I’m not long back from my annual bowhunt with an old military friend at his farms in Illinois. This year was definitely a success. I usually plan to stay a week to 10 days over the rut. I got there on Sunday afternoon and we headed out for a quick evening hunt, mainly just to get the routine down, ensure I hadn’t forgotten anything important etc. It was a fun evening watching numerous young bucks moving through, nothing mature however.
The following morning I hunted a stand on the edge of a picked cornfield. Behind me was a a creek with a shelf that had a few well used trails. Not long after sunrise I had a small six come out behind me and mill around. I grabbed some quick pictures, just enjoying watching him. Within minutes I saw a mature buck moving very briskly down the field edge, he was quartering hard to in the first shooting lane. I had almost no time to judge his size but I knew he was a shooter. When he went behind some some thick branches I had the opportunity to grab my bow, hook up and draw... he was still walking fast when he hit the second small opening... a quick grunt stopped him perfectly in the lane. I settled my pin for a 22 yard quartering away shot. The shot felt and looked good but we gave him some time before beginning to track. The trail was easy to follow and we found him about 80 yards away.
Very proud of this one for sure. A big bodied, (255# live weight), very clean, typical 10, 152 1/8 with only 1.5” of deductions. He also had a double throat patch.
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