...WE HAVE A WINNER
The late seasons are a wrap! Thank you for all the stories that were submitted this year, and thanks even more for your passion to put in the work on all the wonderful hunts we heard about. BUT, it is a contest and so we narrowed it down to four finalists, and asked for your help to pick the Champ! Voting ended: Wednesday February 24, 2021 @11:59pm EST!
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE WINNER, and we look forward to everyone sharing their experiences again next year!
Andi's First Deer
This was the first year my daughter expressed interest in deer hunting. So the week before opening rifle season she studied her hunter safety and passed the test. We went out for a practice shoot and to sight in the rifle. Opening day we went to the tree stand together and got comfortable. We sat all morning without seeing anything. After lunch we went back out and two hours before sundown a doe came by our stand. My daughter got her gloves off and ready but couldn’t get in the right position for a shot. She was so bummed. But with the rut in full force, a couple minutes later we were lucky that a buck was following the doe. She again ripped her gloves off and got ready. I said “meah” to stop the buck but he was on a mission!! I had to scream it to get the buck to pause for a second. My daughter was still ready and squeezed one off!! It was a great shot!! 1st deer!!!! She got it done!!!!! The buck went 25 yards and stood there for about 30 seconds before getting “woozie”. DEER DOWN!
Braden's Big Bruiser
My son Braden spent opening weekend pretty bummed after he couldn't get a good shot on a nice buck and his big sister ended up punching her tag. Needless to say he cheered up fast when this old bruiser showed up in our spot. Braden was super nervous as we worked and waited; watched and planned the approach. He kept it together better than I was, and made a great shot. This buck dropped right in his tracks. He has 15 total points and 3.5" kickers off the back of BOTH G2's!! Great memories and a great buck for my 12 year old son and this proud dad!!!
WINNER...WINNER...WINNER !!
The Virginian Triceratops
Chaseing Triceratops - From the very first picture in early May, I added the buck I nicknamed Triceratops as a buck I'd pursue during hunting season. Of course, he ended up growing out of his name, actually becoming a 4×4 until sometime in August when he broke a tine off and ending up as this 4×3. Between May 12 and Oct 31, I caught 300+ pictures on 5 different cameras. The final live picture is the one my Browning snapped seconds before my 50 Caliber ended the pursuit.
Scouting, keeping tabs on and then connecting on this deer made it a fun and special year. I look forward to trying to find and outsmart another buck next year!
Kim's Sneaky Archery Stalk
Well my youngest - Kimberly - finally made it happen with her first archery kill. Now there’s no going back and she is addicted. We found two bucks hiding up in the shade of the rocks and put a stalk on them. When we first saw them I told Kim that we need to come over the rock from the south and it would help if we had a north wind. By the time we got over there it was like
someone heard me say that and we had a 10 mph sustained wind straight out of the north. When we peeked over the side the smaller of the two was laying 10 yards away looking the other direction. I whispered to Kim that she can’t pass this shot up. When she drew back I drew also hoping the bigger buck would expose himself somewhere. Kim made a perfect shot, but the bigger buck exploded out of his bed hauling the mail. Oh well, Kim’s deer made it about 30 yards and pilled up. The kid
was so excited!!!!!