When Bill Hoover’s father-in-law, Gerry, told him about a great big deer he’d seen in his yard near Cape Vincent, New York, he wasn’t quite sure how to describe it.
“What does it mean when one of the antlers is hanging straight down?” he asked.
DROP TINE, Bill thought.
The next Saturday morning, Nov. 24, Bill woke early and drove the 10 miles to hunt his in-laws’ property. He’d done no scouting, so he went to the only place that came to mind, a 20-foot-high ladder stand.
There was a little snow on the ground, but not enough to mute his footfalls. To put any deer within hearing at ease, he occasionally blew his grunt en route to the stand.
The brush was thick in the area, but it was riddled with deer trails.
“Eventually, I heard some rustling, looked down to my left, and saw a big buck moving too fast for me to react,” he told Gita Smith, who’s writing his story for Rack magazine.
“It got into the thick stuff before I could get my gun up,” he added.
The deer had been moving too quickly for Bill to notice its drop tine, not that it mattered. He would’ve shot it either way.
His hopes were raised a half-hour later when he saw a doe feeding. It was still early enough for bucks to be looking for love.
No luck, though. The doe soon melted back into the brush.
“I happened to look to my left and a bit in front of me, and, to my surprise, the buck was within 15 yards! Somehow, it had exited the thicket on the other side and circled back,” he said.
Bill raised his .270 and shot, but the deer’s only reaction was to stare at him. The second shot connected, as did a third and fourth.
The drag to the driveway was only 85 yards.
Bill entered his deer in the local Dexter Market’s big contest and won a $500 gift card, which should be enough to cover the cost of a shoulder mount.
The 18-pointer has not been taped as of this writing.
— Read Recent Blog! Proactive: Hunter: Jared Thill | Jared’s whitetail has not been measured for the BTR, but the antlers have been rough-scored at 215 inches.