When Craig Meyers saw the flashing blue light in his rearview mirror, his heart sank. Being pulled over meant precious time away from his deer blind on a day when every minute counted. The drive from his home in Lyons, Michigan, to his hunting spot in Perry Co., OH, took six hours, weather permitting. And on Oct. 3, 2025, weather was what Craig had foremost on his mind.
When the Ohio state trooper leaned in to advise Craig about speed and safety, Craig threw himself on the officer’s mercy and showed him cell cam photos of a buck with mammoth antlers. He also showed the officer his phone app, Windy, and explained that a crucial wind shift was the reason he was on the highway.
“Up till that morning, the wind at my hunting spot had been blowing out of the north, which would have blown my scent toward the food plot and bedding area where that super buck was staying,” Craig explained.
“But then it shifted to a south wind, which was perfect for my needs. I had to drive to my blind before the wind shifted, again.”
The officer said he had clocked Craig at 88 mph; Craig insisted that his cruise control was set at 73. They discussed it, and finally Craig was let go with a warning.
“We agreed that his equipment could have been faulty, or he might have clocked the wrong vehicle,” says Craig, “because I for sure never drive that fast in Ohio.”
Or, just maybe, the state trooper was a whitetail deer hunter, too.
Craig, a 34-year-old millwright who arrowed his first buck at age 12, had invested three years of sweat equity into a 380-acre property owned by a friend, JC, who doesn’t hunt. The land comprises thick white oaks taken over by wild grapes and autumn olives. Craig, his father, Don Meyers, and his coworker Paul Coonrod had been cultivating acre-sized food plots of clover, chicory and brassicas to make the place feel welcome and groovy to deer.
“I first noticed on camera and later from a tree stand an interesting three-year-old buck in 2023,” says Craig. “The 10-pointer had what we call ‘crab claws’ on the ends of his antlers. We nicknamed him Krabs.”
By 2025, eight cell cams showed that the rack had grown to 28 points and probably exceeded 200 inches.
The property came with an 18-foot tall Fiberglas blind with 360-degree windows overlooking a food plot. The only problem: The shooting house got sauna-hot when sun poured in the windows. For example, on the day of Craig’s encounter with the trooper, the mercury outdoors hit 88, making the temp inside Craig’ deer blind a choking 100. But he was so determined not to let his scent leak out that he had taped all the windows and doors shut with that blue painters’ tape. Thus, there was no ventilation. Thus, in order not to faint while hunting, Craig aimed two rechargeable battery-operated fans at his torso and chilled himself further with two large ice packs on his chest and back.
Was he suffering? His hair was plastered across his forehead.
Did he care? The buck was carrying a drop tine the girth of a Louisville Slugger.
So, no.
He did not care. He sealed himself in for the duration.
Whereas some might say there’s a certain zealousness to Craig’s hunting style, he characterizes himself as “strategic.”
He says, “I put in a lot of preseason work, and I’m very particular as to what days I hunt. I pay close attention to wind because it’s vital to walking in and out from food plots. We have simple equipment — just one old tractor and a few bags of lime and fertilizer. No big, noisy, smelly machinery.”
Craig says he put a lot of thought into where he should sit that day. “I knew there was a high probability that the deer was bedding to the south of one of my stands. I knew he was where he could smell the food plot and anyone in it,” he says. “I started walking out 3:40 p.m., checking the wind every 20 steps using milkweed I tucked into my binoculars harness.”
The fluff is very light, and Craig holds a small piece between his fingers and rubs it until it falls. Then he sees what direction the wind takes it.
Craig reached his blind 90 minutes later, just around 5 p.m. He saw a doe come in from the west and calmly move east, which solidified that his scent was not escaping. Krabs moved into the food plot while there was still some light, but not much.
“It was go time! I took the ice pack off my chest, turned off the fan, and clicked my range finder. Krabs was at 60 yards. I decided to shoot when he reached 40.”
Craig slowly opened one untaped window and brought his crossbow up. As he ranged the moving buck, he repeated, “20-30-40.”
He waited until the walking buck was broadside. At 7:29 p.m., with the buck at 40 yards, Craig shot the right shoulder. His bolt went through and took out the opposite shoulder.
He says, “I went to open the door but forgot I had latched it from the outside and taped it. I had to rip the tape off a window to reach out and grasp the handle.”
Craig heard a crash 50 yards from the blind and took some deep breaths while the last light faded.
“I just sat there in the weeds with the animal in the dark, and I think other hunters will know what I mean when I say I didn’t even care about ticks. I just felt so blessed and grateful.”