Bill Funk saw two world-class whitetails, side by side, while hunting in Alberta last fall, but only one was real.
That also was the case with the bow target at his outfitter’s camp.
Three of his four 30-yard practice arrows nailed the target nobody else could see. The one they were watching caught only one.
This all happened during the Michigan bowhunter’s second trip to Canada in 2019, which ended far better than it started.
Bill’s double vision began in July, a month prior to his initial five-day hunt with Wayne Zaft near Athabasca. It wasn’t bad then.
Toward the end of that hunt, he spotted an enormously top-heavy buck in velvet at 105 yards. He was certain it would top 200 inches.
About a week after he’d returned home to Michigan, the double vision Bill had been experiencing since July worsened. When two eye exams and two new pairs of glasses didn’t fix it., he sought a third opinion from his primary care physician.
The eventual diagnosis was myasthenia gravis (MG), a neuromuscular disease that affects voluntary muscles. In addition to eyelids, it can affect the arms and legs, possibly even one’s diaphragm. A worst-case scenario is respiratory failure.
A thoracic surgeon recommended a procedure akin to open-heart surgery. It involves opening the sternum and removing the unnecessary thymus gland.
Four or five days before the surgery date was to be set, Wayne called to say the giant whitetail Bill had seen was mugging for his trail cameras. Aware of his client’s medical troubles, the outfitter invited him back – immediately – to squeeze in another five-day hunt.
After checking with his surgeon, who green-lighted the trip and scheduled the operation for Oct. 14, Bill accepted the invitation. He and a friend arrived in Alberta on Saturday, Oct. 5.
At 7:20 the next morning, Bill saw a deer – or maybe two? – slowly approaching at 40 yards. Afraid to take the time to look through his video camera, he simply hit the record button and mentally crossed his fingers.
“I clipped on the release, and I drew. When the deer was at 7 yards, I let him have it,” he said.
There’s a lot more to the story behind this 209 6/8-inch whitetail, but you’ll have to read about it in Rack magazine.
— Read Recent Blog! They Can’t Not Go Back: Southerners fortunate enough to experience the whitetail rut anywhere in the Midwest are hooked. They can’t not go back.