Probably the widest whitetail to come out of the 2016 season was arrowed in Darke County, Ohio, by a man who'd once given up hunting altogether.
Gary Douglas of Greenville, Ohio, doesn't remember why he quit hunting in 1997, but he got back into it because of some venison sausage a friend provided. His kids adored it so much that they urged him to bring home more.
Rather than take the plunge into debt, Gary waded back into the sport by purchasing a second-hand bow from a local pawn shop. He also bought a dozen no-frills arrows at another store.
He practiced with his bow in the back yard until he began consistently grouping arrows. He also gained permission to hunt a neighbor's farm.
'I got my license and went out to look around the place,' he told Ed Waite, who's writing his story for Rack magazine. 'I found a spot near a gully that looked real promising, so I set up a ground blind. The wife would be working, and the kids would be in school the next day.'
All he had to do at that point was to rob a couple of broadheads from his wife's crossbow bolts.
Gary was sitting in his blind by 6:00 the next morning, Nov. 5. The landowner had told him the area held a lot of does, and he would've gladly shot one.
Soon into his vigil, Gary spotted two does approaching from about 200 yards away. They'd closed to within 50 when a huge buck stepped out of the nearby woodlot.
Ed told me that Gary's inability to completely close his left eye prompted a friend to suggest he wear a patch. His daughter made one for him.
When the buck was at 40 yards, Gary attempted to hook his release to the loop. But the patch affected his perception, and he hooked the string instead.
After burning several seconds to correct the problem, he drew when the deer was 30 yards from him.
'I heard the smack, but I didn't see where the arrow actually struck the buck,' he said. 'I just remember aiming for the opposite shoulder, hoping for a heart-lung shot.'
Gary went home afterward to allow his nerves to settle.
When he found the deer later that day, his daughter came and helped him drag it to her car. Unable to load it, they dragged it back to their house.
The 18-pointer has a BTR composite score of 226 3/8. The inside spread accounts for 29 2/8 inches.
— Read Recent Blog! Fool Me Once (is Enough): Cole Tiger / BTR Composite Score: 203 4/8