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Kismet for Kimmi
By John E. Phillips
Borrowed stand and grounded son combine to pit Kansas rifleman against the buck of his dreams. Forty-four-year-old Gene Kimmi of Lancaster, Kansas, and his cousin, Jason, have 400 timbered acres adjacent to a quarter-mile-wide and mile-long strip of CRP. The property also has a small pond, and both corn and soybean fields are nearby. The whitetails... READ MORE
Fish Hook
By John E. Phillips
A buck with a name pays the ultimate price for feeling a little too cozy. Where’s Colton?” Brad Geren of Windom, Kansas, asked his wife, Shari. “Downstairs, I guess,” she replied. When he didn’t find Colton there, Brad continued searching until he realized his son’s truck wasn’t outside. He deduced that if ... READ MORE
Poster Buck
By Dale Weddle
Kentucky outfitter hopes velvet giant will help put his new operation on the map. An aspiring outfitter can’t buy enough advertising to get the same kind of attention one dead buck can bring, if the deer’s really special. When Luke Carswell, a former deer guide, decided to be his own boss and open 7 Bar Outfitters in eastern Kentucky, h... READ MORE
The Taxidermy Yardstick
By John E. Phillips
Illinois hunter waits more than four decades to spring for a mount, and spring he did! It took only 42 years for Neil Best of Edwardsville, Illinois, to seek the services of a taxidermist. And the veteran deer hunter darkened the shop’s door twice in 2014. His first trip followed his harvesting a 7-pointer with his bow on Nov. 12. It had wand... READ MORE
Heavy D
By Darren Warner
The deer with a rapper’s name gets 187ed on its way to a Happy Meal. Adam Hupf knew a southerly breeze could wreck his hunt, and he wondered if sitting in his bow stand would do more harm than good. The wind wasn’t exactly bad, but it wasn’t ideal. Figuring he wouldn’t get many opportunities at the buck locals had nicknamed ... READ MORE
Heads You Win
By Duncan Dobie
Getting first choice of stands and choosing the most likely is no guarantee for a deer hunter. What if you could flip a coin for the opportunity to hunt a giant buck, win the toss, and be guaranteed a chance at that very buck? Sounds simple, but it’s a little more complicated than that. As the Downs brothers learned a few years ago, you can l... READ MORE
Buck Bartering
By Dale Weddle
Trading a warm bed for a deer stand is a small price to pay for a dream buck. The big buck ran about 30 yards, stopped, and then slowly disappeared into the fog. Trey Hutchison thought his arrow might have struck it low, but he wasn’t sure. Either way, he called his dad. When Jim Hutchison arrived shortly thereafter, he listened to his 16-yea... READ MORE
Stick & String
By Greg Hicks
Kansas gets a new king for one of its hills. Lynn Beaty, a “semi-retired” logger from Haughton, Louisiana, discovered the perfect bow setup nearly 50 years ago, and he still sees no reason to switch to curved limbs or cams. Lynn and four buddies from northwest Louisiana spend a fair amount of time bowhunting deer in Kansas. They have ac... READ MORE
Brooke’s Buck
By Dale Weddle
Tennessee girl, lover of deer burgers, shoots a whitetail that’ll wind up on more than a plate. Brad Bentz and his 11-year-old daughter, Brooke, teamed up with friends Calvin Blevins and his daughter, McKenzie, to participate in Kentucky’s youth-only deer hunt Oct. 10-11. They drove up from Maryville, Tennessee, the night before the hun... READ MORE
But What Happened to the 8-Pointer?
By John E. Phillips
It costs nothing to take second, third and even fourth looks at deer you’ve already let pass. Ronald “Bubba” Belk of Sheridan, Montana, hunted deer in southeastern Kansas with outfitter Larry Ellis in 2014. Also in camp during that first week of the Sunflower State’s muzzleloader season were David Morris and some cameramen f... READ MORE
Double-Teaming a Paddlehead
By Dale Weddle
Vermont’s finest bull by bow no longer lives there. Hungry for a new challenge, Brad Thornsberry and his wife Martina decided in 2012 to look beyond their beloved Kentucky. Spurred by descriptions of New England’s beauty and plentiful game, husband and wife (operators of Beaver Creek Outfitters in Knott County) applied for moose tags in... READ MORE
Green, Green Grass of Away
By Ed Waite
Cincinnati hunter discovers I-275 is the road to Heaven. Just in case the grass WAS greener on the other side of the state line, Ryan Hancock of Cincinnati, Ohio, found himself a 60-acre farm to hunt in Indiana last season. He simply wanted more options, and the tract is far larger than any he hunts in his home state. Plus, the Hoosier farm is a b... READ MORE
Getting a Goodun
By Duncan Dobie
Georgia hunter values marksmanship and old-fashioned luck over all things fancy. Lucy Nix says her husband and hunting partner, Steve, is the luckiest man she knows. The Clayton, Georgia, couple has hunted deer across many Southern states for years. She’s taken her share, but he rarely fails to collect venison, and he brought home a lot more ... READ MORE
Beaten by the Path
By Lisa Price
Eighteen-pointer’s fatal mistake was taking the same trail twice, just a few hours apart. When the Sunflower State’s 2011 deer season opened on Nov. 30, Greg Tanking’s hunting buddy, Lou, watched the sunrise from inside a blind formed by hay bales. Many hunters buy imitation hay bale blinds because deer and other animals become ac... READ MORE
Fine Day for Playing Hooky
By Lisa Price
Bucks are more predictable when they’re interested only in eating and sleeping. Ethan Brogden of Burns, Tennessee, hunts his father’s 80 acres in Dickson County. So do his stepbrother, Jeff Triolo, and friend Jacob White. His stepdad, the late Mike Trilio, used to hunt there as well. The guys had been drooling over the same buck since 2... READ MORE