After two strikes, Kentucky bowhunter hits a home run during his third time at bat.
Brian Strunk’s favorite hunting spot is a hollow in Pulaski County, Kentucky, a gateway through which deer enter an overgrown field.
He has two options: a permanent treestand tucked in a cedar about 35 yards from where deer usually emerge, and a portable blind farther beyond the trail.
Brian bowhunts from the former, and he uses the latter during rifle season. He erects the blind in September and pulls it in December.
He shared it with his little boy in 2016.
“My 6-year-old son, Gunner, shot his first deer out of the blind during Kentucky’s early youth weekend hunt,” he said.
And if that wasn’t enough reason to become enamored with the spot, he also shot his biggest deer there later that fall. He considers his own as icing on the cake.
“I have a trail camera set up about 20 yards in the woods at that hunting spot,” Brian said. “In 2014, I got some photos of a nice 9-pointer with long brow tines.
“While I was bowhunting on Oct. 12 that year, the buck came to within 20 yards of me in response to a grunt call. It was a nice deer, but I decided to let it grow,” he continued.
“It was an 11-pointer in 2015, but I never saw it live,” Brian said. “I just got several trail cam pictures of it.”
When he retrieved a trail cam photo of the buck in 2016, he knew he would never pass up a chance to shoot it. The daytime photo was of the deer still in velvet, which added to its impressiveness.
Brian decided he would be extra careful in hunting the big whitetail. The previous four years, he had bushhogged the field by his treestand. When he thought about it, he realized he was not only altering the habitat, but he was also affecting the way deer were using it.
In preparation for the 2016 season, he created trails through the weeds with his side-by-side UTV, hoping the deer would use them.
So worried about spooking the buck, Brian even limited his September bowhunts there. In his first two trips, he passed up small bucks and does.
The second time, he had to wait in his stand for an hour after dark because he didn’t want to scare deer away from the buffet he’d put out for them.
After that, Brian decided to wait for cold weather and the pre-rut before returning. He figured the target buck might be more apt to respond to calls as the season progressed.
“The Friday before the modern gun opener was 35 degrees and calm, and I decided to hunt my favorite spot in the cedar tree,” he said. “I got up, got my stuff, drove to the place and parked about a half-mile from the stand.
“I walked in by flashlight and got to the tree just as it was breaking day. I was running a little later than usual. I hung some estrous doe and dominant buck scents before climbing.
“Once I got in the stand, I called three times with a doe bleat can and blew three dominant buck grunts on my call,” he continued. “After that, it was quiet for about five minutes, and then I saw this buck walking out of a ravine.
“It came to about 40 yards of me and stopped. At first, its head was down, but then it raised its head and licked its nose. The buck was clearly trying to catch the scent of the deer it heard.”
Meanwhile, Brian gingerly lifted his bow from its hanger and lifted his feet to position himself for a shot while sitting.
“I’m left-handed,” he said. “While the buck circled to my right, still looking for the other deer, I stood slowly. When it came in to about 35 yards and stopped, quartering and looking the other way, I drew, settled my pin and released. The shot was perfect.
“The deer didn’t jump when the arrow hit. It just trotted off, back out of sight into the ravine,” he said.
As soon as the deer was out of sight, Brian slipped out of autopilot and marveled over the previous few minutes. He was considerably less calm than he’d been before taking the shot.
When he was breathing normally again, he descended his tree and left the woods to give the buck an hour and a half. He was so shaken, he locked himself out of his car and house.
Brian returned later with friends to retrieve his deer, which had traveled only 50 yards.
This article was published in the August 2017 edition of Rack Magazine. Subscribe today to have Rack Magazine delivered to your home.
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