Fort McMurray. Knowing that this great adventure would chew up most of the PA turkey season, along with having to work on Saturday May 6th, I took the first Monday of the season off in hopes tagging out on the first Saturday or Monday. Well my plan didn’t exactly go as scripted and I had no luck either day.

I had to move to Plan B. “Boss, I’m not working this Saturday, I have urgent family business to attend to.” Plan B didn’t sit very well with the boss man but too bad, so sad; IT WORKED! I thought “I have one more chance then it’s over, Ill get up super early, and hunt until noon!” (In PA there’s no spring turkey hunting after noon.) Well when I opened my eyes it was 7:45 AM! I sprung out of bed, grabbed my bow and blind and raced to my hunting area cussing myself out for sleeping in late. As I walked into my hunting area, 3 jakes were milling around the exact spot I was going to set up, as they ran off, I crept up, set the blind and decoys and settled in. The rest of the morning was incredibly quiet compared to the two previous days I had hunted the area. I got one half hearted answer to my call at about 9 am and kept hearing some faint noises to my left but I figured they were just song birds buzzing around.

Around 10 AM, my luck changed. I was looking at my bow when I glanced up and saw a Gobbler strutting at my decoy spread! He came in silent! I picked up my bow, slowly brought my Hoyt Trykon to full draw and settled my 20 yard pin in the wing pocket of the strutting tom, I waited for him to clear some brush and I released, Smack – Perfect Hit! He went down immediately and I was SO FIRED UP! My PA gobbler weighted 19 lbs and had an 8 inch beard, not the biggest in the woods but I couldn’t have been happier.

With my turkey on the ground my attention immediately turned to bear hunting. Although I was leaving in 4 days I couldn’t wait; as it turns out I wouldn’t be disappointed. My adventure started with a bush plane ride deep into the Alberta wilderness. On this trip I hunted with Alberta Adventure Outfitters, owned and operated by a master guide; Phil Mascaro. (Phil has guided over 60 sheep kills and personally shot 4 including a Dall with a bow) Everything about the trip was great, the camp, the stands, the guides and even the type of clients that hunt with Phil, all are top notch; and oh yeah the fishing is out of this world too! Beautiful cold water lakes everywhere that receive next to no fishing pressure; in one hour from shore I landed 8 pike and had countless hits, I couldn’t image what you’d catch with a boat set up for Pike and Walleye.

In this part of Canada the bears are abundant and your license comes with a 2 bear limit. It’s a relaxing trip to go on, you hunt until 1030pm because you are so far up north it stays light later, and you sleep in as long as you want in the morning. I hunted solely out of a tree stand set up over a baited area. Although I was by myself on this trip I would be attempting to video tape the hunt myself using a metal arm that attached to the camera and to the tree. The guide drops you off at your stand which we’d access by way of 4 wheelers and Argos. Getting to the stand, some of which are 30 miles from camp is half the fun! A winch on the front is an absolute necessity and I used mine more times than I can count. It was incredibly exciting to watch bears come in so close and interact with each other. I had more than one bear try to climb the tree I was in and they knew I was there! I had one bear come to my tree, and ate an orange that slipped out of my pack! It was hilarious and the whole time it ate I was talking to it, some of those bears just do not have a large fear of humans, which can be a little scary. The third day of my hunt started with use approaching the bait site with 2 bears already on it!

One ran when they heard us coming and as I watched it run away I could swear it had a chocolate coat, which is something I really wanted. The other bear however did the opposite, he actually walked up to us, 10 feet away, he was the same bear that ate my orange and he wasn’t a small bear by any means but he wasn’t the size I was looking for. The bear was so bold and he wouldn’t back down. My bow was in my hand and my guide was videoing with one hand and had bear spray in the other, fortunately for the bear he decided to leave us alone and I climbed into my stand and set up my video camera. About one hour later I heard 2 bears fighting in the ticket in front of me and my heart started to pound. Moments later a really nice sized black bear came to the bait site. He was defiantly a shooter but I wanted to wait and see what was in the ticket. A few minutes passed and there he was, a beautiful chocolate colored bear with a thick coat came into view and the fight started again! The big black bear chased the chocolate away but he didn’t go far and soon he presented me with an 18 yd shot. As I glanced at the camera to make sure the bear was in view I drew back and settled my pin in the mid section of the bear, I don’t remember releasing the arrow but it flew true and my Easton Axis hit the mark and my bear collapsed with in 10 yards. The black bear was somewhat bigger but I had a gorgeous color phase bear on the ground and on video and still had 3 days of hunting to wait for a true monster. The days came and went and I never got a chance to fill my second tag but I had no regrets. Filming myself ended up being very difficult but that is a funny story for another time.

