Staff Pick

John Gibbs 

Rachael

Samantha Hills

Marsh River Outfitters 

Jonathan Guba

Darrin Moody

Jason Loblein

Alan Blood

This was my first buck ever harvested.  I have only harvested does over the years, lost interest in hunting, and pretty much gave it up.  One year in particular I hunted a nice buck behind my house that I encountered on numerous occasions with no success.  I always settled for a doe to fill the freezer or didn’t hunt at all.  Everything changed when both my daughter and son dragged me back into the sport due to their interest and motivation to hunt deer.  I was present when my son shot his first button horn buck as a new junior hunter.  I was also right by his side again the next year when he shot a 6 point buck still as a junior hunter.  That same year I observed my daughter shoot a 7 point buck that ultimately ended up on our living room wall.  Two days after my daughter’s harvest that year, I took my neighbors son hunting and observed him shoot a 9 point buck.  I was pretty much content with the story of only harvesting does, while my kids had only harvested bucks.  

That all changed on 11-24-20.  I still hunt with the mission to spend time with my kids while doing something together that is meaningful.  I alternate hunting with my son and daughter, and this particular day was my son’s turn to hunt.  My son is on his last year as a junior hunter, and decided not to go out hunting that day.  He had gotten cold a few times this year and we hadn’t seen many deer up to that point.  I decided to hunt alone for the first time since my kids started hunting.  I got out of work early that day with a mission to hunt even though my hunting partner had bowed out for the day.  I sat in the stand and used an estrus doe bleat a few times every 20 to 30 minutes.  Nine minutes prior to the end of legal hunting hours, I observed this buck enter the field I was observing.  The buck walked away from me towards the opposite end of the field.  After changing from binoculars to my rifle scope, the buck was now in my crosshairs at around 180 yards.  The buck stopped briefly and I fired a shot, only to watch the buck start walking across the field at a steady pace.  After a few more shots at the now motivated buck, he dropped in the field where the last shot was fired.  The shot was a spinal cord shot, which required another round when closer to finish the job.  The buck ended up having 10 points and weighing 201 pounds dressed.  I now have officially joined my kids as being a buck hunter.  


Stephen Hills

704 pts · Deer — Stephen Hills