November 10, 2017 is a day this will be engrained in my mind until I leave this earth. Me and Anthony (Henduag) have made this trip to Kansas since 2010 so with 6 years under my belt and not much to show from it from a trophy perspective I was eager to hit the ground running. I have made a turning point this year in my life this fall getting remarried to the most awesome woman on the face of the earth and getting our new life started. This year was my year to get it done.
I rolled into town early Saturday morning and got started scouting. There was a new piece of WIHA I wanted to get in on before I hit my usual spots. This property was “Lights Out” as Anthony would say and as I was walking the back I jumped a bedded doe and a mammoth buck in a strip of heavy cedars on just up from the pinch area I had scouted from google earth. I knew it was good. There was bedding to the east and west side of a couple acre wood lot that fed down a drainage onto the private property to the south that was attached to the nastiest cedar ditch you can imagine. I got in there and hung a stand and backed out. I made a couple sits there with marginal winds and saw deer but no shooters. Anthony killed his buck on Wednesday so I was able to move in and hunt his private property was hot with sign but only saw a bunch of young bucks and doe. We had a south east wind forecasted for Friday and that wind was idea to hunt that set.
The trek to this set was challenging. There was only one access point with the lay of the land. This property had a very large ridgeline and to get to the back and top of the property you had to walk on the switchback access road the farmer has cut to the top, which lead to a large ag field sewn in wheat. It was approximately 8/10 of a mile from my truck to the stand. I hunted this set on Wednesday and it was really cold…..really cold like 18 degrees on the truck thermometer. I was sweated out when I got to the stand and I like to froze to death, needed to dress light and pack in all my gear plus I really needed my decoy as most of the bucks seen would skirt the top of the ag field and funnel down toward my stand and wanted ole jack out there to get them stirred up. So I made a slight adjustment to my stand set to get a little closer to the field edge and still have my shooting lane in place. There was the perfect tree in the perfect location with the perfect wind to hunt the spot. The stars were lining up.
With my plan set I needed to get a real early star to pack all my gear up the mountain and across the field. Dawning my base layer and a pair of shorts and boots toting a big bag of outer cloths, gear bag with bow attached and my decoy and I head up the mountain. It took me an hour to get up there dress and set up and settled in for the hunt.
The overcast skies pushed the daybreak back and about 6:45 I look over my left shoulder and there is another hunter walking in right toward my set. I’m like WTH!... hey there’s a decoy out down here. He gets within 70 yards off me and finally realizes that I’m in my stand and he skirts back to the north up and around the cedar finger that ran up into the wheat field. Just then my phone vibrated…it happened to be my birthday and I had gotten a happy birthday text from my son and I quicky replied to him and stowed my phone back in my pocket. That when he showed up.
I glance to my right and there he is…OMG “SHOOTER” where did he come from. He had already worked through two of my shooting lands and was getting through my third and final by the time I got my bow off the hanger. I was beside myself. He had walked right by me at 15 yards through an elm mott and I never heard him. I quickly grabbed my grunt call and gave him a soft grunt and it stopped him. He paused for a minute and started back on his was so I hit him one more time with a little more aggressive and he makes the turn. I get my bow drawn and diligently looked for a hole to weave a shot through but no dice. He is heading got the field edge and I’ll have a clear shot at 40 if he doesn’t decide to circle back.
Just as he gets to the edge of the wheat he sees the decoy and his demeanor went from cruising for does to I’m gonna whoop that lil bucks *****. He puffs up and folds the ears and I knew he committed. Here he comes. OMG this is going to happen. He’s closes the distance pretty quick and starts side stepping and posturing and getting close to my shooting lane and I go to draw. I had drawn just a few minutes earlier and I didn’t reset my drop zone and I get drawn and my arrow was wedged between the riser and the rest so I have to quickly let down and reset and get drawn again. By this time he was getting into the clearing and I have drawn and was holding tight behind his shoulder and I give him the “Brrrr” and he stutters for a split sec I I let it fly.