During my trip I saw 13 individual bears, the Northern Lights, great scenery, experienced fantastic fishing, shot a great chocolate coated bear on video, and met some of the most interesting and great people I’ve ever met. My bear ended up squaring about 5 ½ feet, not P & Y but a great trophy in my book. This trip ended a fantastic month of hunting for me and will be a May I’ll never forget.

October 17th 2006 was an exciting day that began my season long obsession. It started when I got home from work and did the same thing I’d been doing all season, checking my Cuddyback digital camera for pictures of bucks in my hunting area. Up until this point I had been seeing a few bucks, mostly 1 ½ year old, 6 pts and a few 2 ½ year old, eight points. As I scrolled down through the pictures of deer I came across what looked to be a 4 ½ year old, 8 point with long main beams, great mass, and a wide spread. I was so excited; it had been the first decent buck I captured on my Cuddyback in 3 years. The fun didn’t stop there; as I looked through the rest of the pictures, on the same night, I came across a great 10 point buck that I figured to be around 140 P & Y inches! To say I was pumped up would be a gross understatement. In PA, a 140 class animal is a rarity and it had been the best buck I’d seen in this area since 1995! My obsession started then and there, I could hardly hunt another area without day dreaming about my buck.

I would pick the days when the wind was right but I never saw the buck nor did I get a picture of him on my Cuddyback again until Nov 8th. Like the first picture it was in the middle of the night, this buck was nocturnal. I knew the formula for my success was a hot doe and me being in the right place at the right time, this was going be a long shot to say the least. Throughout the season I would see almost every buck that I had captured on my Cuddyback while I was hunting, but the 10 pointer was one of the few I never saw.

The last day of PA’s season came and I was slightly discouraged due to the fact that the rut had seemed to slow down in my area and I figured my chance had come and gone, however being the die-hard stubborn bow hunter that I am I decided to sit all day for the last Saturday. Morning came and a few minutes after light the rain came too. Being the “wise man” that I am, I left my Cabela’s rain gear at my house and I commenced to getting soaked to the bone and not seeing any sign of animal life what so ever. The rain came in waves, raining solid for a half hour then letting up for 15 minutes, it was one of the most miserable days I’ve ever had in the woods until 3:30 when I caught movement to my left. It was a doe with a small 6 pointer about 30 yards behind. Finally some action! Before I knew it another deer had run in front of the small buck, I knew with one look, it was him! I grabbed my bow and positioned for a shot, heart pounding, I forced myself to calm down and concentrated on not being seen. The big buck was now facing me at 35 yards and knew something was not quite right. He acted cautious looking up then sniffing the ground, I knew my time was coming, the next him he lowered his head I drew back, it seemed like I held for minutes when in reality it was probably about 30 seconds. Lucky for me, he made the mistake of taking a few steps towards me and went broadside at 30 yards. I put my 30 yard pin behind his shoulder; my Hoyt Trykon XL sent my FMJ tipped with a Rage broadhead through both lungs of the buck. I watched him run and I thought I saw him stagger but as the rain came again I decided to get out of the stand and go back the next day.

It was a long night and even though I was confident about the shot I tried not to dwell on it until the next day. November 12th came and I went looking for him, I didn’t need to go far, 30 yards from where I shot him he was down. I was very relieved and super excited! I rough scored him at 138 4/8 P & Y, he is my best whitetail I’ve shot so far and it might be a while before I get that lucky again.

