When Mark Yoder was a kid, deer gave him the willies. A quarter-century later, he still shakes whenever one catches him off guard.
Mark, now a 33-year-old nurse practitioner for a primary care facility, knew nothing of hunting or venison during his formative years. Seeing deer and dealing with the resulting adrenaline, however, planted a seed.
“Growing up, I dreamed of learning to hunt,” he said, “but my father worked long hours and never had the time to teach me. I remember walking through those woods as a child, seeing big deer up close, and being a little scared of them.”
The seed broke dormancy in 2024.
“My journey began as a joke,” laughs the new hunter from Wooster, Ohio. “When I saw a coworker’s 10-point buck mount in his office, told him I was going to take up hunting just to get a bigger one.”
That casual remark would prove to be prophetic.
“My friend, Joey Franklin, helped me set up a portable ground blind and a borrowed trail camera a couple of weeks beforehand. The 80 acres belong to my grandmother and hadn’t been hunted for quite some time,” Mark said.
Almost immediately, the camera yielded images of a fabulous buck.
“During my first outing with Joey, I caught a glimpse of the buck’s rack from about 60 yards away, but Joey didn’t believe me. Another time, while replenishing the feed station with corn, molasses, pumpkins and apples, I saw the large whitetail being chased off by a 12-pointer.
“On my third trip out, I went with my coworker, Zeb Beam, who rattled antlers and brought the buck charging in from 60 yards before it turned around and ran off again,” he said.
Three sightings in three trips.
“On Nov. 29, Black Friday, I hunted alone for the first time. It was cold — the temperature was in the 30s — and snowing. Convinced I wouldn’t get anything, my wife told me not to bother going, but I went out around 4 p.m., hoping to shoot at least a doe,” Mark said.
“The terrain was typical Ohio woods, covered with fallen leaves. Winter was just beginning. In front of me was an open area with gas pipes and an old oil station in the background. To the left and right were sparsely wooded areas, and behind me was thicker brush,” he added.
About a quarter of his grandmother’s acreage is wooded.
“I remember feeling discouraged by the cold and my lack of success after three outings,” he said.
“The first deer to appear was a doe at about 5:17, which came to within 15 yards,” Mark continued. “When I saw her, I wasn’t too nervous. I lined up the sight on my crossbow and took a breath. Something made me pause and scan the area, however, before squeezing the trigger
“To my surprise, just 5 feet behind her was the magnificent buck from the trail camera. My heart raced, and my hands shook. That was the moment I had been waiting for,” he said.
“My sight was set to 40 yards, but the buck was only 10 yards away, so I aimed slightly above the front quarter as Joey had advised, took a breath, and fired. The buck jumped and kicked like a rodeo bull. I heard the arrow hit metal, though, and was sure I’d missed.
“I opened the blind and saw four confused does, but no sign of the buck,” he continued.
“I called Joey immediately. On his way home from work, he told me to find the arrow. It was lying next to a metal gas pipe.
“I FaceTimed Joey, and we saw bubbly blood and hair on the arrow. Joey told me to go home, that we’d track the deer together later.”
At home, Mark watched a video from the trail camera and saw only the doe. The camera records only the first 15 seconds of the minute, followed by a 45-second lag.
“My wife told me I probably imagined the whole thing and had shot a raccoon or something,” he chuckled.
“That night, Joey, Zeb, Cody Steine and I went looking for sign. It was hard to find. At one point, I actually did wonder if I’d imagined the whole thing, but then Cody found blood and shouted.
“We followed the trail onto the neighbor’s wooded property. I had permission to be there, but I called to let her know,” he said.
“Eventually, we lost the trail and called in a drone service. Within minutes, the drone located the buck — still alive, but struggling.
“As a nurse practitioner, I dedicate my life to easing human suffering. Seeing an animal suffer was heartbreaking,” Mark added.
“The next morning, Zeb and Cody joined me. Joey had to work. The buck was barely alive. I approached to within 5 yards and ended it humanely with a second crossbow shot.
“The hunt was exhilarating. Unreal. Sometimes, I still can’t believe it happened. It feels like a dream,” he said. “Honestly, I’m inexperienced. I’d even borrowed the crossbow from my friend Steve. This was the result of persistence, luck and the support of good friends.
“Messages poured in after I shot the deer. Some people simply congratulated me. Others claimed I’d ‘stolen their buck.’ One Facebook post went viral, and a few accused me of cheating or using a crossbow in a high-fence area. Little did they know that was my first hunting season and deer. I’d even had to borrow a friend’s crossbow.
“People urged me to get a full body mount. My wife wasn’t thrilled with that idea, so we compromised. It’ll go in my office, fitting, since this whole journey started with me joking about getting a bigger buck than my coworker’s. Now he’ll see that buck every time he walks into work,” he smiled.
“The experience of harvesting this buck has been a life-changing journey. It taught me the importance of patience, the respect for nature, and the deep bonds that hunting can forge between friends.
“I will never forget the powerful presence of that animal or the lessons I learned along the way. Throughout this journey, I realized that dreams are worth pursuing, and the most meaningful moments are sometimes those you never expect.”
Toby Hughes scored the 24-pointer for Buckmasters, arriving at 225 3/8 inches. The rack is a mainframe 4x4 with nearly 75 inches of irregular points.