Slow Start Turns Into Memorable Fall

This Wisconsin bowhunter had high hopes for the ’22 bow season. Having drawn both a Wyoming mule deer tag and a Montana elk tag, I headed out west on August 27 to prepare for the September 1 opener. But when we arrived in Wyoming, we were met with temps near 100 degrees, and the weather outlook called for more of the same — not the best hunting weather, to say the least. While we hunted hard over the next 10 days, we couldn’t find any mature bucks; only small bucks and does, and a lot of moose.

So, we shifted gears and headed for Montana in hopes of getting into the elk. But the high temperatures followed us to Big Sky Country — the day we arrived it was 93 degrees and extremely dry. We unpacked everything and decided to make a quick scouting trip before dark. But we hadn’t been on the mountain for more than an hour when we caught the first glimpse of smoke rolling in from our north. The air remained smoked-filled the entire time, and temperatures remained in the 90s. After seeing very few elk, we headed home feeling like our season was literally going up in smoke!

Once back in the Midwest, and with two deer tags in my pocket — and a bonus turkey tag — I repacked, refocused, and then headed for my “home away from home” in central Illinois.

When I pulled several trail-camera cards and noticed a large flock of turkeys with a couple toms traveling by one of my Redneck blinds, I decided my first sit, the morning of October 6, would be in that blind with hopes of shooting a Thanksgiving turkey — if the deer hunting was slow.

Sure enough, around 7:30 a.m., a flock of turkeys came by, so I picked out one gobbler and then put an Easton FMJ arrow through him. He ran 30 yards and tipped over. As I slung the turkey over my shoulder and headed for the truck, I was thinking that the second half of my season already was better than the first. But the warm and windy weather slowed down the deer activity until later in the month.

By mid-October, I began moving cameras over scrapes to start taking inventory. I found a new scrape on October 23 that was being used regularly, so I put a camera on it to see what I’d find. On the morning of October 27, I stopped by the scrape to pull the camera card and noticed a very large track with what appeared to be chunks missing out of the hooves. I couldn’t get home fast enough to see the animal that had made those tracks.

As I looked through the photos, I spotted the deer. It was a huge buck that made the rest of the deer in the photos look small — and he was a buck I’d never seen before. He had a unique flyer coming off his G-2, and he was in the scrape three different times that night. The last time he was in the scrape was at 6:30 a.m. Hopefully, I could use that to my advantage. Since he was visiting the scrape in the morning, I figured he was bedded somewhere nearby. The wind would be perfect for a treestand I’d set up between the presumed bedding area and the scrape.

That afternoon, I was in my stand by 2:30 p.m. By 3:15, I already was seeing deer, but mostly does and small bucks. Then, at 5:25 p.m., I heard a stick break. When I looked in that direction, I immediately recognized the buck from the photos. The first thing I noticed was his size, with legs that looked like they were only about 12 inches long because his body was so big.

I needed to turn around slightly, which was tricky because I didn’t want to startle any of the other deer around me. When I finally eased into position, the big buck was facing me at 17 yards. For several minutes he stood perfectly still, but then he turned broadside. I was ready, and I quickly sent an arrow that sliced through his heart. The buck immediately charged off about 40 yards, but then he tipped over and rolled down a steep ravine, all the way to the bottom.

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I waited roughly 15 minutes before getting down and heading for the ravine where I knew he’d crashed. The buck was even bigger than I’d originally thought, and I immediately looked at his hooves. Sure enough, there were chunks missing from both of his hooves, confirming that it was his tracks I’d seen in the scrape.

I needed help moving this big boy, so I excitedly called a couple of friends. Thanks to their help, and a four-wheeler with a winch, we were able to get the deer loaded up and out of the woods. We had decided not to field-dress him so we could get an accurate live weight when we got back to my friend’s shop. The scale doesn’t lie, and at 310 lbs., the buck proved to be a true giant. A smile crossed my face as I marveled over the big buck and how a season can turn around in the blink of an eye — and I still had another tag!

In early November, the forecast showed a big warmup with strong south winds coming in, so I decided to take care of a few projects and just keep checking cameras. My plan was to get back on stand once the weather cooled. I had a bedding area in mind that required a north wind to hunt it correctly, and I was just waiting for the opportunity.

On November 7, the winds finally shifted, so I quickly made plans to hunt my new stand setup. I thought the bucks might be checking the bedding area for does, as the rut was heating up. When I walked out of the house to head to my tree, I thought about what a perfect morning it was, with a good frost on the ground and just a light wind.

It was dark as I settled into my stand, but shortly after daylight, I began seeing some young bucks and does. Then, a nice four-year-old buck came in from my right. I watched him and thought what a nice deer he’d be next year.

Suddenly, a grunt sounded just over my left shoulder, and I immediately knew this buck was a shooter. He walked directly below my stand a couple yards from my tree, and I waited for him to move away for a better shot angle. My Hoyt was at full draw when the buck came into an opening about seven yards from my tree, and my shot was perfect. The buck ran off but tumbled less than 50 yards away. After a few minutes, I climbed down. Everything had happened so fast, I wasn’t sure what I’d find. But as I checked the deer over, I quickly recognized him as a buck I’d passed up two years earlier. At that time, I’d thought if he made it just one more year he’d be a good deer, but two added years made him even better!

As I stood over my second mature whitetail and reflected on how my season ended up, I just had to shake my head. Early on, I thought my ’22 season was going up in smoke, but the second half proved it to be a season to remember.

The author is a longtime friend of Bowhunter Magazine & TV and hails from Oxford, Wisconsin.

Author’s Note

My equipment on this hunt included a Hoyt RX-5 bow outfitted with a Hoyt Ultrarest, Spot Hogg sight, and a Fuse stabilizer and quiver. I shot Easton FMJ arrows tipped with Rage Hypodermic broadheads. Other gear notables include SIG SAUER optics, an HSS full-body harness and lifeline, and clothing from Browning.