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Entries for January 2018
Once a Naysayer, Not Always a Naysayer
By Mike Handley
Frank Lemongelli is a bowhunter. Bowhunters are generally pessimistic. Therefore, Frank is a pessimist. Or at least he used to be. When the 48-year-old health department inspector drew his bow to shoot an impossibly huge buck last fall, a tree branch obscured the deer’s side. In order to get a shot, he would have to wait – arm cocked an... READ MORE
No Truer Words
By Mike Handley
When Steven Everett purchased 130 acres in Logan County, Oklahoma, in 2015, the previous landowner told him the property held some big bucks. Deer season had already started, but it didn’t take long for the new owner to validate the seller’s claim. “We got a picture of a deer I named Goliath, which was the first name I thought of ... READ MORE
Despite the Near-70-degree Weather
By Mike Handley
The beetle man hates Josh Feldman, but at least one taxidermist near Alton, Illinois, could kiss him. Had it not been for Josh’s shaming, Aaron Fry might’ve paid to have insects clean his 2017 buck’s skull so he could screw it to a plaque. But the cape and antlers are now with a taxidermist, soon to be Aaron’s first trophy w... READ MORE
Daddy Sang Tenor
By Mike Handley
Some men squeak when they see rats, snakes or spiders. It takes a dead buck - a big one - for Bill Nadeau to sing tenor. That said, the deer hunter from Indiahoma, Oklahoma, outsang Luciano Pavarotti on Nov. 3. While looking for the buck he shot that afternoon, Bill called a buddy, Kris Borden. The phone was to his ear when he found first blood, an... READ MORE
Two for Two
By Mike Handley
After a lifetime of fantasizing about hunting deer in far-flung places, Arkansas hunter Mike Novak lived the dream twice in 2017. Friends invited him to hunt in both Illinois and Ohio. He originally declined the latter because the proposed dates overlapped, but he didn’t count on filling his first tag an hour and a half into his Illinois stin... READ MORE