Big Buck 411 Blog

First Crossbow Entry from Connecticut

First Crossbow Entry from Connecticut

By Mike Handley

Selflessly walking away from his dream buck’s core area put Milford, Connecticut, hunter Mark Hiller within crossbow range of it.

When Mark acquired new hunting ground in 2015, he retrieved several trail camera photographs of a 12-pointer, all taken at night. He hunted that deer all season, or at least whenever the wind would cooperate, but he never saw it in the flesh.

“I figured the buck was completely nocturnal, and nothing happened to convince me otherwise,” he said.

The already formidable whitetail was even bigger the next year. Its rack gained at least three irregular points, making it a 15-pointer.

Alas, the deer still shunned the sun, and Mark collected only nighttime images of it.

The buck was a 19-pointer in 2017, and thanks to a pal’s trail cam, Mark learned more about the elusive deer’s habits.

“My close friend Jay acquired the property right next door,” he said. “Immediately after setting up a trail camera, he retrieved photos of the deer I’d been watching for two seasons.

“Jay was so fixated on getting that deer, he hunted morning and evening. I even decided I wasn’t going to hunt my property. I told Jay, ‘He’s all yours,’” he continued.

True to his word, Mark removed his deer stand from the property.

“A few days later, a guy called to ask me if I would be interested in hunting his land, approximately 1 ½ miles away. So I went out the next Sunday to check out the tract. Looked like a great spot,” he said.

“I hung my stand there Tuesday, and I planned to hunt from it for the first time on Friday. En route to my maiden sit, I saw a large buck chasing a doe alongside the road, about a quarter-mile from my destination.

“I immediately called Jay,” he added.

That was the first time Mark had seen the giant buck in the daylight. After alerting Jay, he continued to his new spot.

Fifteen minutes before 4 p.m., he saw four does approaching. A short time later, the familiar buck crossed the nearby river to join them.

“The does turned and ran right under me, bringing the biggest deer I’d ever seen to within 25 yards, a piece of cake for my Ten Point crossbow,” Mark said.

Jay wasted no time in answering Mark’s call for help.

The antlers tallied 189 7/8 inches on the BTR scale.

— Read Recent Blog! Alone in the Deep Freeze: Mike Stanoikovich | Muzzleloader | BTR score is 237 7/8 inches.

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