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Lights, Action and NO CAMERA
By Jeff Morrison
Once they saw a coworker’s photograph of a giant whitetail near Kenora, Ontario, friends Dennis Chevalier and Chris Savage devoted the next six weeks to becoming the smiling backdrops for the next picture. Dennis and Chris drooled over the photo in early October 2012, and they nicknamed the buck Kong. Absolutely smitten with the deer, the duo... READ MORE
Ol’ Two Rows
By Tim Forret
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... READ MORE
Bowled Over in Kentucky
By Dale Weddle
Justin Yeary might have grown accustomed to flipping through trail camera photographs in 2011, but he wasn’t prepared to come across a buck capable of toppling furniture. The hunter from Shelbyville, Ky., had been running half a dozen trail cameras since the first of July. He always looked forward to seeing what had stepped in front of the le... READ MORE
On a Whim
By Ed Waite
And to think he had no intention of hunting that day! After spending most of Oct. 7, 2012, cutting up fallen trees, dragging the debris to the woods and decommissioning a storm-damaged stand, most hunters would’ve been happy to spend the remains of the day in a recliner. Jim Twiggs might’ve done just that, too, if his buddy hadn’t... READ MORE
Arkansas’ New Bow Record
By Rusty Johnson
Long hours in the stand and a can-do attitude can yield remarkable rewards. Just ask Phillip Carter and his brother-in-law, Roger Hill. These two Arkansas guys live to hunt white-tailed deer, and after what happened to Phillip on Dec. 30, 2012, their dedication to the sport isn’t about to wither. Phillip and Roger live next to each other on 8... READ MORE
Here’s Looking ACHOO!
By Dale Weddle
Larry Finley moved from Clay to neighboring Laurel County, Ky., in 1978. Four years later, he decided to spring for some major upgrades to his home. “Little did I realize that a decision to remodel my house in 1982 would result in friendships that would forever affect my hunting and fishing,” Larry said. “The guys I chose to do th... READ MORE
Spur of the Moment
By Mike Handley
Had Bill Ullrich stuck to his original plan on Oct. 26, someone else’s deer would be on this page. Had his son, Matt, also been able to leave work early that day, his might be the grin behind this fabulous Illinois buck. But Bill was bowhunting alone that afternoon, and he chose to head to a different spot almost as soon as he parked his truc... READ MORE
Cupid’s Arrow Struck First
By Jill J. Easton
Halloween 2010 was a hug-the-heater kind of day. The wind was blowing at 30 mph, the temperature was 29 degrees, and Bill Elza endured it all in his treestand, hoping to see rib bones. Sort of. That was the fifth year Bill had been gunning (or bowing) for a buck he’d nicknamed Ribcage, which is what came to mind when he first saw the row of t... READ MORE
Peepless in Illinois
By Mike Handley
Seeing Isn’t Always Aiming. As soon as the bowstring’s kisser button hit the corner of Jon Wolf’s mouth, he almost panicked. The 63-year-old hunter from Galva, Ill., was staring at a buck wearing what looked more like an upturned rotary hoe than antlers. But he wasn’t seeing it through a peep sight. The device was there, rig... READ MORE
Why Having Breakfast Aloft is a Good Idea
By Jill J. Easton
So eager to see the buck he’d smoked up close, Tommy Johnson gave no thought to reloading or even grabbing his muzzleloader before descending his ladder and running over to the deer. When he reached it and saw that the animal was definitely not pushing up daisies, however, he did a quick 180. “I knew I’d made a good shot, so I lef... READ MORE
There’s No Place Like Home
By Lisa L. Price
After a quarter-century hiatus from hunting, following a move from his native Kansas to California, Phil Ryan was eager to rediscover the thrill when he moved back home in 2011. And thanks to a church buddy and his brother, Alan, he did just that. Phil might not have climbed any trees while living on the west coast, but he never forgot how much he&... READ MORE
Breaking — In Excellently
By Larry Jones
Before last October, this Arkansas hunter had a never pointed a crossbow at a living, breathing target. Like the frog that refuses to let go and be swallowed by a heron, 41-year-old Mike Miller of Marion, Ark., will not go gently into that abyss. Mike learned in 2002 that he has leukemia. After struggling through treatment and three relapses during... READ MORE
One Million
By Joe Godar
Each year, my longtime friend, Don, and I manage to block off a few days away from work and family to bowhunt together. In 2012, we found three days in November. Our destination was some property in Highland County, Ohio, I’d purchased five or six years earlier, though I’d hunted the place far longer. My family has had several cabins th... READ MORE
One More Time
By Steve Shaw
Never Write Off a Stand Until the Day After You Decide to Do it. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the small 40-acre tract I leased in 2011. I signed the dotted line because I’d heard some big deer were seen in that corner of Alamance County, N.C., and it was close to home. I hadn’t seen anything special, but I was hopeful. A frie... READ MORE
Kabobs with 19 Skewers
By Dale Weddle
Even with a forked tree as a rest, it took every ounce of George Morrison’s willpower to steady his .30-06 long enough to bring the crosshairs to rest on the huge whitetail’s neck. With adrenalin coursing through his body, he took one last deep breath, locked in and slowly squeezed the trigger. A lifetime of hunting, much of it with a ... READ MORE
Ordeal in Ohio
By Ed Waite
If Ernest Hemingway had met Donnie Wilson, Spencer Tracey might’ve played the role of a deer hunter instead of a fisherman. He’d have suffered rope burns from dragging a buck, instead of fighting a marlin. Oh, and the ending to Papa’s man-versus-nature tale would’ve been far happier. The only thing easy about Donnie’s ... READ MORE
Trading a Racquet for a Rack
By Mike Handley
Had 14-year-old Sabrina Nisly’s tennis practice not been canceled because of the rain on Sept. 13, 2012, she might have ended her first-ever deer season with a big fat “love.” But rain it did. And because her father, Joe, decided a few raindrops never hurt anybody, Sabrina wound up winning the world cup of deer hunting. Sabrina, a... READ MORE
Better than a Gold Watch
By Jill J. Easton
Prior to 2010, Kenneth Fields thought trail cameras weren’t fair. His words. But that was before serious back pain diminished the Kansas deer hunter’s trips afield. At the suggestion of his nephew, Jerry Smith, Kenneth reluctantly set out a camera over the mineral lick at the front end of his property. And the revelations rocked his wor... READ MORE
In Praise of Point-and-Shoots
By Ed Waite
Greg Deckling, like most bowhunters, realizes the importance of practice. If you can’t launch at least a few arrows prior to opening day, there’s really no point in going. Even if the sights are dead-on, it takes a little conditioning to be able to draw and hold a compound bow. The college junior has no place on campus to shoot his bow.... READ MORE
The Doghouse Buckmasters
By Mike Handley
Don Vinson might have been the happiest deer hunter in Georgia on Nov. 10, 2011, but he hated to share the news with his wife, Paula, who was sure to be the unhappiest. “We found him,” he stammered. “It’s Airplane.” Her buck. Don had shot her buck. He hadn’t set out to shoot that deer, the one Paula had claimed f... READ MORE