My G5 Havoc and Maxima Red drive through his chest. He jumps and kicks and runs back up the hill strait away from me on the green field. I hung the bow up knowing I 10 ringed him and grabbed the glasses. That’s when I realized I had smoked a giant. I could see all the trash on his beams and tines hanging oll off his G2’. I fell apart. Kept telling him to go down ..go down..go down and he get up to the peak of the top of the field and was completely sky lined standing there hunched up and he lays down. BOOM he is going down and in a matter of seconds the head falls.
A rush of emotions came over that I cannot describe. I sat down and relished in the moment for a bit. I could see one side of his rack from my stand and I still couldn’t believe this just happened. Then I got on the phone with my wife and I couldn’t contain myself. I woke her up and she thought I had an accident and was laying somewhere in Kansas fallen out of a tree dying. Haha. I was shook up, shaking crying, and could’t even make a clear sentence and I was finally able to get out that I had smoked a giant. While I was on the phone with her, ole dude that walked in on me decided he was going to walk back whee he came from headed across the wheat right toward my buck. I said “baby I got to go theres a guy walking up toward my deer” I dropped my bow to the ground and headed up the hill. He was down but I have to presume that he may not be dead. I did not want him pushed. Getting to the top opf the hill I realize the guy skirted the edge of the hill and didn’t see the buck laying in the terrace channel and he dumped back in the timber where he came from. I was there in the mist of a giant….a monarch that walked into my like on a whim. Just me him and the good Lord. I gave thanks and looked him over in awe. Thank you Lord for the opportunity, ability and the support I have been given to make this hunting trip available to me. Let the celebration commence.
I called the kids and was able to do a face time recovery with them before they headed to school, then got Anthony on the phone and said “Dude……..(long pause) I just killed a giant. He’s down. Then the fun began!
I have worked real hard for 7 years just trying to take a mature deer up there. I would have never thought that a 200 would walk into my life, but it goes to show you that your life can change in 10 second if you put in the time to make it happen!
Official net score by Wayne Cox of Buckmasters…..215 6/8
I rolled into town early Saturday morning and got started scouting. There was a new piece of WIHA I wanted to get in on before I hit my usual spots. This property was “Lights Out” as Anthony would say and as I was walking the back I jumped a bedded doe and a mammoth buck in a strip of heavy cedars on just up from the pinch area I had scouted from google earth. I knew it was good. There was bedding to the east and west side of a couple acre wood lot that fed down a drainage onto the private property to the south that was attached to the nastiest cedar ditch you can imagine. I got in there and hung a stand and backed out. I made a couple sits there with marginal winds and saw deer but no shooters. Anthony killed his buck on Wednesday so I was able to move in and hunt his private property was hot with sign but only saw a bunch of young bucks and doe. We had a south east wind forecasted for Friday and that wind was idea to hunt that set.
The trek to this set was challenging. There was only one access point with the lay of the land. This property had a very large ridgeline and to get to the back and top of the property you had to walk on the switchback access road the farmer has cut to the top, which lead to a large ag field sewn in wheat. It was approximately 8/10 of a mile from my truck to the stand. I hunted this set on Wednesday and it was really cold…..really cold like 18 degrees on the truck thermometer. I was sweated out when I got to the stand and I like to froze to death, needed to dress light and pack in all my gear plus I really needed my decoy as most of the bucks seen would skirt the top of the ag field and funnel down toward my stand and wanted ole jack out there to get them stirred up. So I made a slight adjustment to my stand set to get a little closer to the field edge and still have my shooting lane in place. There was the perfect tree in the perfect location with the perfect wind to hunt the spot. The stars were lining up.
With my plan set I needed to get a real early star to pack all my gear up the mountain and across the field. Dawning my base layer and a pair of shorts and boots toting a big bag of outer cloths, gear bag with bow attached and my decoy and I head up the mountain. It took me an hour to get up there dress and set up and settled in for the hunt.
