Rack Magazine

We Three Kings

We Three Kings

By Richard P. Smith

Three of four Michigan crossbow records are toppled during the 2016 season.

Editor’s Note: Wondering how Michigan could gain three new state records in one season without one cancelling out another? Under Buckmasters’ system, every weapon category has No. 1 spots for the four types of racks we recognize: typical, perfect, semi-irregular and irregular.

In 2016, three crossbow-wielding Michigan hunters caused a major shuffling of the BTR’s crossbow records for their state. Trent Smith’s Allegan County 10-pointer now tops the list of Perfects. Steve Campbell’s Livingston County 16-pointer is the new No. 1 Semi-irregular. And an 18-pointer taken by Chet “Butch” Kulikowski, also in Livingston County, has moved into the top spot among Irregulars.

Butch Kulikowski Buck

Butch Kulikowski of Brighton first became acquainted with his state-record whitetail through trail camera photographs in November 2015, a month after he’d taken his first-ever buck — an 8-pointer with a deformed rack — with a crossbow.

Butch had never hunted with a crossbow before that fall. He made the switch from a compound bow when shooting the latter hurt his shoulders.

When he stopped collecting images of the deer and didn’t see it, he thought somebody else got it.

He was pleasantly surprised when the whitetail reappeared on his camera at the end of November 2016, its antlers much bigger than they’d been the previous year.

That’s when he made up his mind to get serious about shooting it.

To attract the deer, he put out a food block containing corn, molasses and other ingredients about 50 yards from his ground blind.

Butch had taken the 8-pointer the previous year from the same setup. He felt comfortable shooting at that distance.

His comfort level with a 50-yard shot changed on Dec. 8, the day he saw the record book buck. It was there one minute, and then gone the next. The whitetail was so jumpy, Butch decided he’d wait for a closer shot.

Instead of moving his ground blind the deer were already used to, he bought a new one and set it up 30 yards from his bait a day or two later. The deer seemed to accept the blind.

The big buck even continued visiting the location.

Butch said the 18-pointer would show up for two or three days in a row, and then disappear for a couple more.

Butch finally got the chance he had been waiting for on Dec. 20. There were about 10 inches of snow on the ground, and it was cold. Instead of using a heater to stay warm, he used several hand-warmers and heating pads.

The buck appeared about 5:00.

“All of a sudden, there it was. Just like a ghost,” Butch said. “It had its front leg back, blocking a clear shot to its vitals, so I waited for it to take a step forward with that leg.

“Instead of going forward, however, the buck started backing up. I thought it might have smelled me. When it moved that front leg, I took my shot,” he said.

Butch heard a loud smack when his bolt hit the deer, which caused him to worry about hitting the shoulder blade. As it turned out, the sound was from the broadhead encountering a rib.

After waiting about 30 minutes, Butch started blood-trailing the buck and found it about 75 yards away.

Based on tooth wear, he thinks his buck was 41/2 or 51/2 years old.

Steve Campbell Buck

As soon as a friend told Steve Campbell about seeing a giant whitetail near the state-owned land he hunts, Steve thoroughly scouted the 1,000 acres and set out trail cameras near some impressive rubs.

When he collected photos of the big deer, he decided to commit his entire season to harvesting it.

From what he could tell, the whitetail bedded in a swamp on private land, but it spent plenty of time roaming the public side.

Steve set up two stands over corn. December’s cold and snow worked in his favor. The weather made the bait more appealing to local deer, though most of the buck activity was at night.

Michigan’s long bow season, which spans from Oct. 1 to Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 through Jan. 1, also worked in Steve’s favor.

“Almost every time we got pictures of the big buck, it was with at least one of the other bucks in the area,” Steve said. “At various times, he was with a 12-, 10-, 9- and a couple of 8-pointers. Most of the photos we got of them were after dark, though.

“The first photo I got of the big buck during daylight was on opening day of muzzleloader season (Dec. 3). It showed up at 4:30 p.m. that day, but I wasn’t hunting. My wife had convinced me to stay home.”

Steve was carrying a crossbow on Dec. 11 because he’d loaned his muzzleloader to a friend who’d damaged his own when he slipped and fell on ice.

He says he doesn’t feel at a disadvantage hunting with the crossbow because his stand in the swamp is set up for a 15-yard shot.

When a snowstorm blew in on Dec. 11, there was already a foot of snow on the ground. Steve’s brother, Scott, was hunting with him that evening from the other stand.

Steve first saw a 5x5 he recognized as one of the bigger buck’s traveling companions.

“I had buck fever when I saw the 10-pointer,” he said, “because I knew the buck I wanted had to be nearby. I’d settled down by the time the big one came in five to 10 minutes later.”

Steve was calm when he took the 15-yard shot. The buck, which he believes was either 51/2 or 61/2 years old, ran 60 yards.

Steve wasn’t the only hunter who was pursuing that deer. After he got it, he talked to a couple of other hunters who were hunting it as well. One of them got a bow shot at the whitetail during the 2014 season, but missed.

He gave Steve a trail camera photo from 2014.

We Three KingsTrent Smith Buck

Had the state of Michigan not legalized crossbows in 2009, rural Allegan County resident Trent Smith never would’ve shot the deer that landed him in this magazine.

Tim had already quit bowhunting before the change in regulations, so he welcomed the opportunity to regain more days afield.

In 2016, he knew a real trophy buck lived on his property. He’d seen it several times during the 2014 and 2015 seasons, but the deer was always too far.

That wasn’t the case on Oct. 22, however.

Tim was hunting from a treestand on an island of high ground mostly surrounded by thick cover and swampland. He had seen a lot of buck sign in the area.

Close to 8:00, he spotted the 10-pointer about 80 yards distant, heading into the swamp.

“It came back out of the swamp about 20 minutes later,” Tim said. “I shot when the deer was 30 yards away, and it didn’t go very far.”

The buck had a dressed weight of 230 pounds and was aged at 5 1/2 years old.

This article was published in the Jan/Feb 2018 edition of Rack Magazine. Subscribe today to have Rack Magazine delivered to your home.

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