I have resided in Western Pennsylvania for my entire life and have made it a point to archery hunt every free second I have. But, believe it or not, my encounters with record-book Whitetails have been few and far between. That is not to say I didn’t have my opportunities, but they were hard earned and I always managed not to capitalize on every opportunity. The stories of the ones that got away far outweigh those of the bucks that hang on my walls. I have taken several good bucks with my bow, along with a few not-so-good ones in my early days. Keep in mind that there is a reason one makes a trip half way across this great country: The obsession to claim a monster fall monarch that all hunters dream of. Big Eric, my father, and I have this very obsession. This passion lead us to Illinois (once again) in an attempt to bag a book buck like those that have plagued my nightmares from the all the big ones that have gotten away in years past.

This year would be different for many reasons, especially for me. Those out there who are serious about this sport understand that every time you step into the woods a new learning experience awaits, especially if you miss out on an opportunity of a life time. I’ve watched too many book bucks walk away when the opportunity to arrow them was present. I didn’t take the opportunity, though, because I always waited for the perfect shot. You know – quartering away, eating and standing still with his eyes closed. Experienced hunters know that the ideal shot and situation only happen about 1/10 th of the time; the rest of the time I now believe (after watching too many book bucks pass me by) that you can sacrifice the perfect shot for one that will enable you to take the deer in a sportsman-like fashion. Chances are, you’ll never see the monster again so taking the shot will at least leave you feeling like you tried, but keep in mind I am not condoning bad shots that will wound the animal. I practice with my bow year round and have done so since the age of four. I do everything to prepare myself for the unknown situation that I will be faced with once in the fall woods. There is no luck, luck is preparation meeting opportunity .

It was November 1, 2005 and I was sitting in a tree in Illinois only 50 yards away from the stand where I previously missed two book bucks just one year ago (and saw six others). The spot was beautiful, with several large draws feeding down the hill from the bedding area to the fields. The stand sat on a bench that that cuts across the bottom of the draws. During the rut, bucks travel across these draws in an effort to catch the scent of a hot doe traveling up and down the draw. So I sat in the stand telling myself the entire time to stay focused because these big bucks appear out of no where and disappear as fast as they appeared.

It was a warm afternoon shortly after 4 o’clock when I looked up the hill and saw a horse of a deer feeding only 80 yards away. Even though he hadn’t picked up his head, I reached for my bow. When his head rose I saw more horn than I was ready for. I ranged the trail he was on at 45 yards, well within my range, so I squared myself for the shot. He stopped at the crossroad in the trail where he could either turn and come right to me or continue on the trail 45 yards out. I didn’t want to draw too early, so I waited for his next move. Unfortunately, hindsight proved that I waited too long. He continued on his trial and I drew, hit my anchor, and attempted to set the pin. However, I ran into a problem: once I set the pin on the monster it was sitting right on his chest and he was still walking. Due to the fact that he was walking, I needed to lead him by a foot or so at that distance. Realizing this quickly, I passed on the shot and let him walk for a few paces while I reached for my calls. First I grunted, which caused him to stop, but only for a second. Then, I doe bleated, but nothing. Finally, I slapped some horns together, but to no avail: the monster disappeared into the Osage trees. I greatly regret that I didn’t take the initial shot I was presented with.

But, during my initial anger at my own haste, I heard a snort wheeze right beside me. I turned my head to see another nice buck standing only 25 yards away, munching on acorns and looking in the direction where the monster had just disappeared. I was completely unprepared, of course. My bow was hanging and he was coming into my bad side. I was going to have to stand and turn 180 degrees to get into position to take a solid shot. This hunt turned into the chess match I love so much, I was just waiting for him to make a mistake and I was doing everything not to.

