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Entries for 'Gray Loon'
Maine Event
By Mike Handley
For what it’s worth: A 15-foot-long canoe can ferry 700 pounds. Wendell Wentworth of Washington, Maine, accounted for 180 of those pounds in the low-riding vessel last fall. Son Christopher chipped in 250. And the whitetail between them weighed in the neighborhood of 263. There wasn’t a whole lot of clearance from gunwale to water, but ... READ MORE
Once a Naysayer, Not Always a Naysayer
By Mike Handley
Frank Lemongelli is a bowhunter. Bowhunters are generally pessimistic. Therefore, Frank is a pessimist. Or at least he used to be. When the 48-year-old health department inspector drew his bow to shoot an impossibly huge buck last fall, a tree branch obscured the deer’s side. In order to get a shot, he would have to wait – arm cocked an... READ MORE
No Truer Words
By Mike Handley
When Steven Everett purchased 130 acres in Logan County, Oklahoma, in 2015, the previous landowner told him the property held some big bucks. Deer season had already started, but it didn’t take long for the new owner to validate the seller’s claim. “We got a picture of a deer I named Goliath, which was the first name I thought of ... READ MORE
Despite the Near-70-degree Weather
By Mike Handley
The beetle man hates Josh Feldman, but at least one taxidermist near Alton, Illinois, could kiss him. Had it not been for Josh’s shaming, Aaron Fry might’ve paid to have insects clean his 2017 buck’s skull so he could screw it to a plaque. But the cape and antlers are now with a taxidermist, soon to be Aaron’s first trophy w... READ MORE
Daddy Sang Tenor
By Mike Handley
Some men squeak when they see rats, snakes or spiders. It takes a dead buck - a big one - for Bill Nadeau to sing tenor. That said, the deer hunter from Indiahoma, Oklahoma, outsang Luciano Pavarotti on Nov. 3. While looking for the buck he shot that afternoon, Bill called a buddy, Kris Borden. The phone was to his ear when he found first blood, an... READ MORE
Two for Two
By Mike Handley
After a lifetime of fantasizing about hunting deer in far-flung places, Arkansas hunter Mike Novak lived the dream twice in 2017. Friends invited him to hunt in both Illinois and Ohio. He originally declined the latter because the proposed dates overlapped, but he didn’t count on filling his first tag an hour and a half into his Illinois stin... READ MORE
A Different Kind of Crown
By Mike Handley
Deer hunters in St. Francisville have some of the whitest, best-tended choppers in all of Louisiana. That’s because Dr. Frank Sullivan’s office has monstrous picture windows overlooking a wooded back lot, and whitetails come to a couple of feeders long before sunset. Until last fall, one of the backyard bucks was a walking legend. The d... READ MORE
Long Time Coming
By Mike Handley
Nineteen-year-old Luke Lohan might be flying blind when he climbs his next treestand. The kid from St. Clairsville hunted the same Ohio buck for three seasons before removing it from his most-wanted list in 2017. So unless his trail cameras yield some new incentive this summer, he’ll head afield with only fingers crossed. Luke is a heavy equi... READ MORE
CCTV, Kansas Style
By Mike Handley
Ethan Lorance knows the value of eyes in the sky, or at least on the ground. The 25-year-old pipefitter from Bonner Springs, Kansas, employed several trail cameras to learn as much as he could about the buck that made him a social media star this fall. Ethan retrieved his first trail cam photograph of the unique buck in June 2016, when it was a 5x5... READ MORE
Big Dank Down
By Mike Handley
Tim Starkey’s friends can breathe a sigh of relief. The 25-year-old oil field worker has buck meat, which means the jerky is about to flow. He’ll continue to give it away, but this batch will cost him a lot more than he normally spends for spices. His taxidermist can vouch for that. Tim’s was one of the first Oklahoma bucks liked ... READ MORE
North Carolina Prize
By Mike Handley
Work, school and parenting leave little time for Chris Carter to indulge his passion for deer hunting. The 27-year-old electrical engineer from Raleigh, North Carolina, calls himself a weekend warrior, but even that’s a stretch since he rarely hunts on Sundays. He’s more a Saturday warrior. In fact, the only reason he went afield on Oct... READ MORE
Grunt Three Times
By Mike Handley
If a bowhunter grunts in a forest and a buck is around to hear it, does that mean it’s working? If Austin Nord wasn’t already a fan of grunt calls prior to Oct. 5, 2017, he’s now a firm believer. The 25-year-old from Bloomington, Illinois, credits deerspeak with drawing an incredible 31-pointer to his arrow that day. Austin hunted... READ MORE
Piano Man
By Mike Handley
The rattling bag Geoffrey Henry bought just prior to Louisiana’s Oct. 1, 2017, bow opener was worth every penny. The security guard from Start, Louisiana, picked it up at Simmons’ Sporting Goods in Bastrop, after a couple of buddies in the store’s archery shop suggested the tactic. Geoffrey first became aware of the deer when he r... READ MORE
Sooner or Later
By Mike Handley
Paying fanatical attention to scent control might be the only reason Ben Anderson and his buddy of six years, Levi Tussey, got away with hunting from the same stands for a week and a half. The North Carolina hunters wouldn’t normally put that much pressure on a place or a deer, but they had plenty of incentive in 2017. They were mesmerized by... READ MORE
By Any Other Name
By Mike Handley
Keegan Schmitt shot the wrong deer on Sept. 18. The bowhunter from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, thought he was about to shoot Sweet Sixteen, a 16-point buck over which he’d been drooling for more than a year. He wound up sticking a 17-pointer, however. Keegan couldn’t see the 17th point in the few trail camera photographs he’d collected... READ MORE