"Fishing is competitive. 759 talking about this. As it got light enough to see, I saw the doe first and then he popped out. The does then turned their attention to the surrounding timber, and Edmonds got her first glance at the buck she had been after. Haynie was watching the woods behind her and caught a glimpse of movement. Bucks have been doing some chasing, but not a ton with the warm weather. LaRue's Ethan Alexander talks about the Siete's features with Game & Fish's Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. Staying undetected by deer while hunting in a ground blind takes a few easy steps. The No. The big buck froze and Sutphin focused the cross hairs and gently squeezed the trigger. It wasn't until he noticed that the rack was sticking two feet above the ground that he realized this was the deer he'd had on camera the night before. He took a moment to say a prayer and count his blessings, with the warm feeling that his late grandpa was there to share the moment with him as well. Ball leaned up against a tree, settled in and took the 75-yard shot. As Wayne's brothers headed to the rear of the property, Wayne made his way into his son's stand for the evening hunt. The buck then lowered his head and moved to the only opening Wayne had for a shot. He turned slowly to check it out and a doe was standing just feet from him. When West Virginia biologists examined the buck, they suggested the deer's age to be between 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 . Subscriber Services. I drew back and let it fly. Danger 217 2/8"https://youtu.be/Tp7mL4bAzDs3. Dustin Prievo. Then, around 8:10 a.m., Rudden noticed this buck coming across a creek, but thought it was a different deer he had been after. Spot and range targets without wasting valuable seconds switching between gear with Luepold's new rangefinder binocular, the BX-4 Range HD. He leases land west of Cassopolis, Mich., in Cass County. It was taken last September and weighed 420 pounds live-weight. Haynies buck is a mainframe 10-pointer with kickers off both G2s and a total of 13 scoreable points. He was too far for a shot, so I let him work his way toward me. "I hunt with my two best friends at one of their family farms," Develle says. He did just that on Nov. 26 in Iowa County when he arrowed a 13-point giant that scored 170 7/8 inches. When asked what meant the most to him about harvesting this great whitetail Sutphin said, The real trophy was seeing this deer mature and evolve into the incredible Old Dominion giant he had become.. The buck earned the name Willie Chappell after having shed his antlers in two areas on a 2,400-acre property owned by Sutphins cousin known as Willies Woods and Chappell Strip.. Waynes son had suggested he sit in his hang-on stand in a spot they call the "Lower Woods." Another pair of does showed up around 30 minutes later. Thats a Virginia deer? 430 pound buck shot in Hartford, MI yesterday. Shaking uncontrollably after letting her arrow fly, Edmonds managed to tap out a text message to her husband, who was hunting with their oldest daughter at the time and has taught Jessica about deer hunting for the past decade. For two solid weeks, Jessica Edmonds had a laser focus on this buck and hunted it every day, even though almost all her trail-cam photos of it were taken at night. This is the second season that all deer were reported using the Departments electronic harvest reporting systems (telephone, online, and mobile app). Max Mongrello's awesome 13-point Iowa whitetail taken on Nov. 26 scored 170 7/8 inches. "Five minutes later," he says, "I see a buck working his way towards a scrape and licking branch 40 yards away. Haynie steadied his custom-made .45 caliber CVA smokeless muzzleloader, centered the crosshairs on the bucks vitals and gently squeezed the trigger. When he shot this buck, there were six does in the field in front of him, but the buck didnt have any interest in them at all. The 18-point buck is estimated at 6.5 to 7.5 years old, with an estimated live weight of 220 pounds. Last Thursday evening and Friday morning, the buck showed himself during daylight, so Rodes slipped in Friday evening, hung a stand and climbed in. That Sunday morning was the only time I had a picture of him in daylight.". Josh Honeycutt. "This deer is something I have dreamed of since I was introduced to hunting around the age of 4," Rotarius says. 1. In the video above, Leopold's Shawn Skipper highlights the features of the exciting new optics with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. His company, Maximum Exposure Productions, has done work for operations like Midwest Whitetail and Operation Impact 22. Gatlin ranged the deer then squeezed off the 128-yard shot, which hit the mark. This buck was seen over the past several years on trail cameras, and Amanda and her family havehad a long history with the deer. This deer was killed in Winfield. The heaviest deer that's ever been shot on our place. The buck was supposedly killed around Chase City on October 30th on a large tract of land that borders the town limits where hunting is