He turned to look behind him and I reached for my bow and stood all in one move. The buck then continued right at me until he was standing only 8 yards away. This was one of the most nerve-racking situations I had ever been in because he then proceeded to stand right under me and lip cur. All the while, he was looking right at me but never knew it. This went on for over two minutes, while I did everything I could to tell myself to stand still, but those two minutes felt like hours. Finally, he took a jump to a near-by trail and I used that opportunity to draw. He was walking away from me at 28 yards, when I let the arrow fly. I hit him behind the last rib and the arrow exited thru his opposite front shoulder. The shot was a little low and I caught the bottom of the liver and heart.

We tracked him for over 300 yards that night and jumped him once. We decided to let him lay for the night and pass in peace. At first light we found him laying dead only 20 yards from where we last saw him. He was a main frame 8 point with sticker points on each of his G 2’s. He turned out to be a legit 9 point with a 20+ inch spread that scored 129+ gross P&Y. Although this prize was well worth the hunt, I still couldn’t shake the disappointment of missing out on the monster.

After taking care of my buck, Big Eric and I decided we should put a stand where I saw the monster the night before. While my Dad ate lunch, I went out and found a little pin oak up the hill that was located a little further from my stand. Just by where the big boy walked past the night before. It was the only tree where I could put a stand but it was the perfect spot. Now all we needed was for the impossible to happen… for that buck to come back through again, a rare occurrence. It seemed as though it was clockwork, though, because that same big buck strolled thru only five minutes later than the night before – right down the same trail! Big Eric simply doesn’t miss, especially a buck like that, and at 4:15 pm Big Eric arrowed him with a perfect double lung shot and the buck ran down to the field and died gracefully. The fall monarch turned out to be a 13 point that scored 150+ gross P&Y and qualified for non-typical scoring on account that every tine split. The fact that I passed on the shot ensured that buck felt comfortable with his travel pattern and led him down the same trail. That, my friends, is what archery hunting is all about.

Good Hunting,

Michael

I was on a do-it-yourself bowhunt in Southeastern Idaho for with my hunting
buddy, Mike McCormick. We would be switching off filming for each other for
the 3rd week in September. We were camping on public land in the
Targhee-Caribou National Forest. The weather had been kind of warm, upper
70’s and the full moon had the elk moving a lot at night. Rain rolled in
on wednesday the 21st and fired the elk up. The next day, September 22nd we
were on them hard. We waited for one herd to bed down and stalk in above
them through the pines. As we were in the process, the herd got up to feed.
This is midday, right around 12:00 in the afternoon. Well the bull was
constantly bugling to keep track of his herd. So we sneak down below them
and start searching for them in the pines. We see elk, lot of them. But we
need a close encounter with the big bull. Then I see antler, two 5×5 walk
out, not him. We follow and follow until the elk are out in the meadow. We
can see lot of cows then the herd bull is spotted, an absolute monster, 350″+
6×6. They are out in the open feeding, out of range at 90 yds. But what a
sight, a monster bull, 4-5 smaller bulls, and 20+ cows on top a ridge out in
he open.

After a while the wind changes and the herd spooks. So Mike and I
go down after another bull that had been bugling prior. We get above him
and let out a bugle. He screams back at me, but as we go down over the
mountain after him, we see the whole herd getting up to leave. I guess I
bugled to close and he was intimidated. So the chase is on as we try to
keep up with his herd. We follow the herd for a mile or so and I am in
range multiple time but just not a clear shot of the bull. We loose the
herd and move lower to return to the original canyon we came from. By now
it was getting to be afternoon, 4:00 and more elk started to move.Mike
spots a good bull coming around the mountain acroos the hill from us. We
move lower to cut him off in the saddle between us but as we move down the
hill we see a small bull chasing a cow through the saddle and into the
timber below us. Well the bull sees it too and moves in to give chase to
the cow in heat also. We hurry down to the edge of the timber and the
smaller bull and cow come flying out below us. I know the larger bull is
still in there so we close in on the timber. Then I hear him and see his
antler coming out. Mikey and I drop down as we are on an open sage flat
high above him only 32 yds away. He steps out and screams! Walks out and
looks for the other elk. I cow call with my mouth and he stops and looks up
at us. I hammer him right behind the shoulder and he heads downhill
bleeding hard. And Mike had just captured it all on film!

Good Hunting,