Jason Fuller's 129-inch buck started a chain reaction of success.

Not long after sunrise the first deer, a big-bodied 6-point, showed up on the scene. He was heading toward a scrape 70 yards away when he spotted a doe in the willows and took off after her. A short while later, a deer sprinted across a field several hundred yards to my left, then another deer, then a half-dozen more. What's stirring them up? I thought. It didn't take long to get an answer. Coyotes! Three of them, running the deer in circles. The commotion put a quick end to the activity near our stand, and we walked back to the house to get warm.

Soon everyone else returned, and all reported seeing at least one quality buck. My dad, who had yet to kill a buck with his bow, had shown some real restraint in passing up a decent 8-point. "The buck was broadside at 21 yards," Dad said. "The only reason I didn't shoot was because it was the first morning. But boy was he tempting."

Over dinner that night, stories were the same -- lots of deer sightings, no shots. But things changed the next day, November 14, as rut activity really picked up. Big bucks were chasing and fighting, and they were coming eagerly to rattling.

Other animals even responded to my rattling. As Bob and I sat in stands overlooking a pasture bordered by thick willows, I started rattling to get the attention of a 120-class 8-pointer that was working a scrape 200 yards away. While the buck stared in my direction, looking for the source of the fighting sounds, a nice bull Shiras moose suddenly appeared from the willows 50 yards behind the buck. The moose crept to within 30 yards of the

8-pointer before the buck heard him and turned to look. The startled buck stood his ground for about two seconds before giving way to the moose and disappearing into the willows. That scene sent Bob and me into a fit of giggles, and I was surprised we saw any deer the rest of the evening. But right at last light we saw two 130-class bucks chasing does around the field.

And, as we learned back at camp, Adam Flod and Jason Fuller had both arrowed super bucks early that afternoon. Jason's buck, which had split brow tines and green-scored 129 3/8 inches, was chasing a hot doe in front of his stand. When the buck stopped to thrash a sapling, Jason's Carbon Express Maxima Hunter put the buck down quickly.

Adam's buck came so fast to the rattling antlers that Adam barely had time to grab his bow and make the 20-yard shot. His massive-bodied buck also had split brow tines -- a genetic trait common to that area -- and green-scored 138 inches.

Waking to a heavy snowfall Tuesday morning, Bob and I decided to sleep in rather than risk damage to Bob's camera gear. Everyone else braved the elements, and it paid off for Glenn Livelsberger, who killed a handsome 8-point at first light.

Bob and I got back in the "saddle" that afternoon, this time at a riverside stand across the bedding area from our first morning's stand. My first rattling sequence produced results in the form of four does. Two young bucks soon followed and chased the does out of sight.

Adam Flod's 138-inch buck fell victim to aggressive rattling and a well-placed arrow.

An hour later a doe appeared in an opening 100 yards away, and she was doing her best to shake three bucks hot on her tail. Two of the bucks were young, but the third was a shooter indeed. I tapped Bob on the leg and pointed, but by the time he got his camera fired up, the foursome had disappeared into the willows. We heard their crashing and saw them cross an opening several times over the next 30 minutes, but they never came close to bow range.

Returning to that same stand the next morning, Bob and I did not see a single deer,

so that afternoon Bob Harris suggested we sit a stand my dad had hunted the first morning. Dad had seen eight bucks there, and Bob assured us a couple of real monsters hung out in the area.

Continued -- click on page link below.