Post by willraygreen on Dec 11, 2008 12:16:22 GMT -5
This story starts almost a year ago when my wife decided to surprise me with a 40th b-day party. She called my brother, and asked him to ask me for some recommendations for a fully guided trophy archery whitetail hunt. Well, my brother spins this story to me, that he has someone who is going to pay for his hunt, anywhere he wants to go for trophy whitetail. He asks if I knew of any good places where he could get a good opportunity at a Boon and Crockett buck with a bow. I told him I would check around, and get back with him.
I called some friends who pay for these type of hunts, and got their opinions. Montana, Kansas, and Iowa were three states on the top of the lists. I called my brother back, and told him of a few recommended outfitters, and he tells me he would prefer it be closer, so they could make the drive from Michigan.
Well, I start looking closer, IL, OH, IN, and Kentucky. I found some outfitters in each area, and together, we narrowed it down to just a few. I thought my job was done, and he was happy with the list.
Fast forward to May 2nd, when my wife tells me we were having dinner at her parents house. My mind was engulfed in a project I was working on at home, so I did not even suspect she had planned a surprise party 3 weeks before my birthday. Well, as I soon found out, her gift to me was a 5 day archery hunt at one of the outfitters I helped choose, The Bottoms, in Gallatin County, IL.
My brother and a friend of his did go as well. We all agreed it was the best bowhunting we had ever experienced with good deer in bow range every day. Unfortunately, the place has a 140" minimum, and most of the bucks were just shy of that mark, or at least close enough I wasn't going to risk it.
Day 4 starts with heavy rain. It was the first day I left the tree to go in for lunch (and dry off), but was back in the woods by 1:00. Luckily the rain stopped, and the deer were moving. The whole week, I had seen about the same number of bucks to does, and this day was no exception.
Around 4:00 I heard some commotion behind me, and turned to see this buck chasing three does toward a CRP field. I knew it was the biggest deer I had seen all week, and I pulled my grunt tube out and hit it twice. I peak back around the tree to see he was headed my way. As I turn around in my stand to ready for the shot, I see he was still coming, and I swore I saw a drop tine on his left. I decided then I would shoot him regardless, and I only focused on the shot after that. He stops just before stepping up onto the trail, but as he moves forward, I come to full draw. I am only watching him thru my peep at this point, and when he clears some brush, I bleat him to a stop, and squeeze the release. The shot looked good, and he ran about 70 yards and stopped. I thought he would fall there, but he circled back and headed for the thicket he came from.
After a short tracking job, I was really stoked. He was alot bigger than I thought, however the drop tine turned out to be a part of my imagination. After getting back to camp, we scored him at 160-5/8". Not bad for a nine point. This turned out to be one heck of a birthday present, and I couldn't be more thankful to my wife for the opportunity. Maybe someday I will get to try it again.
Link to pictures:
s459.photobucket.com/albums/qq320/willraygreen/
I called some friends who pay for these type of hunts, and got their opinions. Montana, Kansas, and Iowa were three states on the top of the lists. I called my brother back, and told him of a few recommended outfitters, and he tells me he would prefer it be closer, so they could make the drive from Michigan.
Well, I start looking closer, IL, OH, IN, and Kentucky. I found some outfitters in each area, and together, we narrowed it down to just a few. I thought my job was done, and he was happy with the list.
Fast forward to May 2nd, when my wife tells me we were having dinner at her parents house. My mind was engulfed in a project I was working on at home, so I did not even suspect she had planned a surprise party 3 weeks before my birthday. Well, as I soon found out, her gift to me was a 5 day archery hunt at one of the outfitters I helped choose, The Bottoms, in Gallatin County, IL.
My brother and a friend of his did go as well. We all agreed it was the best bowhunting we had ever experienced with good deer in bow range every day. Unfortunately, the place has a 140" minimum, and most of the bucks were just shy of that mark, or at least close enough I wasn't going to risk it.
Day 4 starts with heavy rain. It was the first day I left the tree to go in for lunch (and dry off), but was back in the woods by 1:00. Luckily the rain stopped, and the deer were moving. The whole week, I had seen about the same number of bucks to does, and this day was no exception.
Around 4:00 I heard some commotion behind me, and turned to see this buck chasing three does toward a CRP field. I knew it was the biggest deer I had seen all week, and I pulled my grunt tube out and hit it twice. I peak back around the tree to see he was headed my way. As I turn around in my stand to ready for the shot, I see he was still coming, and I swore I saw a drop tine on his left. I decided then I would shoot him regardless, and I only focused on the shot after that. He stops just before stepping up onto the trail, but as he moves forward, I come to full draw. I am only watching him thru my peep at this point, and when he clears some brush, I bleat him to a stop, and squeeze the release. The shot looked good, and he ran about 70 yards and stopped. I thought he would fall there, but he circled back and headed for the thicket he came from.
After a short tracking job, I was really stoked. He was alot bigger than I thought, however the drop tine turned out to be a part of my imagination. After getting back to camp, we scored him at 160-5/8". Not bad for a nine point. This turned out to be one heck of a birthday present, and I couldn't be more thankful to my wife for the opportunity. Maybe someday I will get to try it again.
Link to pictures:
s459.photobucket.com/albums/qq320/willraygreen/