not allowed. During 2015, Willie was only seen on trail cameras, and in 2016 there were no sightings or pictures. It is the potential world record, not to mention potential state record, for the Long Hunter Society, the national muzzleloading big-game records program. Hunt says the buck scores in the 180s. 2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. A short while later, the doe he was with led the buck down a trail directly to RJ, who placed an arrow behind the shoulder on a hard quartering-away shot. Gun Stocks; Gun Trigger Guards; . "I'm thankful to God for the blessing of letting me harvest this awesome animal in a heavily hunted area. 2023 Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. The 45-yard, quartering-away shot struck true. Thought it would be fun to have a central. Check out these 10 monster bucks that were taken throughout the country. That buck was killed in Logan County in 1998 by Mark Lester. With stories from East River South Dakota, Siouxland, South Dakota, Lincoln County (S.D. When he's not behind the camera, Mongrello spends his time working to punch his tags on trophy bucks. She's going to do a European mount of the skull herself. "I am a very lucky person, and this is what hunting is all about," he said. Standing 6 feet, 5 inches and weighing in at 270 pounds, Haynie said that he is typically not very emotional, but looking down at his buck and reflecting on the days events he felt moved and tremendously appreciative. "I am still on cloud nine with this buck," Sears said. But it finally cooled off, and the hunter caught the buck making its way from the swamp to a food plot. More specifically, bowhunting.". It broke the 50-year record held by the #2 Spot! Discover our growing collection of curated stories on Minnehaha County. It was a northwest wind pushing my scent out of the hollow and into the open sage field.". He arrowed the 158 7/8-inch buck on Oct. 28 from a treestand on the edge of a standing bean field. Copyright 2023 West Virginia MetroNews Network. "The weather has been so dry that no food plots were planted," Develle says. "His schedule was very sporadic, and he showed up on one of my cameras on November 20 while I was at church," Gatlin says. David's buck took over the Number 4 position for Typical Bow kills in the list that ranks the top five buck scores for all time in West Virginia. Wayne and his brothers joined together over the deer, shared some hugs and backslaps, took a few photos and proceeded to drag the deer up to the trucks. (Photo courtesy of Max Mongrello). I cant even begin to imagine how this buck managed to walk through the woods with a rack this wide. Right there on the screen was a piebald he had just shot! The earliest versions of these e-mailed pictures said the deer . By law, each successful deer hunter is required to report every deer killed. At about 5:45 p.m., Wayne heard a twig snap below him in the thicket. Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. After being in the stand for roughly 20 minutes, the younger Bennett heard something coming directly at him. | His spot was deep in a hollow flanked by steep hardwood ridges on each side. I think the most important aspect of it is I get to be alone. The buck showed up on camera just once in the summer. The biggest wild American black bear ever recorded was a male from New . "I'm pretty certain I bumped him on the way to my stand," Gatlin says. He need not worry. The day brought warm, windy conditions. So, to have him now taking my children outdoors, it really means the world to me.". Around the same time, a farmer driving a combine was exiting a nearby cornfield, and Barrera was able to sneak in and set up as the farmer was coming out. LOGAN, W.Va. Bucky Sargent . ''. Franz finally killed the deer on an Oct . The G2s were just over 12 inches long and the G3s were just over 13 inches. At least not for me. Within 10 minutes, the first buck passed through, trailed by Barrera's now target buck. John Armfield (1797-1871), Virginia co-founder of "the largest slave trading firm" in the United States, and a rapist. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. This years total included 90,242 antlered bucks, 1,113 bucks that had shed their antlers, 11,921 button bucks, and 81,692 does (44%). He chased a doe, then he had to chase all the bucks away because they were trying to steal his doe. The buck took another five steps, dropped down into a creek bed and disappeared completely. Holy cow! "I was off all day on Thursday, Nov. 3, so I knew I had to make the most of it," Garries says. Average Price Per Acre of Raw Land: $4,314 The National Wild Turkey Federation's mission to conserve wild turkey and preserve hunting heritage is still going strong after a half-century. Josh Honeycutt. The massive Maine monarch made it 50 yards before going down.Dustin Prievo. The buck came to an opening at 30 yards and Joshua pulled the trigger. Check out Cochrans full report on the big buck here! "If I stopped grunting, he would turn and go back toward the doe. During the 202223 deer hunting season, hunters harvested 