Smalltown Bucks

All in the Family

All in the Family

By Jessica Jenderny

I’ve been hunting with my dad, Eric Jenderny, since I was old enough to walk. He taught me what his dad taught him about hunting. His best friend Bruce Rogers also taught me a lot about hunting, so what I’ve learned about deer and hunting, I owe to them. Now that I’m 16, I’ve become a mighty hunter like my mentors. The we... READ MORE

Study, Hunt, Repeat

Study, Hunt, Repeat

By Ben Englert

College student’s first archery harvest gets a 4.0 in Bowhunting 101. It was Nov. 15, and the 2018 Indiana shotgun season would begin two days later. I was logging as many hours as I could with my bow, hoping to tag out before the gun-toting army arrived on opening morning. I had put in countless hunts since bow season started on Oct. 1, but ... READ MORE

Thanksgiving Surprise

Thanksgiving Surprise

By Sawyer Johnson

Some of the best hunts don’t end with a filled tag. One of the greatest things about hunting is going out and not knowing what you’ll see or experience. This sense of wonderment is what keeps me out in the mountains, because I might experience something incredible at any moment. On Thanksgiving morning in western Montana, having already... READ MORE

Long Live Maxximus

Long Live Maxximus

By Carla Schartz

For 423 days, my husband Lance and I observed a whitetail buck we'd nicknamed Maxximus. Before our eyes, it transformed from a velvet-antlered buck with potential into a true Kansas giant. This beast of a buck had over 230 inches of massive bone atop its head and too many points to count. Lance and I are avid bowhunters and anticipated the epic ... READ MORE

Stress Test

Stress Test

By Richard C. West

It’s great to finally see the buck of your dreams, but don’t get too excited. On the Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2015, an Illinois buck tested my heart. It was the second day of the firearms season, and I’d spent my first day – all 12 hours – on the stand with nothing to show for it but a couple of song birds, a re... READ MORE

The 12-Year Wait

The 12-Year Wait

By Candice Guthrie

For the past 12 years, I’ve have been hunting on my dad’s lease in north Louisiana, Bienville Parish in Saline. I’ve only had a chance to shoot does. For some reason, I would never see a buck, and the two times I did see bucks, they were chasing does, and I can’t shoot that fast! I finally had my chance to change things the... READ MORE

Daddy, You Shoot It!

Daddy, You Shoot It!

By Dale Sampson

Heat of the moment was a little too much for first-time deer hunter ... but not for her dad. The season started with little excitement. Although a big coyote came by early, I didn’t see anything with antlers. That was okay since I was more looking forward to my daughter Kaitlin’s first whitetail hunting experience later that evening. A... READ MORE

The Perfect 10

The Perfect 10

By Jeffery Patterson

Call it beginner’s luck or call it fate, but you can add another hunter to our ranks. I got my crossbow from a friend who said he wanted to sew a seed in my life. At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about, but I decided to give this hunting thing a try. I got up at 5:30 on the first day of Virginia’s archery season and was in... READ MORE

Worth the Wait

Worth the Wait

By John Mitchell

It took a few years, but when Micah got his first deer, it was a good one. I started taking Micah to the dove lease when he was 7, and he started deer hunting with me when he was 9. Micah has developed a love for hunting and being in the woods. Even so, it felt like he would never get his first deer. It seemed like no matter what, something always ... READ MORE

Virginia Is for Bowhunters

Virginia Is for Bowhunters

By Mark Douglas

Whether it’s your first or your 82nd, there’s something special about taking a deer with a bow. On the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 8, I couldn’t wait to take my climber to a location I had scouted two weeks before opening day of the Virginia archery season. There were two scrapes under a couple of broken branches on an old logg... READ MORE

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Copyright 2020 by Buckmasters, Ltd