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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
Wayne Leazier Jr. Buck
By Mike Handley
Few deer hunters would trade big woods serenity and fresh air for the ambient noise of a nearby highway and a breeze tainted by diesel fumes. But one bowhunter from Fort Wayne, Ind., has learned that aesthetics have little to do with one’s chances of taking home a buck. Wayne Leazier Jr. logs a lot of miles each fall in his quest for whitetai... READ MORE
Jamie Remmers Buck
By Jamie Remmers
"Grab your shoes and coat," my husband, Kent, yelled as he came running into the house. "You've got to see this buck!"
So there I was, in my shoes, coat and pajamas, looking at a magnificent animal through a pair of binoculars. About half a dozen brief encounters like that, during the rut, are all we can expect. By the time rifle season rolls arou... 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
Pat Bates Buck
By Mike Handley
Pheromones and estrous doe scents might be akin to Cupid’s arrow, but whatever Pat Bates pours on bushes is more like Thor’s hammer.
One whiff of the concoction will turn bucks into white-eyed defoliators, or, if they’re big and stupid enough to do battle with flora in front of Pat, into wall art.
The retired firefighter from Al... 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
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
Johnny King Buck
By Mike Handley
The two men approached the downed buck cautiously, from different sides. Johnny King’s bullets had dropped the enormous whitetail, but Brad Heisz, who’d answered his cousin’s desperate call for help, had obligingly administered the coup de grace. Brad reached it first, while Johnny was circling around in front. He knelt, grasped t... READ MORE