Big Ohio Buck Arrowed in Four Seconds on Public Land

A twig snaps! Then, steps in the leaves!

I turn my head to the left and catch movement; a huge rack is coming straight toward me in the thicket. I quickly stand up, grab my bow off its hook, clip my release to the string, turn and draw, all in one continuous motion. By now, the buck is at 8 yards, and he turns to his right to go behind me. I frantically move my pin out in front of him but have no openings for a shot. Then, he stops. I move my pin back to him, and there is a 4-inch opening in front of the shoulder, and I have a good angle. I settle the pin low in the opening, so the arrow has clearance, and I touch off the release. I think I hit him good! All of this has happened in just four seconds.

Such encounters are nothing out of the ordinary for bowhunters who pursue rutting bucks in the thickets of Ohio. But this buck is special. His name is Zeus, and this is one unbelievable story.

A Rare Find

Every fall for the past decade, I have spent a week in Ohio hunting public-land whitetails with three good buddies — John Latschar, Denver Deremer and his son, Hunter Deremer. We rent a cabin at Lake Hope State Park in south-central Ohio’s Zaleski State Forest and spend a week chasing rutting bucks. Some years have been better than others, but we always have a good time.

Well, our 2023 trip turned out to be something special. At the beginning of the week, I found promising sign high up on a ridge overlooking a clearcut and hung a portable stand. I hunted that stand for three days and saw only one small spike walk by with his nose on the ground. I might have watched that deer for a total of 15 seconds; not much excitement for three days in a tree.

At lunchtime on Tuesday, Oct. 31, I had arranged to meet John at the truck to eat lunch and compare notes. I got out of my tree and stopped about 10 yards away to adjust my clothes. As I was sneaking out, I looked at the ground and my eyes caught the tip of an antler sticking up through the leaves. I reached down and picked it up. Incredibly, this shed antler from the previous season was in pristine condition — no decay or even any nibbles from rodents — just a little discoloration from the acidity of the leaves it was under. As I stood there in awe of the size of this antler, I started looking around. Sure enough, about three feet away was the matching antler, in similarly good condition. Wow, what a find! I couldn’t believe there were bucks of that caliber on the public land we were hunting.

I tried to put the antlers in my backpack, but they were too big to fit! So, I carried them out. When I got back to the truck, John was in awe. In 10 years of hunting this area, we had not seen a buck sporting antlers as large as these. We couldn’t help but wonder, where does a buck like this spend his time?

Obviously, he was on that ridge in late winter, because that’s where he shed his antlers. But he could be miles away by now. Heck, we realized he might even be dead. Regardless, I was awfully happy about finding those sheds.

Back at the cabin that night, we looked over the sheds some more and nicknamed the buck that grew them “Zeus,” king of the ancient Greek gods. The antlers are unique, with extra points growing out of the bases that makes them look really cool. Denver told me to have faith, and if I kept hunting that area, I might shoot Zeus by the end of the week. I told him I’d bet my house that would not happen. Most likely, if Zeus was still alive, he was chasing does miles away on some safe, private land. No, I figured the odds of seeing Zeus on the hoof were ridiculously low.

Making the Right Move

By midday on Wednesday, Nov. 1, I still hadn’t seen another deer from my stand. So, I moved the stand down into a clearcut about 150 yards off the ridge. There were no big trees to climb, but I found a small one that would hold my hang-on. So, that’s where I was. Still no deer sightings. John, Denver and Hunter, on the other hand, were all seeing deer, mostly midday sightings of bucks cruising in typical pre-rut style.

On Friday, Nov. 3, given what the other guys were seeing, we decided to sleep in and hunt the middle of the day. At 10 a.m., I slipped into my stand in the middle of the clearcut. It had rained that morning, and I was able to sneak in quietly. Half an hour later, I heard the twig snap and sound of hooves on the forest floor.

After I released the arrow, as described at the beginning this story, I knew my shot had found its mark. Zeus turned and plowed through the clearcut with his head down. I heard him go for about 70 yards. Then, there was silence. Five seconds later, I heard a little more commotion, followed by more silence. At that point, I hung up my bow and sat down. I was shaking so bad, I was lucky I didn’t fall out of the tree!

After regaining my composure, I texted John and told him I’d hit Zeus! He couldn’t believe it. I told him I thought the shot was good, but we always wait at least an hour before tracking. While I sat in my tree waiting, I reflected on what had just happened. Could this really be Zeus? What were the odds?

John eventually showed up at my tree, so I climbed down and we started tracking. There was decent blood, but it was hard to find in the thick underbrush. John circled out ahead and eventually whistled that he had found the deer in the area where I’d last heard the buck. Almighty Zeus was down! The unique antlers matched up. As it turned out, the arrow had entered at the front of the shoulder, cut the arteries across the top of the heart and exited low behind the opposite shoulder, breaking the front leg on exit.

Lessons Learned

As a lifelong bowhunter with more than 40 years of experience chasing whitetails in my home state of Pennsylvania, I recognize each harvest is unique. With my seasoned bowhunting friends, we analyze every detail of our hunts to improve for the future. As we reflected on the success of a career-high buck, we can only surmise that Zeus was bedded in the clearcut when I sneaked to my stand that day. And, for some reason, he decided it was time to get up and find a doe at midday.

Public-land hunting is not for the faint of heart. We spend hours of time scouting and sitting in trees for those few seconds of excitement; that’s bowhunting! On my successful hunt for Zeus in 2023, I estimate that I spent a grand total of 20 seconds watching deer over the course of the entire week. Yet, I only needed four of those 20 seconds to seal the deal on my buck of a lifetime.

An awful lot has been written about hunting public land, much of it dealing with how to access the “hard-to-reach” areas and get away from fellow hunters. But our approach is a little different. In our experience, public-land deer, especially big bucks, seem to know just where to be so they can avoid being seen by hunters. Zeus, in particular, was taken within 200 yards of a main road. Many hunters had walked right past this buck on their way to hunt more remote areas. The key, we have found, is to get off the beaten path. Focus on the thick areas where it’s not easy for humans to walk.

When bucks live in high-use areas, they tend to be nocturnal. So, your best chance to find a buck on the move during daylight hours is almost certainly during the rut. But older deer didn’t get old by being stupid. Even during the rut, older bucks seem to spend time chasing does in really thick areas. Clearcuts really fit that bill, but they’re hard to hunt. To be successful, it takes unorthodox approaches.

I recently discussed treestand types with a couple longtime hunting friends from Pennsylvania. These guys religiously hunt with climbing treestands, and they have great success I may add. But, when I asked what they do when there are no straight trees to climb, their answer was, “We don’t hunt there!” That’s when I realized how different my approach has been. Trees do not always grow how or where you need them. Thus, I have a multitude of different treestands and climbing aids that allow me to climb whatever tree happens to be in the “right spot.” I have climbers, hang-ons, long climbing sticks, short climbing sticks with aiders, and even modified hang-ons that fit trees that will not accommodate a normal hang-on. And if I were younger, I would definitely be using saddles!

In Ohio, we focus on really thick areas, regardless of how far they are from the road, and we’ve had good success. It’s not necessarily fun hunting a 6-inch diameter tree only 10 feet high, but if that’s how best to surprise the buck of a lifetime, it’s worth it. Be flexible, and hunt smart. Put in the effort for public-land bucks and it’ll be worth it!

Dave Eppinger of Pennsylvania is a lifelong bowhunter who believes success lies in the details of the hunt.

AUTHOR’S NOTES: On this hunt, I shot a Mathews Classic bow outfitted with Gold Tip arrows and Rage broadheads.

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