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Day 2

I hunted the junkyard stand again this morning. Weather was warmer, but not warm. I had several does and a small buck appear at first light. I then had a nice ten point that was just too young to shoot appear and chase the does around for a while. The runt was just getting started here but there appear to be several bucks close to lock-down and that's early!

This buck showed up and chased the does around. He was just too young to shoot and needs another year or two.

He was the biggest buck I saw this morning.

I decided to go back to the big cottonwood, where I sat yesterday morning. There is a heavy 10 with bladed tines that hangs here a lot and that is the buck I'm after. It was a warm afternoon so I sat back in my stand and read Don Jr's new book Triggered on my phone.

As the sun began to set I caught movement and glassed a buck hundreds of yards away. It was a heavy 10 and heading straight at me. From 300 yards off I was convinced it was the heavy buck that I wanted. The buck had great mass and he was following a doe to my stand. Perfect.

The doe cam into the corn as the buck followed. He looked really good from 100 yards away. I wanted to glass him better but there was no sound or movement - dead still. I didn't want to run off that doe as that would be bad. The buck hit the barbed wire fence to the north and jumped the fence. As he walked behind a big limb I drew my bow. I had to let down when the buck move back to the fence. When he approached a second time I came to full draw and then he walked in. I took my time aiming and then started my release. The arrow was another perfectly placed shot - just like Iowa. Only this time the deer fell in plain sight of me.

The buck I was hoping for appeared from the south

He was following a doe right into my stand

This pic was taken 3 seconds before I put an arrow through his chest

After he was shot the buck jumped 8' straight up into the air before running a very brief distance.

Watch the Video

I couldn't believe my luck. Two great bucks, with two great shots and easy recoveries. It really does not get much better than that. I gathered my gear, called Kent, and he allowed me to climb out of the stand. To my surprise, it was not the buck I was hunting. This one was another heavy, mature buck with great big beams covered with burrs. I never got a great look at him with my binoculars and did not study the horns. Regardless, he is a great buck and one that I am proud of.

My Kansas hunt ended with another great buck taken with a great shot from my 2020 Mathews Bow!

My hunt is over quickly here in Kansas. This is always such a great hunt here and sharing it with Kent and Clay Jarnagin makes it extra special. The other two hunters just arrived, so I am going to spend a day doing chores, hunting coyotes, and getting my gear together for the flight home. Thanks for coming along on both hunts!