Two seasons of saying “One more year” were the most Ohio deer hunter Benjamin Seabolt could manage.
The first time Benjamin said it was in 2015, when he retrieved trail camera photographs of a 130-ish 10-pointer he decided was only 2 ½ years old.
“I knew it had world-class potential if allowed to grow another couple of years,” he told Ed Waite, who’s writing the story for Rack magazine.
Benjamin saw the deer in the flesh during the summer of 2016. It had added a couple of points and maybe 30 inches to its long-tined rack. He also saw it following a doe across his food plot on opening day of bow season.
Knowing his resolve could melt if the buck walked past within range, Benjamin busied himself with mature bucks on another piece of ground. He wound up burning his tag on a 4 ½-year-old bruiser that wore 142 inches of antler.
The following spring, he found the up-and-comer’s right shed, which tallied 72 inches.
“I was never able to locate the left side, but knowing it was almost equal to the right, a 16-inch spread would mean an even 160 inches,” he said. “That’s pretty impressive for a 3 ½-year-old.”
The rack was pushing 200 inches in 2017, and Benjamin decided it was fair game as soon as he collected the first trail cam image of the deer.
“In early September, I got a few daylight pictures of the buck crossing the piece of timbered property I had permission to hunt,” Benjamin said. “Even though the property is small, I knew I was at least in the game.” Benjamin was optimistic when he headed afield about 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28. A cold front had come through, and conditions were perfect.
Soon after climbing into his stand, he witnessed a couple of young bucks chasing a doe off the field he was watching. The next arrival was the buck he wanted.
“The deer was coming right at me and only 30 yards away when I picked up my bow,” Benjamin said. “I drew as it passed behind the only branch offering me cover.
“When he stopped at 15 yards, I settled the pin, released and saw the arrow hit, probably a liver AND double-lung shot,” he continued. “I watched him bounce across the field, and then he stopped and fell over dead.”
Benjamin’s assessment of the antlers in the photographs was spot-on. The rack’s BTR score is 196 3/8 inches.
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