On Nov 3, 2009 Samantha killed a big 9 point deer on the Ohio family farm. Our Leaf River trail cam had captured pictures of this deer and we had over three days of footage to work with. It was Samantha’s biggest deer to date so this trip was successful on all accounts. Regardless of what was in store for the rest of us…
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That being said I still had a tag and 3 days left to get it filled. We are hunting in Ohio on my dad’s 200 acre farm. This farm is pretty much where I cut my teeth as a bow hunter, so if there was ever a piece of property that I knew, it would be this one. It’s a gold mine for whitetail. I think it takes a long time to really learn a piece of ground and how the deer travel and use different routes during different times of the year, but once you do, this is when it gets fun.
After a couple days of close encounters and lots of funny bloopers (which include me hunting with a Mathews Passion) we were headed to the woods bright and early on the cold morning of November 6th. We were staying in a house that me and some of my buddies had rented for the week and it was about a twenty minute drive from there to the farm. Samantha and I get to the farm, get all of our gear together and head to the stand when I realize that WE had forgotten the camera! GREAT!!! It’s the coldest morning of the year and the camera is twenty minutes away. It’s starting to break daylight! Luckily Brandon Rackley, or as we call him Rack Daddy had already tagged out on a 150” stud on the first morning so he met me half way with the camera.
We slipped into the stand a little after daylight and actually bumped one deer off of a scrape about 10 yards from the bottom of the tree. None the less we climbed up and got situated. The next two and half hours produced a button head and a small 6 point that seemed to have no certain rhyme or reason to when or where it was going. At about 9:30 I thought I heard something to the north. It was real thick but I could make out a large rack weaving its way through the brush headin’ our way. Okay, this is what I live for … my heart is beating out of my chest and the buck is fixing to pop out in a shooting lane at 30 yards. I draw my bow and sure enough the big 10 point steps right in the shooting lane, just one problem, he’s facing me. For the next few seconds I wondered if I had just royally screwed up by pulling back too soon. About that time the buck started to turn broadside, my 30 yard pin found the crease low behind the shoulder and….. Well you’re starting to get the idea by now. You’ll have to watch the show and find out what happens from here. We’re heading to Ray’s Creek Outfitters in Illinois where we’re going after a giant 8 pointer that we had encountered opening week, so wish us luck. As always keep us in your prayers and we’ll keep you posted. LEVI
