Post by ncboman on Jul 22, 2005 23:34:00 GMT -5
Ohio's Top Typical Archery Buck From 2004
Tim Reed's incredible Muskingum County typical now ranks as the third-highest-scoring whitetail ever taken by a hunter in Ohio. Not bad -- especially considering that it was taken on public land!
By Tim Reed
The Ohio archery season had been open for a month when my hunting buddy, John Hawk, and I headed south to Muskingum County on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2004.
With a week's vacation and a little luck, we hoped to take a couple of nice bucks and put a doe or two in the freezer. We'd be hunting on land owned by the American Electric and Power Co. Camping is not allowed on AE&P land, so we planned to stay with some very special friends, Randy and Trudye Bonar, who live nearby.
We pulled in with our camper, and after setting up our tree stands on Saturday afternoon, we hunted all day Sunday and Monday. All we saw were some does and small bucks.
On Monday evening, while we were sitting around the table after eating a delicious supper (one of many that Trudye graciously fixed for us that week), Randy told us that he had been seeing a definite increase in buck movement during the past few days. Randy operates and services about a dozen oil wells in the area, and he does a lot of driving during the day. With this information in mind, I decided to hunt what I believed to be my most productive stand site for the next few days.
On Tuesday morning, I slipped into the woods before daylight. While setting up this stand several days earlier, I had noticed a couple of sets of big deer tracks nearby. Maybe if I'm real lucky I'll get to see one of those guys that made those tracks, I thought as I waited for daylight to arrive.
CHANGE ON THE WAY
Tuesday passed with several more sightings of does and small bucks being made. When I woke up on Wednesday morning, Nov. 10, it dawned on me that our weeklong hunt was half over. As I arrived at my stand, before daylight as usual, little did I know that the events about to unfold on this special day would be unlike any others I had ever experienced in 25 years of bowhunting. (Cont'd)
Before I got in my tree, I decided to put out several scent pads dipped in doe-in-heat lure. I put one out about 15 yards in front of my stand and another 10 yards behind my tree. Then I climbed up to my stand, took off my bow quiver and hung it on a hook. I nocked an arrow, hung my bow on its hook and settled in to wait.
As the woods around me started to brighten up, it wasn't long before I had my first visitor, a young doe moving past my stand at 20 yards. Right behind her was a young 4-pointer. As soon as they were out of sight, another young 4-pointer came strolling by.
Thirty minutes later I saw a set of legs walking toward me through thick brush. I just knew it was a buck! He was 30 yards out and headed directly to me. Bow in hand, I watched as he got within 15 yards and took in a noseful of my doe-in-heat lure. Unexpectedly, he nervously bolted back about 5 yards. Maybe I should have left that stuff in the bottle, I said silently to myself as he turned and walked right under my stand.
The big deer passed directly under me. I could see that he was a 9-pointer with crab claws at the ends of both beams. In another year, you'll be a very good buck, I thought as he walked out of sight.
It was still early. At this time of year in Muskingum County, you never know what's apt to walk by your stand at any time of day. At 8:15 a.m. I spotted another deer on a trail 30 yards out. I could see that it was a young 6-pointer.
NO QUITTING!
By 10:50 a.m., I hadn't seen any more deer, so I decided to go back to the camper to get a bite to eat and to check in with John. I pulled the arrow from my bowstring and placed it back in the quiver, popped the quiver back onto my bow, and hung the bow back on its hook.
Then, just as I turned to retrieve the bow rope that was hanging from my seat, I saw movement directly behind me. One quick glance told me that it was a shooter! He was 30 yards out, walking at a steady pace, and closing the distance fast. I immediately reached for my bow -- and remembered that the quiver was on the bow and no arrow was on the string.
Forget the quiver, I told myself; my main focus had to be on nocking an arrow. As I took a shaft from the quiver, I peeked down to see where he was. I couldn't believe it! There he was, standing 10 yards behind me, with his nose pressed against the pad dipped in doe-in-heat lure. Boy, did I ever change my tune about that stuff! I'd be forever glad that I'd put it out, as it gave me just the extra time that I needed to get an arrow on the string.
I peeked at him a second time. He was 20 yards from the tree, standing broadside. It's now or never! I thought. If he goes 10 more yards, I'll have no shot because of the brush and tree limbs.