184,968 deer in Virginia, down approximately 3% from the 190,582 deer taken during the same time frame the previous season. Wayne says the property they hunt is not known for big deer, but he surely feels blessed to have had such an encounter with a deer like this one. WATCH After settling in for an evening sit at 3:30 p.m., Hayden saw numerous deer moving, but no good bucks. He had traveled only 20 yards before he saw the buck lying on the ground. Browning's Rafę Nielsen shares details on the new X-Bolt Pro LR McMillan hunting rifle with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. However, the buck made a mistake when it stopped and offered Bennett a shot. Information regarding the animal's sex, date of kill, weapon . Ontario, 1977. Sutphin said though it felt like an hour had passed when Willie re-emerged from the woods, but it was only moments. Wallace got to his stand and began studying the images. In 2017, the common thread among Virginias top-end non-typical bucks was the unexpected. One huge buck fell to a public-land hunter who had never seen or heard of the deer prior to his hunt. While some may balk at the notion of relying on traditional archery equipment while pursuing big deer, Gibson has never regretted moving away from his compound bow. Alvey waited on the outskirts in case the buck jumped up as Joshua headed into the brush. The NWTF is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. "I usually try to go farther away from people, but since other people have been walking farther into woods, I decided to go the opposite direction and hunt close," he said. The picture first surfaced on the internet in 2009, with various descriptions stating it weighed between 400-500 pounds. The next morning he let his dogs out for a bit and when he went to let them back in there stood Willie Chappell some 85 yards away with the sun glistening off his majestic rack. Texas. Minnehaha County. The duo picked up the blood trail leading into the thick undercover. The NWTF is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Smith took the deer back to his cabin, where a fellow hunter counted the 35 points. Brandon Butler. In that time, hes tagged four nice Kansas bucks, with the most recent being a main-frame 9-pointer with two additional scoreable points. The deer was about 140 yards away and moving briskly with his nose tight to the ground. The Kermit resident's 1997 kill obliterated West Virginia's long-standing . Unless exempt an individual must have a signed or digital deer hunting, resident youth hunt/trap, lifetime comprehensive.Virginia Hunting Seasons: For Virginia's 2022-2023 hunting seasons, we decided to create the most straightforward handbook possible. Brewster left Virginia at 3 a.m. for the annual . While he was hoping to get a chance at the big buck, Masoner also knew there were a lot of potential pitfalls to getting there. Over much of the state, the Department has continued its efforts to reduce deer populations which, when successful, would also result in reduced fall deer harvest numbers. ELD-X Precision Hunter). Theres no question that someone, somewhere, is going to kill eye-popping whitetails somewhere in the Old Dominion, but the magic and mystery is pinpointing exactly where the great event will take place. Before long, a second doe arrived on the scene. Settling in around 2 p.m. Haynie used his deer call to perform a sequence of doe bleats followed by some quick buck grunts. "I'm truly blessed as an outdoorsman and hunter to be able to harvest a deer of this caliber. There is no official weight listed for the deer, but it looks heavy. ", Hayden credits the first good cold snap for the action he experienced. This is the heaviest whitetail deer ever killed. On the morning of Nov. 7, RJ Booth finally laid eyes on a buck he had previously only seen in nighttime trail-cam photos during the early part of the season. This deer took first place from a 10-point Wisconsin buck, shot by James Jordan. All Rights Reserved. When Ball returned, the piebald deer was still in the same spot making a scrape. The big 9-pointer began pursuing one of them. He began investigating the sound through his binocular and saw what appeared to be a nice rack moving through the brush. His spot is between an alfalfa field and a standing cornfield. I relax when I'm in a deer stand. Once within range I stopped him with a grunt call.". Ruger's popular American bolt-action rifle has been a hit with hunters for years. The proud father shares three children, Adam (13), Wade (12) and Claire (8) with his wife, Jamie. Haynie was awestruck and wondered how that buck could have avoided so much hunting pressure. He decided to creep out the door and position himself behind the picket fence that surrounded the yard just in case Willie appeared. James Jordan. Wayne says hes blessed to have been able to harvest such a beautiful animal but more blessed to share his time in the woods with his family and friends. It scored 232-4/8 non-typical. ), Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sports, Sports, Sioux, Basketball. Bridges answered