I first encountered this giant whitetail while harvesting soybeans in mid-October 2011.
When I slowed the combine to go around a patch of 3-foot-tall foxtail grass, the buck exploded out of the weeds, jumped a nearby fence and ran down a waterway. It stopped for a second to look back at me, and then it disappeared into the neighbor’s standing cornfield.
I’ve seen a lot of big Iowa bucks from the seat of my combine, but that’s the only one that caused me to stop cold in order to gather my wits.
Not believing what I’d just seen, I dismounted the combine and began to examine the area. The buck’s bed was huge and likely used often. I then walked down to where the deer entered the corn and was amazed at the path of destruction. Those rows were planted 30 inches apart, and both flanking the path were flattened.
I also looked for his track, but the ground was too dry.
Eager to share the news, I returned to the combine so I could send a text message...