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Brooke’s Buck
By Dale Weddle
Tennessee girl, lover of deer burgers, shoots a whitetail that’ll wind up on more than a plate. Brad Bentz and his 11-year-old daughter, Brooke, teamed up with friends Calvin Blevins and his daughter, McKenzie, to participate in Kentucky’s youth-only deer hunt Oct. 10-11. They drove up from Maryville, Tennessee, the night before the hun... READ MORE
But What Happened to the 8-Pointer?
By John E. Phillips
It costs nothing to take second, third and even fourth looks at deer you’ve already let pass. Ronald “Bubba” Belk of Sheridan, Montana, hunted deer in southeastern Kansas with outfitter Larry Ellis in 2014. Also in camp during that first week of the Sunflower State’s muzzleloader season were David Morris and some cameramen f... READ MORE
Double-Teaming a Paddlehead
By Dale Weddle
Vermont’s finest bull by bow no longer lives there. Hungry for a new challenge, Brad Thornsberry and his wife Martina decided in 2012 to look beyond their beloved Kentucky. Spurred by descriptions of New England’s beauty and plentiful game, husband and wife (operators of Beaver Creek Outfitters in Knott County) applied for moose tags in... READ MORE
Green, Green Grass of Away
By Ed Waite
Cincinnati hunter discovers I-275 is the road to Heaven. Just in case the grass WAS greener on the other side of the state line, Ryan Hancock of Cincinnati, Ohio, found himself a 60-acre farm to hunt in Indiana last season. He simply wanted more options, and the tract is far larger than any he hunts in his home state. Plus, the Hoosier farm is a b... READ MORE
Getting a Goodun
By Duncan Dobie
Georgia hunter values marksmanship and old-fashioned luck over all things fancy. Lucy Nix says her husband and hunting partner, Steve, is the luckiest man she knows. The Clayton, Georgia, couple has hunted deer across many Southern states for years. She’s taken her share, but he rarely fails to collect venison, and he brought home a lot more ... READ MORE
Beaten by the Path
By Lisa Price
Eighteen-pointer’s fatal mistake was taking the same trail twice, just a few hours apart. When the Sunflower State’s 2011 deer season opened on Nov. 30, Greg Tanking’s hunting buddy, Lou, watched the sunrise from inside a blind formed by hay bales. Many hunters buy imitation hay bale blinds because deer and other animals become ac... READ MORE
Fine Day for Playing Hooky
By Lisa Price
Bucks are more predictable when they’re interested only in eating and sleeping. Ethan Brogden of Burns, Tennessee, hunts his father’s 80 acres in Dickson County. So do his stepbrother, Jeff Triolo, and friend Jacob White. His stepdad, the late Mike Trilio, used to hunt there as well. The guys had been drooling over the same buck since 2... READ MORE
That Smell
By Dale Weddle
Walking Lynyrd Skynyrd song might never hunt again without a spray bottle. Steven Olt had thrown everything he had at the monstrous buck and come up short. Ever since the Green County, Kentucky, hunter had retrieved trail camera photographs of the giant deer, he’d focused on tagging it. “I never could pattern the buck,” he said. &... READ MORE
All in the Family
By Dale Weddle
A Butler did it. In Kentucky. With a rifle. Family members weren’t surprised when they heard about the buck Allie Butler shot last year in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. It’s a wonder the 24-year-old hadn’t bested all their bucks sooner than she did. Allie took to hunting like a duck to water. “I don’t guess she had a ... READ MORE
Just One Look
By John E. Phillips
A near hair-to-grill encounter is all it takes to awaken Kansan’s inner deer hunter. Keith Hendrix, now 77 and living in Topeka, still remembers the afternoon in 1973 when a gigantic buck crossed the country road in front of his vehicle. He was so enthralled by the sight, the 35-year-old policeman decided to go on his very first deer hunt the... READ MORE