The overcast skies pushed the daybreak back and about 6:45 I look over my left shoulder and there is another hunter walking in right toward my set. I’m like WTH!... hey there’s a decoy out down here. He gets within 70 yards off me and finally realizes that I’m in my stand and he skirts back to the north up and around the cedar finger that ran up into the wheat field. Just then my phone vibrated…it happened to be my birthday and I had gotten a happy birthday text from my son and I quicky replied to him and stowed my phone back in my pocket. That when he showed up.
I glance to my right and there he is…OMG “SHOOTER” where did he come from. He had already worked through two of my shooting lands and was getting through my third and final by the time I got my bow off the hanger. I was beside myself. He had walked right by me at 15 yards through an elm mott and I never heard him. I quickly grabbed my grunt call and gave him a soft grunt and it stopped him. He paused for a minute and started back on his was so I hit him one more time with a little more aggressive and he makes the turn. I get my bow drawn and diligently looked for a hole to weave a shot through but no dice. He is heading got the field edge and I’ll have a clear shot at 40 if he doesn’t decide to circle back.
Just as he gets to the edge of the wheat he sees the decoy and his demeanor went from cruising for does to I’m gonna whoop that lil bucks *****. He puffs up and folds the ears and I knew he committed. Here he comes. OMG this is going to happen. He’s closes the distance pretty quick and starts side stepping and posturing and getting close to my shooting lane and I go to draw. I had drawn just a few minutes earlier and I didn’t reset my drop zone and I get drawn and my arrow was wedged between the riser and the rest so I have to quickly let down and reset and get drawn again. By this time he was getting into the clearing and I have drawn and was holding tight behind his shoulder and I give him the “Brrrr” and he stutters for a split sec I I let it fly.
My G5 Havoc and Maxima Red drive through his chest. He jumps and kicks and runs back up the hill strait away from me on the green field. I hung the bow up knowing I 10 ringed him and grabbed the glasses. That’s when I realized I had smoked a giant. I could see all the trash on his beams and tines hanging oll off his G2’. I fell apart. Kept telling him to go down ..go down..go down and he get up to the peak of the top of the field and was completely sky lined standing there hunched up and he lays down. BOOM he is going down and in a matter of seconds the head falls.
A rush of emotions came over that I cannot describe. I sat down and relished in the moment for a bit. I could see one side of his rack from my stand and I still couldn’t believe this just happened. Then I got on the phone with my wife and I couldn’t contain myself. I woke her up and she thought I had an accident and was laying somewhere in Kansas fallen out of a tree dying. Haha. I was shook up, shaking crying, and could’t even make a clear sentence and I was finally able to get out that I had smoked a giant. While I was on the phone with her, ole dude that walked in on me decided he was going to walk back whee he came from headed across the wheat right toward my buck. I said “baby I got to go theres a guy walking up toward my deer” I dropped my bow to the ground and headed up the hill. He was down but I have to presume that he may not be dead. I did not want him pushed. Getting to the top opf the hill I realize the guy skirted the edge of the hill and didn’t see the buck laying in the terrace channel and he dumped back in the timber where he came from. I was there in the mist of a giant….a monarch that walked into my like on a whim. Just me him and the good Lord. I gave thanks and looked him over in awe. Thank you Lord for the opportunity, ability and the support I have been given to make this hunting trip available to me. Let the celebration commence.
I called the kids and was able to do a face time recovery with them before they headed to school, then got Anthony on the phone and said “Dude……..(long pause) I just killed a giant. He’s down. Then the fun began!
I have worked real hard for 7 years just trying to take a mature deer up there. I would have never thought that a 200 would walk into my life, but it goes to show you that your life can change in 10 second if you put in the time to make it happen!
Official net score by Wayne Cox of Buckmasters…..215 6/8
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