Smalltown Bucks

Muley Mission

Muley Mission

By Kevin Stevens

In August of 2009, my hunting buddy Larry asked me to scout a new area we hadn’t hunted before. We took my truck and set off to the well-known G-2 big buck area in Wyoming. When we arrived, Tre Heiner of Double Diamond Outfitters, our guide, had horses ready for us at the trail head. We headed into the hills to scout some big bucks, amazed a... READ MORE

First of Many

First of Many

By Lyndsey Wesner

I’ve had a lot of firsts in the past eight months, so after I caught my first 20-pound king salmon, shot my first 8-point buck with a bow, took my first doe with a bow, and my first doe with a muzzleloader, naturally I expressed desire to shoot my first turkey. My husband Rick said, “It's not easy. They have keen eyesight, and the slig... READ MORE

Oh, Brother!

Oh, Brother!

By Todd Davis

Last year my youngest brother Fred kept harvesting critters in northeast Oklahoma, while I struggled to see anything in drought stricken north Texas. North Texas looked, smelled, and felt like being on the moon. Everything was brittle, dried up and turning to dust. After ribbing me for months, Fred finally extended an invitation to hunt with him t... READ MORE

The 12-Year Wait

The 12-Year Wait

By Candice Guthrie

For the past 12 years, I’ve have been hunting on my dad’s lease in north Louisiana, Bienville Parish in Saline. I’ve only had a chance to shoot does. For some reason, I would never see a buck, and the two times I did see bucks, they were chasing does, and I can’t shoot that fast! I finally had my chance to change things the... READ MORE

The Brow Tine Buck

The Brow Tine Buck

By Brandon Carter

The fall of 2012 was one of the toughest whitetail seasons I had ever seen. EHD outbreaks across the Midwest during the drought-plagued summer significantly reduced buck numbers. Weather conditions were not favorable for daytime movement or rut activity, you had to make every encounter count. Of course, luck always plays a part. Anything and everyt... READ MORE

What the Doctor Ordered

What the Doctor Ordered

By William Miley

The best therapy is spending time in a deer stand. I live in Abilene, Texas, but I am from Westminster in Maryland. About 17 years ago, my family attended a church picnic for 4th of July. Someone had set up a bow range as part of the entertainment, and my good friend Rick Ellis told me to give it a shot. I borrowed pastor Ed Conrad’s compound... READ MORE

Lessons in the Wild

Lessons in the Wild

By James Oliver

Young bowhunter doesn’t make the same mistake twice! I have been hunting for as long as I can remember. It was a tradition passed down by my father, and I have passed it on to my two boys. My youngest, Hunter, has been at home in the wild since the age of 3 when I took him hunting for turkeys for the first time. When he was 4, Hunter took his... READ MORE

The Fall that Changed It All

The Fall that Changed It All

By Allen Wall

There’s no amount of experience or luck that will stop a treestand accident. The popping in my back sounded like someone running their fingers down the keys of a piano. The moment my feet touched the ground, my legs collapsed and my butt slammed to the ground. All of the vertebrae in my back compressed with the weight of my head and shoulders... 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

Congratulations, Dad!

Congratulations, Dad!

By Aaron Rippstein

Sometimes the best bucks are the ones taken by the people we love. I wanted to share this buck taken by my dad, Rob, on Nov. 4, 2017 in Highland County, Ohio. Growing up in southern California didn’t offer many opportunities to go deer hunting, so when my family moved to Ohio in 1992, my father wanted to try something different. It didn&rsquo... READ MORE

Copyright 2024 by Buckmasters, Ltd.