Big Buck Tales

Audrey Sharp Buck

Audrey Sharp Buck

By Audrey Sharp

I didn’t sleep well on the Friday night before Indiana’s 2011 firearms opener. My husband, Jerry, had agreed to stay home with our daughters so I could go hunting with my dad, Tim Ostrander, and I was excited. I awoke at 4:30 a.m., got ready and was at my parents’ home an hour later. Dad asked me if I wanted to skip hunting and j... READ MORE

Steve Binkley Buck

Steve Binkley Buck

By Mike Handley

It took a couple of nocks, literally, but Steve Binkley of Lamoni, Iowa, received his Halloween treat four days early in 2008. Even after Steve’s first arrow drove home, the buck he shot on Oct. 27 took only a few hops before watching the thoroughly discombobulated bowhunter nock another arrow and trip his release a second time. Moments later... READ MORE

Charles Falkenheiner Buck

Charles Falkenheiner Buck

By Charles Falkenheiner

My buddies and I first became aware of this deer in August 2012, but nobody saw it during daylight hours until the hunting season was almost at an end. On that day, the bowhunter who saw it said the buck’s rack looked pretty busted up, so we all decided to hold off in hopes it would survive another year. During the summer of 2013, one of sev... READ MORE

Tom Hamel Buck

Tom Hamel Buck

By Mike Handley

It might be impossible to determine the extent of one deer’s effect upon the economy in Republic County, Kan., a couple of years ago, but there’s no doubt a substantial amount of cash changed hands when photographs of the animal hit the Internet. An influx of nonresidents hungry to lease hunting ground is never appreciated by those who... READ MORE

Scott Odenbrett Buck

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

Stuart Everett Buck

Stuart Everett Buck

By Rusty Johnson

Stuart Everett almost quit deer in 2014. After three seasons of pursuing a photogenic whitetail with a rack that seemed to double in points each year, he got an eyeblink of an opportunity and never fired a shot. The episode left him keenly aware of how much money he'd spent and how many hours he'd devoted to be able to touch those antlers. His obse... READ MORE

Joe Godar Buck

Joe Godar Buck

By Joe Godar

Each year, my longtime friend, Don, and I manage to block off a few days away from work and family to bowhunt together. In 2012, we found three days in November. Our destination was some property in Highland County, Ohio, I’d purchased five or six years earlier, though I’d hunted the place for far longer. My family has had several cabin... READ MORE

Bruce Lane Buck

Bruce Lane Buck

By Bruce Lane

Rather than striking out for my deer stand in the pouring rain on Oct. 31, I crawled back under the covers. The storm was supposed to move out by noon, which meant I could still spend half my Saturday in a tree. I’d hung my stand several months earlier, after spotting a huge whitetail bedded on a brushy hillside. The buck’s travel route... READ MORE

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Copyright 2020 by Buckmasters, Ltd