The story that follows was written by a good friend of mine and records her hunt for a mature buck that her ,and her fiancé, have been hunting for the entire 2012-2013 season. The story demonstrates the power of late season food sources and the action packed (high encounter numbers) that late season hunting can provide. With the cold temperatures that remain in Ohio, I encourage everyone with a tag left ,to do some low impact scouting, locate the biggest late season food source and then spend some hours in the tree/blind. Something I read many years ago, that I always remember this time of year is: Any buck worth hunting next year is out there today. The season is far from over! Good luck and Congratulations Jill!
As Written by: Jillian Trapasso
The day was January 2nd, a chilly day in an Ohio turnip field with a high temperature of 24 degrees. My fiance and I were only in the blind for 15 minutes when the first 4 does came out. Twenty minutes later, 16 more does came running into the field being chased by a 130 inch 8 point and a giant wide 11 point. We had seen the giant 11 pointer before and he was the one I wanted!
I sat motionless and anxiously watched the bucks spar for several minutes across the field. It seemed the second rut was in full swing and the does crossed the field in an attempt to escape the pressure of the late rutting bucks. The does all came with-in 30 yards and I was confident the bucks would follow.
After what seemed like forever, the winner of the sparring match (my wide 11 point) came trotting, grunting and dogging every doe he saw towards the blind. At 33 yards he presented a perfect quartering away shot. With adrenaline rushing through my body, I raised my Wicked Ridge Warrior crossbow, aimed at his vitals, squeezed the trigger and I watched my Lumenok bury right behind his shoulder! Immediately after the shot, the field exploded with deer running in every direction. My buck ran 50 yards before stumbling and finally falling down at approximately 75 yards.
It was a truly an amazing hunt and I have never been so excited in my life! I’m am so thankful and humbled, to have harvested such a mature, monster buck and sharing the experience with my fiancé ,that introduced me to hunting, only made the accomplishment that more special!
We scored the buck the next day and with 11 scorable points, a 21 7/8 inside spread and he grossed an amazing 163 3/8 inches! I hope to take the deer to the Ohio Deer and Turkey Expo this spring, keep an eye out for him!