Rack Magazine

Even smart, nocturnal bucks can forget everything they’ve learned.

As a timber buyer in the logging industry, Chad McCoy of Peebles, Ohio, spends a lot of time in the woods. Even when he’s not working, he’s often still looking at trees from a deer stand.

In the fall of 2010, while appraising property in Adams County, he came across one of the most alluring pieces of whitetail habitat he had ever seen. It was a bench within a 3- to 4-acre stand of white oaks, flanked by a cedar thicket.

He was quick to tell his brother, Lear, about the amazing stand site he’d found. And not long after that visit, the McCoys bought the tract.

In 2011, upon taking possession of the property, Chad was anxious to return to the oak bench and install a trail camera to take inventory of the whitetail population. In addition to having all of the necessary elements to hold trophy-class bucks, Chad specifically liked the easy-in, easy-out access to the sanctuary.

He knew he could slip into a stand nearly undetected.

Chad was not surprised when a buck wearing upward of 160 inches of antler activated the trail cam’s shutter in early October. Even though all were nighttime photos, Chad began to spend some time in the stand.

He eventually came to the conclusion that there might be a better place to intercept the deer during shooting hours.

During the second week of November, Chad got his first and only glimpse of the buck from a different setup. It was trailing a doe that evening, and it passed within 60 yards.

Chad decided to devote even more time in 2012 to patterning the buck he nicknamed King. He planted food plots as well.

Near the end of September, the McCoy brothers set out several trail cams around the property. While the monarch appeared on camera several times, it was always at night. Neither brother saw him.

And then the curtain fell on the 2012 season.

King reappeared on camera in 2013, again during the first week of October, and his antlers had grown even more impressive. Chad knew he was onto something special.

Nearly a week after arrowing another monstrous deer, Lear pulled the memory card from the camera stationed near the oak flat where King had been photographed. For the first time, there was a daytime photo of him — three, on consecutive days, to be precise.

Lear called Chad, who had not hunted to that point, to share the news. That same afternoon, the siblings climbed into a double treestand. Chad was the hunter, and Lear was armed with a camera.

Just over an hour after they settled in, the guys spotted a deer approaching from their left. It was entering the oak flat from the cedars that had piqued Chad’s interest before the deed bore their name.

Soon after the deer exited the thicket, the brothers recognized him. King was completely at ease, taking his time, browsing, and he eventually stopped to make a scrape.

Millions of thoughts raced through Chad’s head in the 10 minutes between the initial sighting of the buck and the snap of the crossbow’s taut string. He kept asking himself why the mature whitetail was walking with the wind at his back, and outside the cover of darkness.

When the buck closed to within 20 yards, he froze, sensing something was amiss. The buck scanned the woods with eyes, ears and nose, trying to decipher the alarm bells sounding in his head.

Because the wind was at his back, King eventually calmed down and resumed walking. Chad touched his trigger and released his bolt when the big animal cleared a tree.

The giant went to ground within 80 yards of the gawking brothers. They saw him hit the dirt.

Editor’s Note: The story of Lear McCoy’s whitetail appeared in last month’s issue on page 50. There’s only 1/8 inch difference in the official scores of the brothers’ bucks.

Hunter: Chad McCoy
BTR Score: 196 6/8
Crossbow
Typical

– Photos courtesy Chad McCoy

This article was published in the September 2014 edition of Rack Magazine. Subscribe today to have Rack Magazine delivered to your home.

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