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Blake Voltz Buck
By Mike Handley
The only sound worse than the steel-on-brass click of a firing pin punching a dud primer is the raucous laughter of the deer gods, one of whom is surely named Murphy.
Just ask Blake Voltz.
That’s precisely what happened to the deer hunter from Columbus, Ga., back in 1997, when he was staring through crosshairs at the biggest buck he’d... READ MORE
Scott Odenbrett Buck
By Rusty Johnson
Try telling Ryan Odenbrett that life is fair.
He wanted to go bowhunting on the cool gray afternoon of Oct. 20. He knew exactly which stand to visit, too. But the conflicted sophomore at Southern Missouri really needed every available hour to study for a biology test. Or did he?
His dad, Scott, made the decision easy.
“You study for your t... READ MORE
Andrew French Buck
By Allen "Horntagger" Morris
"Wait a minute," Brian Bard stopped, his face a rainbow of emotion. "You're not going to believe this … My bow's back in the truck!"
Brian and Andrew French were so preoccupied by thoughts of what their afternoon hunt would bring that neither thought it odd - at least at first - that Brian wasn't carrying his bow. He was carrying his huntin... READ MORE
Mike Beatty Buck
By Dan Armitage
Fumbling nervously in the darkness for one of his distinctive white-fletched arrows, Mike Beatty had made one of the toughest decisions of his life: to temporarily abandon the search for the monstrous whitetail he'd shot at dusk. Still not convinced that he'd chosen correctly, the Ohio bowhunter nocked the projectile on the barbed wire fence to mar... READ MORE
Robert Shadow Buck
By Duncan Dobie
"Robert Shadow's '09 Kansas bow tag almost wound up in a drawer rather than on a buck's antlers. He and his son, Alan, had drawn the permits and were looking forward to hunting the "Promised Land," but then along came a double dose of tragedy. Robert's 89-year-old mother passed away in early October. Later that same month, a tornado toppled a large... READ MORE
Wayne Schumacher Buck
By Duncan Dobie
As Wayne Schumacher sat in his stand watching the late afternoon shadows steadily darken, he briefly daydreamed about a huge 24-point buck that had been photographed near the property he was hunting. The thoughts that went through his head were not unlike those that go through the minds of many hunters who hope for a one-of-a-kind encounter with a ... READ MORE
Ryan Cox Buck
By Mike Handley
Neither nature’s call nor a need for fuel caused Ryan Cox to suddenly veer off the highway and pull into the nearest gas station on Oct. 16. The 18-year-old from Eagleville, Mo., was on his way back to Columbia from St. Louis, where he’d gone to look at a truck for sale, when his brother, Kris, sent him a photograph via cell phone. The ... READ MORE
Brandon Alday Buck
By Mike Handley
Brandon Alday's 4-year-old son, Hayes, nearly choked him when the yelling commenced. The boy was getting a free ride on his father's shoulders when Brandon’s flashlight beam fell across the buck he was convinced he’d either missed or maimed.
"I started screaming like a little girl, which scared my son half to death," Brandon laughs. "H... READ MORE