I drew back, settled the sight pin behind his shoulder and let my arrow fly. He bolted about 10 yards and stopped dead still. It all happened so fast that I wasn't sure where the arrow had entered. As I watch him walk away and disappear, I searched the ground with my binoculars. I spotted my arrow covered with blood sticking in the ground. I decided to climb down, retrieve the arrow and sneak out of the woods. I wanted to give him a couple of hours to stiffen up.
When I was halfway down the tree, I heard something behind me. I turned my head and saw a young 8-pointer passing by at 20 yards. I was stuck halfway up the tree for 10 minutes before he finally moved off.
"See anything?" John asked when I got back to the camper.
"I shot a big one," I answered.
"How big?" John asked.
"I'm not sure how many points he had, but he's big!" I answered.
As we walked toward the house, Trudye came out and called Randy on his cell phone. After a brief discussion, Randy said, "You're hunting on public land, so you had better go find that deer before someone else does."
I had planned on giving the buck another hour, but John and I jumped into the truck and headed back to my stand. We had no problem finding a good blood trail. After we had gone about 100 yards, though, the trail began to get very light. Just as I was starting to get worried, it picked up again. After another 150 yards, we walked over a small rise -- and there he was!
WHAT A DEER!
What a sight that buck was -- even at 50 yards -- 14 massive points towering over his head. After the usual congratulations, we got the deer back to Randy's house and hung him up.
I knew my buck was a magnificent animal, but it wasn't until I took him to taxidermists Keith and Carol Daniels in Mt. Cory that I realized just how big he was! Basically, it was a main-framed 6x6 with a 5 6/8-inch split brow on the right and a 2 7/8-inch sticker point coming off his left G-4. With amazing symmetry -- both G-2s measure over 14 inches in length -- and an inside spread of 19 4/8 inches, the rack has a gross typical score of 211 4/8 inches and, after deductions, a net typical score of 198 3/8 inches.
Everything had happened so fast that I didn't have time to get nervous. I just thank God that I didn't have to watch this deer slowly working his way toward me for 80 yards or so. If that had been the case, my story might easily have had a completely different ending!
(Editor's Note: With an entry score of 198 3/8 inches, Reed's great buck ranks as the third-largest typical bow- kill of all time. It also ranks as Ohio's No. 2 typical buck of all time, behind Bill Kontras' basic 6x6, scored at 201 1/8.)
www.ohiogameandfish.com/hunting/whitetail-deer-hunting/OH_0705_01/index.html
Tim Reed's incredible Muskingum County typical now ranks as the third-highest-scoring whitetail ever taken by a hunter in Ohio. Not bad -- especially considering that it was taken on public land!
By Tim Reed
The Ohio archery season had been open for a month when my hunting buddy, John Hawk, and I headed south to Muskingum County on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2004.
With a week's vacation and a little luck, we hoped to take a couple of nice bucks and put a doe or two in the freezer. We'd be hunting on land owned by the American Electric and Power Co. Camping is not allowed on AE&P land, so we planned to stay with some very special friends, Randy and Trudye Bonar, who live nearby.
We pulled in with our camper, and after setting up our tree stands on Saturday afternoon, we hunted all day Sunday and Monday. All we saw were some does and small bucks.
On Monday evening, while we were sitting around the table after eating a delicious supper (one of many that Trudye graciously fixed for us that week), Randy told us that he had been seeing a definite increase in buck movement during the past few days. Randy operates and services about a dozen oil wells in the area, and he does a lot of driving during the day. With this information in mind, I decided to hunt what I believed to be my most productive stand site for the next few days.
On Tuesday morning, I slipped into the woods before daylight. While setting up this stand several days earlier, I had noticed a couple of sets of big deer tracks nearby. Maybe if I'm real lucky I'll get to see one of those guys that made those tracks, I thought as I waited for daylight to arrive.
CHANGE ON THE WAY
Tuesday passed with several more sightings of does and small bucks being made. When I woke up on Wednesday morning, Nov. 10, it dawned on me that our weeklong hunt was half over. As I arrived at my stand, before daylight as usual, little did I know that the events about to unfold on this special day would be unlike any others I had ever experienced in 25 years of bowhunting. (Cont'd)
Before I got in my tree, I decided to put out several scent pads dipped in doe-in-heat lure. I put one out about 15 yards in front of my stand and another 10 yards behind my tree. Then I climbed up to my stand, took off my bow quiver and hung it on a hook. I nocked an arrow, hung my bow on its hook and settled in to wait.
As the woods around me started to brighten up, it wasn't long before I had my first visitor, a young doe moving past my stand at 20 yards. Right behind her was a young 4-pointer. As soon as they were out of sight, another young 4-pointer came strolling by.