Milwaukee's run with his own personal 10-0 spurt, but the Bucks outscored the Nets 39-23 in the third, including 18-7 over the final 5:04 after Antetokounmpo went to the bench . Not being completely sure, however, RJ left the woods and returned several hours later with his kids to find the buck lying right where he last saw him. . The first day of the season, Masoner noted the vehicles in the parking lot of the public property near the Roanoke exit typically is about 10, but this year it was more than 50. Two bucks were killed by physically-challenged crossbow . Its total gross score was 191 4/8. The buck was killed on public land in McDowell County, which is along the boundary of Virginia's Tazewell County. He thinks the chasing is going to begin in earnest this week or next. They dont even mind the 2 hour drive from their hometown of Virginia Beach to Fort Pickett in Blackstone Virginia to do so. And those qualities endure, even in death. Josh Honeycutt. Eric Lundgren of Ruger, which now owns Marlin, highlights the features of both rifles with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. MECHANICSVILLE Its weathered, dark-brown rack is both majestic and massive, with 35 points branching out in every direction. Then, two more. It was a fairly windy afternoon, which made it a bit easier for Joshua to slip through the woods. He went hard-horned on Aug. 26 last year, which Rodes thought was interestingly early. I dropped down and slipped back to my blind to grab my gun.". Four years ago, Justin Gibson decided it was time for a new challenge. November 26, 2022 - 4:18 pm. A little while later, as he sat smoking a cigarette, he saw movement about 100 yards away. Tyler Rodes, a forester with the National Wild Turkey Federation, killed his largest bow buck to date on Friday, Oct. 14 in Caldwell County, Mo. We're all wearing orange. Getting to see or harvest a deer is a plus." CX Outfitter, 180 gr. One thats recently caught our attention By The buck was supposedly killed around Chase City on October 30th on a large tract of land that borders the town limits where hunting is not allowed. The Boyett buck sits at . He'll be mounting Adam's deer, thus making this experience a total family affair. "They hunt for three or four days and get to see what Iowa whitetail hunting is all about. After two weeks of hunting without any sign of Willie, Sutphin decided to take a break and sleep in. In the video above, Matt Willson of Ruger highlights the features with Game & Fish's John Taranto. Fishing tournament organizers take issue with new DNR rules. Estimated Weight On Hoof: 540-Lbs. Only when Ivan McLaughlin started counting antler points did he realize he might have killed a record-breaking buck. 2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. According to Masoner, it was no ordinary buck for this part of the state. The 2021-22 deer season is a wrap, and some big whitetails fell between the opening and closing bells. All Game & Fish subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. On the afternoon of Nov. 12, Edmonds heard a lot of ATV activity on a neighboring property and feared it was going to ruin her hunt. Foster buck was killed in Roane County in 1959. In the last 10 years, 733,868 white-tailed bucks have been harvested in the Bluegrass State. Mongrello says does have largely transitioned back to food over the last few days. It may not have come from a natural, fenceless, free-range type of deer hunting, but it sure is giant. As it turns out, Wilderness Whitetails specializes in abnormally-large whitetail deer and . Browning's Rafę Nielsen shares details on the new X-Bolt Pro LR McMillan hunting rifle with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. The wind was blowing upwards of 22 mph when Illinois hunter Fernando Barrera, 20, got off work at 3 p.m. on Oct. 13, and headed to pick up his dad to hunt a public parcel near Kankakee. All that is left now for Malcom . A 31-point buck killed opening day of the muzzleloading season last year by James Smith of Front Royal is headed toward the Virginia record book as the state's all-time champion deer. Hunting for shed antlers can be like searching for a needle in a hay stack, but experienced searchers have ways to narrow down the search. Smith might have to wait for a while for his trophy to officially take the top spot in the Long Hunter Society record books. Alvey Collins, age 68, has been carrying his son Joshua, now 36, along hunting since he was 5 years old. Nathan Simmons of Browning and Game & Fish's John Taranto take a closer look at both cartridges at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. Key features include muzzle velocities of 2,215-2,400 fps. Just me, my thoughts, and the big man upstairs. Don't miss a story! Virginia Marion, Iowa. The location of where it was shot has often changed, but the most popular description of the picture is that it's a 430-pound deer shot in Hartford, Michigan. He killed 30 or 40 American black bears with only a knife, which he would use to stab the bears between the shoulder blades while they were distracted by his .