Hunter: Justin Lurk
Animal: 137 7/8" 10 Point Whitetail
Location: Missouri
Weapon: PSE X-Force

This story begins two years ago in November 2006. I took some vacation time to film for my brother Jared in Iowa. This was my first time bow hunting, and it didn’t take long for me to get hooked! Last year I bought a PSE X-Force and went to North American Outfitters to get everything set up. With my new bow tuned up, Jared and I were on a mission to get my first buck with a bow. I decided that I wasn’t going to shoot just any deer – it would have to be a mature whitetail buck. No 2 ½ year olds for me! We had a blast last season but weren’t able to seal the deal.

Flip the calendar forward a year. Its now November 2008 and I’m taking a week of vacation to continue our mission. A new lease presented some challenges as we were still getting to know the lay of the land and the deer habits on it. Earlier in the week we decoyed in 2 bucks, but they were both only 2 ½ year old deer so I decided to pass. My motto was if I’m not going to mount it, I’m not going to pull the trigger.

The morning of November 11 brought rain showers. Because the camera equipment and rain don’t get along very well, we decided to pop up an Ameristep Brickhouse blind in the middle of a CRP field littered with cedars. We were in the middle of deer country with the Boss Buck out in front of us and we had a good feeling that something was about to happen. And boy did it happen! We had 15 different buck sightings that morning. Two of them came to the decoy but I couldn’t close the deal.

We decided to move to a food plot for the evening hunt and brought the Boss Buck along for the ride. As the evening rolled on, one of the bucks we encountered in the morning appeared and came in to investigate the decoy. He gave me a great 33 yard shot. I settled in and let the PSE do the work!

To say we are happy would be a complete understatement! What an adventure to harvest my first bow buck with my brother running the camera. Jared said this was one of his best and most memorable days in the whitetail woods. I want to say thanks to everyone who called to congratulate me. It means a lot and shows that at Drury Outdoors we really are a family!