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DAY 5

Thursday Morning Hunt

The wind this morning prevented me from going back the Box Ranch stand where I've been hunting that big eight point. So instead, I went back to "Pat's stand" where I saw the other big eight last evening. The early morning was slow. This surprised me considering how cold and still it was. But by 8:30 AM things would change. I looked to my right and saw a 9 point making a scrape. At first glance he looked like a shooter, but as I studied him more, I decided to pass.

I passed on him this morning. He was a nice buck but there were bigger ones around.

The 9 had long points, but lacked mass and width. He was a book deer, but still not what I was looking for. The hunt was coming to an end and I debated whether this would be my last opportunity. But I decided to let him walk and if I go home empty handed - that's ok. Around this time, it started to sleet.

This heavy 7 pt followed a doe to my stand. But she picked me off and busted the buck. I was not going to shoot him.

Shortly after he fed off, I watched a doe and fawn make their way through the tamarack trees toward my stand. Out of nowhere, a heavy 7 came out of the brush and walked to my tree. He was very heavy, but lacked points and was definitely not what I wanted. But he was still a wall-hanger and will be awesome next year. The sleet had turned to rain and I was getting pretty wet and cold.

Can you find the buck in this picture? Click to expand it.

The little flurry of activity lasted for only an hour when Kent and Ron came to pick me up. Ron was all smiles and Kent told me he had just shot a super buck. I looked into the bed of the pickup and Kent was wrong - it was better than super - it was an incredibly heavy 8 point with long tines. I was really happy for Ron (Tater on the Bowsite). Ron had a nice heavy buck come to his stand at first light but then he moved off when some does came in. He described hearing the unmistakable sound of "Urrrrp tic tic tic". Suddenly this massive buck appears at 12 yards. Ron drew back, released, and made a perfect hit. He could see the bloodtrail from his stand but stayed in till Kent got there. The buck grossed 152 and nets close to 150.

Ron Baxley from Arkansas (Tater on Bowsite) shot this heavy eight as he followed a group of does at first light. Ron's buck grosses 152 and nets just under 150 PY inches.

Thursday Afternoon Hunt

With Ron Drain, and Ron Baxley tagged out , I was the only one still hunting. The rain was pounding by the afternoon so I suited up in my rain gear and headed for a stand called the Calvary Creek stand. It was a small creek flanked by cottonwood trees situated between a CRP field and a wheat/milo field. It was a perfect staging area for deer before going out to feed.

I was settled in my stand at 2:45 PM and by 4:00 PM a small doe-fawn fed past my stand on her way to the wheat field. This area was so brushy that I would probably not see a deer until it was right in front of me. This made me nervous. With such close quarters, standing would be too risky. So I laid the bow across my lap and turned at an angle to the main trail. I was basically sitting on the side of the treestand.

Every so often I would scan left, right, then stretch my neck to check behind my stand. It was on one of these scans that I turned back around to see a big ten directly in front of me. I have no idea how he got there or where he came from. My heart was pounding - he was super wide, had lots of points, and good mass. The buck fed beneath me with a slight quartering-to angle. At one point I was tempted to slip one at him, but my better judgment prevailed and waited for the perfect angle.

This big ten point appeared out of nowhwere and fed beneath my stand. I waited for a better angle.

It took him a few moments to position his body at the right angle. I had time to concentrate, study his off leg and body position, and pick a good spot. I drew, hit anchor, then shot. The arrow appeared to hit the buck a bit further back than I wanted. He crashed off before disappearing in the brush. I began to worry about my shot. And the fact that it was raining didn't help. I wanted to check out the blood trail but didn't dare leave my stand for fear he may be close by. After fifteen minutes, my curiosity got the best of me so I climbed down to look at the initial blood scene.

Here's the shot I was waiting for. Taken just before I released.

The blood trail was fabulous. I won't tell you the rest (future blood trail competition) but the tracking job was easy and in short time I was running my fingers across my wide-racked Kansas buck. I headed back to my stand and bumped into another big buck. This place is incredible.

I'm all smiles after finding this big, wide-racked Kansas buck. A great buck taken with a great shot at the end of a great hunt. What more could I want! We guessed him as a 145 net PY inches.

Kent Jarnagin, his son Clay, Kent Wolfolk, Ron and a friend of Kent's - Brad, all came to see my buck and help drag it out. We were all flying. Both Ron and I had tagged out with "book" bucks on the same day - making us 3 for 3 for the week. We celebrated that night by going to town for dinner. I apologize for not uploading the live hunt but going out to celebrate with the crew was a part of the hunt and I did not want to miss it. I'm sure you understand.

We hope you enjoyed our latest hunt here in Southwest Kansas with Cimarron River Outfitters. We'll be back the same week next year for another exciting whitetail hunt - I can't wait!