(P) November 18th

Well, number 3 from our hunting party has hit the dirt. Our good huntin' buddy, Monty, finally shot his first mature Kansas buck. Monty has been hunting hard for 3 years now for a buck over 150". He is a very good hunter and has remained disciplined and true to his goal. This afternoon he dropped this pig around 3:30 as the buck was searching for does. Monty said he used tending grunts to coax the buck to the tree. My cousin had seen this unique buck 5 days prior but could not get a shot on him. The timing was perfect so Monty could return home to hunt the opening day of gun season in Wisconsin to mentor his son. Nice job brotha!

(P) November 14th

Here we go! The bucks are starting to finally fall. My cousin, Steve, shot a Kansas 9 point this morning. This buck came by him 3 times one day in the first week of November but he was holding out for a bigger one. I think this buck fooled him because he grossed in the mid 140's once we put a tape to him. With time running out on his trip he decided to take the buck. I actually think he shot him because he knew it would outscore my buck. Nice buck cuz! Your the man!

(P) November 13th

We have had horrible weather the last 2 weeks with hot temperatures, rain, wind, etc. It has been a bit frustrating to hunt. Today I slept in and was going to hunt the mid day movement pattern, then sit all afternoon until dark. I arrived in the stand at approximately 9 am. It was 45 degrees with a NW wind at 15 mph. I decided to go to a secluded area that consists of a narrow strip of woods running between a freeway and a steep bluff. I got the idea from a friend of mine (Monty) who had suggested a secluded area when the big boys are locked down with a doe. The strip of woods has thick bedding areas, cedars and a creek running through it. I have always thought the area would produce a monster buck but never scored on one in three years of trying the area.

The day started out with a lone, mature doe coming by the stand as soon as I was set up in the stand. She used a trail that was down wind of my stand which surprised me. I was happy that she did not bust me. Over the next couple of hours I saw 2 different 8 pointers that were both 2 1/2 year olds. One came within 15 yards of my stand. I remember thinking, why can't you be a 160" buck? At 1140 my Dad called me and asked if I wanted to head in for lunch. I had planed to sit all day but with only 3 deer sightings, I thought I should consider moving to another stand location for the evening hunt. I told him that I would meet him at noon because I planned on pulling the stand.

I packed up my gear and proceeded to lower my backpack, bow and rattling antlers down to the ground with my bow rope. I remember telling myself, it would be just my luck if a shooter walked in on me while my bow was on the ground. Just then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked over my right shoulder to see a 140" deer standing broadside in the middle of my 30 yard shooting lane. I couldn't believe his timing which actually ticked me off a bit. Because my tree was between the buck and my gear, he did not see me lower the items with the bow rope. The wind had obviously covered the sound of his approach through the thick cedars.

I knew the buck would have to walk behind 5 small cedars before he would hit my last shooting lane. While he was behind those cedars, we would not be able to see each other. As soon as his head went behind the first cedar I grabbed the pull up rope and lifted my gear up as fast as I could. I knew speed would be important because it would not take the buck much time to hit the next opening. Once I got my gear up to the 24' stand I immediately set my backpack on my seat. I scrabbled to untangle my bow and the rattling antlers from the bow rope. During the process I accidentally dropped my rattling antlers. They seem to drop in slow motion. I knew that as soon as they hit the ground, the opportunity for this buck would be over!

As the buck was entering my last shooting lane the antlers hit the ground with a thud followed by a little rattle. I always keep my rattling antlers tied together with a bungee cord so they don't make noise as I walk through the woods. The deer locked up at the noise but did not bolt. He was actually curious at the brief rattling he had heard at the base of my tree. He locked on to the antlers laying on the ground confused. This gave me enough time to take my bow sling off my bow, nock and arrow, and dig my release out of my hunting vest. The buck was still staring at the base of my tree as I drew back. The buck had never looked up in the tree at me and he was now at 25 yards. I waited for him to walk around a brush pile which put him slightly quartering away from me. The arrow was on its way and buried into his off shoulder. The blood sprayed out of him as he ran about 60 yards away. Then I saw him wobble a bit and fall over. Wow! I could believe what had just transpired in what was probably no more than 80 seconds.I am convinced that if I would not have dropped those rattling antlers, I would not have been ready to shoot that buck as he entered my last shooting lane. So, the next time your deer calls don't work on a mature buck, try the ol' distraction technique. It worked for me! Just throw your rattling antlers in the direction of the buck. Sometimes it pays to be lucky than good. I had a trail camera set up on the trail that this 142" buck was using to check for does. This pictures were taken as the buck heard the rattling antlers drop and the deer comes towards me to investigate. I had not changed the clock on my camera yet after daylight savings.

(P) November 2nd

The Crab Claw 10 was shot today by the landowner of our hunting property (Gary). He gross scored the deer at 128". His tall tines would look good to any hunter as he walked through the woods. Congratulations Gary! That is a nice one especially with a recurve. You deserved a good buck and have had a great archery season.

(P) September 28th

Today is my last day of my early season buck quest. I got aggressive and placed a ground blind next to the food plot on a fence line with thick vegetation. It was 72 degrees today, sunny, with a NW wind @ 8 mph. I saw 10 bucks including a 135" 9 point with great mass and three browtines. Most of the deer came out right at dark. A doe was the only one to notice the ground blind. I with the big 1o would have showed up from the night before.

(P) September 27th

After searching for half the day for my cousin's buck, we loaded up our gear and headed to a new farm to the north for the evening hunt. We had a 2.5 acre clover plot that was getting a lot of attention from the deer. My friend, Monty, and I saw 16 bucks and 8 does. The bucks were aggressive making rubs, sparing, fighting, etc. One of the bucks was a chocolate racked 8 pt. that would score close to 150" while he was followed by a mainframe10 165" monster. non of the deer offered a shot. The SW wind was at 3mph with cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid 60's.

(P) September 26th

We are three days from a full moon with temperatures in the lower 60's. Today is cloudy with a mild NE wind. Deer movement appears to still be slow. I decided to hunt the south end of a ravine which is a bit closer to bedding areas (stand #5). I saw nothing. On my way in from the stand I found a guy (Allen) hunting a field next to our fence line with a muzzle loader. He was sitll out in the field after dark and had no blaze orange in his possession. I chased him off and said I would call the game warden next time. I also advised him to find a new place to hunt that had its own woods. There are some idiots out there that continue to give our sport a bad name.

My cousin Steve hunted a new farm for the first time (hanging a set mid-day). He shot at a big 135" 8 pt. but hit him too high on a very difficult shot. We searched for 4 hours the next morning for the buck covering the whole farm without success. There was almost no obvious blood. Sometimes that is hunting.

(P) September 25th

No morning movement what-so-ever. Dad and I split up tonight to cover more area. We experienced a light rain for about 45 minutes at 4pm. The deer movement was right after that. I saw a doe with 2 small fawns and a 6 point while sitting on a food plot (stand #8). Dad sat on another food plot (stand #7) and saw 2 does, 4pt., and a 125" 8 pt. with should grow into a very nice buck in two years. A cold front moved in after the rain bringing heavy NW winds.

(P) September 24th

First night out this year. Had a NW wind at 5 mph. I videoed my Dad hunting off a food plot hidden in the woods (stand #4). We pushed a small buck, a doe, and a fawn in the east end of the food plot. We had just planted this clover plot 3 weeks ago. It was coming up nicely but on this night we found that it was all gone! Bummer! The deer hammered it down to nothing but dirt. We obviously saw nothing else during the night sit.