Thirty minutes later I saw a set of legs walking toward me through thick brush. I just knew it was a buck! He was 30 yards out and headed directly to me. Bow in hand, I watched as he got within 15 yards and took in a noseful of my doe-in-heat lure. Unexpectedly, he nervously bolted back about 5 yards. Maybe I should have left that stuff in the bottle, I said silently to myself as he turned and walked right under my stand.
The big deer passed directly under me. I could see that he was a 9-pointer with crab claws at the ends of both beams. In another year, you'll be a very good buck, I thought as he walked out of sight.
It was still early. At this time of year in Muskingum County, you never know what's apt to walk by your stand at any time of day. At 8:15 a.m. I spotted another deer on a trail 30 yards out. I could see that it was a young 6-pointer.
NO QUITTING!
By 10:50 a.m., I hadn't seen any more deer, so I decided to go back to the camper to get a bite to eat and to check in with John. I pulled the arrow from my bowstring and placed it back in the quiver, popped the quiver back onto my bow, and hung the bow back on its hook.
Then, just as I turned to retrieve the bow rope that was hanging from my seat, I saw movement directly behind me. One quick glance told me that it was a shooter! He was 30 yards out, walking at a steady pace, and closing the distance fast. I immediately reached for my bow -- and remembered that the quiver was on the bow and no arrow was on the string.
Forget the quiver, I told myself; my main focus had to be on nocking an arrow. As I took a shaft from the quiver, I peeked down to see where he was. I couldn't believe it! There he was, standing 10 yards behind me, with his nose pressed against the pad dipped in doe-in-heat lure. Boy, did I ever change my tune about that stuff! I'd be forever glad that I'd put it out, as it gave me just the extra time that I needed to get an arrow on the string.
I peeked at him a second time. He was 20 yards from the tree, standing broadside. It's now or never! I thought. If he goes 10 more yards, I'll have no shot because of the brush and tree limbs.
I drew back, settled the sight pin behind his shoulder and let my arrow fly. He bolted about 10 yards and stopped dead still. It all happened so fast that I wasn't sure where the arrow had entered. As I watch him walk away and disappear, I searched the ground with my binoculars. I spotted my arrow covered with blood sticking in the ground. I decided to climb down, retrieve the arrow and sneak out of the woods. I wanted to give him a couple of hours to stiffen up.
When I was halfway down the tree, I heard something behind me. I turned my head and saw a young 8-pointer passing by at 20 yards. I was stuck halfway up the tree for 10 minutes before he finally moved off.
"See anything?" John asked when I got back to the camper.
"I shot a big one," I answered.
"How big?" John asked.
"I'm not sure how many points he had, but he's big!" I answered.
As we walked toward the house, Trudye came out and called Randy on his cell phone. After a brief discussion, Randy said, "You're hunting on public land, so you had better go find that deer before someone else does."
I had planned on giving the buck another hour, but John and I jumped into the truck and headed back to my stand. We had no problem finding a good blood trail. After we had gone about 100 yards, though, the trail began to get very light. Just as I was starting to get worried, it picked up again. After another 150 yards, we walked over a small rise -- and there he was!
WHAT A DEER!
What a sight that buck was -- even at 50 yards -- 14 massive points towering over his head. After the usual congratulations, we got the deer back to Randy's house and hung him up.
I knew my buck was a magnificent animal, but it wasn't until I took him to taxidermists Keith and Carol Daniels in Mt. Cory that I realized just how big he was! Basically, it was a main-framed 6x6 with a 5 6/8-inch split brow on the right and a 2 7/8-inch sticker point coming off his left G-4. With amazing symmetry -- both G-2s measure over 14 inches in length -- and an inside spread of 19 4/8 inches, the rack has a gross typical score of 211 4/8 inches and, after deductions, a net typical score of 198 3/8 inches.
Everything had happened so fast that I didn't have time to get nervous. I just thank God that I didn't have to watch this deer slowly working his way toward me for 80 yards or so. If that had been the case, my story might easily have had a completely different ending!
(Editor's Note: With an entry score of 198 3/8 inches, Reed's great buck ranks as the third-largest typical bow- kill of all time. It also ranks as Ohio's No. 2 typical buck of all time, behind Bill Kontras' basic 6x6, scored at 201 1/8.)
www.ohiogameandfish.com/hunting/whitetail-deer-hunting/OH_0705_01/index.html
