Smalltown Bucks

Back to Basics

Back to Basics

By Christopher Kunkel

Michigan bowhunter can’t resist the call to return to archery’s roots. My archery journey started about 18 years ago. Like most new archers, I was introduced to bowhunting through other archers, in my case it was coworkers. My first bow was a used Browning compound with 60 percent letoff. The draw length was 3 inches longer than it sh... READ MORE

The Bow Stalk

The Bow Stalk

By Taylor Maas

Never-quit attitude helps Iowa bowhunter recover his biggest-ever buck. October 11, 2017 started similar to most other fall workdays. After getting to the office that morning, I checked the weather throughout the day, trying to decide if and where I should hunt that evening. The wind that evening allowed me to hunt from a stand I had never tried be... READ MORE

Virginia Is for Bowhunters

Virginia Is for Bowhunters

By Mark Douglas

Whether it’s your first or your 82nd, there’s something special about taking a deer with a bow. On the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 8, I couldn’t wait to take my climber to a location I had scouted two weeks before opening day of the Virginia archery season. There were two scrapes under a couple of broken branches on an old logg... READ MORE

Nephew's 1st Buck Leads to Uncle's Bruiser

Nephew's 1st Buck Leads to Uncle's Bruiser

By Rocky Harrell (Cody Harrell's uncle)

I love hunting. The good Lord comes first, and then family, then deer hunting, but I really love deer hunting.  I've hunted in Rutherford County in Middle Tennessee since I was about 8-years-old, but I didn’t take my first deer until I was 10. Hunting in Tennessee was hard at that time. All I saw were does, never any bucks. When I was ... READ MORE

Hunter Does Papa’s .30-30 Proud

Hunter Does Papa’s .30-30 Proud

By Penny Robertson

My husband, our two sons Hunter and Seth and I moved from Tennessee to Moneta, Virginia, in May of 2013. We’d been looking forward to the chance to go hunting together as a family all year long, so we decided not to travel back to Tennessee for Thanksgiving. Hunter, our 13-year-old son, had been bowhunting earlier in the season on our ne... READ MORE

The Ringo Bull

The Ringo Bull

By Anthony Coffey

This Hunt started by sending in for The Kentucky Quota Elk Hunt. It was the 13th year I had applied for a permit, and I had begun to give up hope. When they released the results on their website on May 15th, I logged on just to make sure it still said, “Sorry, try again next year.” I couldn’t believe my eyes when, instead, it was... READ MORE

Stress Test

Stress Test

By Richard C. West

It’s great to finally see the buck of your dreams, but don’t get too excited. On the Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2015, an Illinois buck tested my heart. It was the second day of the firearms season, and I’d spent my first day – all 12 hours – on the stand with nothing to show for it but a couple of song birds, a re... READ MORE

It’s Not Just a Buck, It’s an Adventure

It’s Not Just a Buck, It’s an Adventure

By Jessica R. Cain | LaFollette, Tenn.

The hunting bug bit late, but awfully hard for this Tennessee huntress. Even though I grew up in a hunting family, I didn’t get bit by the bug until 2015. That year on Thanksgiving day, I tagged my very first deer, an 8-pointer. But it wasn’t until the next hunting season when I tagged a 10-pointer that it really hit me. The day after T... READ MORE

Blustery Day Buck

Blustery Day Buck

By Krissy Jean Zimmer

The day ended up awesomely, but it didn’t start out that way. On Friday, while at work in the dental office, I checked my weather channel app. It said, “30 mph winds — stay in bed today.” I laughed when I read that. Even my boss Dr. Rahn said, “I bet you won’t get up and go tomorrow.” I considered staying i... READ MORE

Dagwoods Anyone?

Dagwoods Anyone?

By Andrew Marley

How a rabbit hunter fills a freezer in just five seconds. Spoiler alert! This story does not have any antlers involved, but it is interesting nonetheless. Fortunately, it doesn’t end with a big bowl of tag soup, either. Opening day of Kentucky’s gun season finally arrived, and I headed to the woods, excited about what might be under t... READ MORE

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Copyright 2020 by Buckmasters, Ltd