- November 30th
- Hunter:Dale Kuehn
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:TC Omega
- Animal:9 Point 162 2/8
After a full season of helping Rod and Keith prepare for Dream Season
and spending most of the fall behind the camera, Rod and Keith asked
Dale, Keith's younger brother, to join them for the Illinois muzzle
loader season, this time in front of the camera. On the second day of
the season, Dale spent the evening overlooking a Biologic GreenPatch
Plus food plot. Just before dark, a giant 9 point cruised in checking
for does. Dale quickly steadied the Tompson Center Omega on the buck's
vitals and dropped him in his tracks. When Dale approached the buck,
he realized he had just taken the biggest buck of his life. On top of
that it was a family affair, as Keith's young son Adam captured it all
on film for his uncle.
- November 30th
- Hunter:Ben Rising
- Location:Ohio
- Weapon:T/C .50 Cal Pro Hunter Muzzleloader
- Animal:204 1/8" whitetail buck
Last spring, Ben Rising and one of his good friends were shed hunting a farm in Ohio and came across a number of great sheds. In the bunch was a matched set from a decent buck that definitely had potential. As the temperatures warmed and summer rolled in, Ben spotted a giant buck while scouting some soybean fields about a mile from the farm he had permission to hunt. Ben had his fingers crossed that the buck would seek security on his farm when the pressure from neighboring farms was turned up. Ben had hunted specifically for this buck during bow season, but only went in when the conditions were perfect. The plan was forming right in front of his eyes as he scanned through his trail pictures and saw the massive buck he had hoped would make an appearance, traveling on his farm during daylight! Talk about a boost of confidence; Ben was now, more than ever, intent on killing this buck.
So Ben’s 2nd time hunting that particular farm during gun season, he set up about 200 yards off of a destination soybean field, hoping to catch the monster looking for does or on a bed to feed pattern. It wasn’t long into the hunt when Ben spotted the Booner pushing a few does toward his position. When the buck got to 65 yards, Ben stopped it and laid the hammer down with his Thompson Center Encore. Ben said when he spotted the buck that he knew it would be the biggest buck he had ever shot. Surprisingly enough, Ben kept his cool as if he had ice water in his veins, but after the shot, he fell apart. Battling through a tough year with his bow, Ben shot the biggest buck of his life and the biggest buck in Drury Outdoors history. Ben said the matched set of sheds he had from the previous spring came from this deer, and that the buck had grown over 60+ inches from age 5 to age 6. Check out the entire hunt this summer on Dream Season Television, Season 5, “Land of the Giants.”
- November 29th
- Hunter:Jim Hines
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:TC Omega Muzzleloader
- Animal:125” 8 point Whitetail
Joe and Pam Shults played host to Mr. Jim Hines who traveled all the way from Johnstown, New York to hunt Pike County, Illinois. Jim is the winner of the Dream Season raffle held by Joe and Pam as a fund-raiser for Catch-A-Dream. Congratulations to Jim and we thank him for his support of this wonderful organization!
- November 28th
- Hunter:Jeff Hoffman
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:152" 14 pointer
- November 27th
- Hunter:Dave Bogart
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:128” 8-pointer
Story as told by Jeff Hoffman
Back in the summer, it was decided that the four of us, Dave Bogart, Mark and Jason Luster, and myself would make a commitment to try and work as one team whenever possible, and now I think we can all say mission accomplished. With Jason and Mark all tagged out and work calling, Dave and I hooked up for a few unbelievable hunts. Morning one had us going to one of Dave's spots, but when we woke up to a wind change. It was decided to go to one of Jason and my farms where we had been seeing some nice bucks. It didn't take long for the action to start. A small buck came in, and soon after he left, I looked up and saw a shooter coming up the holler right at us. The buck turned broadside, and Dave made a great shot to finish his season here in Illinois.
The next morning, the decision was made after talking to Jason, who had been scouting for us, to go to his farm and get in the same set that my son, Matt, took his buck from. Right before first light, a nice buck came in tracking a doe and walked by. This was only the beginning of a hunt that Dave and I both say is the best whitetail action we have ever witnessed! At about 8:30, a hot doe came in with 5 bucks hot on her tail. Three of them were 3 year olds with one of them being a nice 8 pointer. I decided to pass and set back and watch the show.
The 8 pointer bred the doe and then proceeded to show his dominance by running everything off. Not too long after our heart rates got back to normal, Dave said the magic words, "Here comes a big One"! The buck was starting to leave when I picked up the grunt call and turned him as if he knew the script. The shot was made, and the buck went only 25 yards and fell all on film. The season is now basically over for the Illinois Boys, and we have all piled away special memories that we will never forget.
Good luck to all and have a safe season!!!
- November 27th
- Hunter:Gregg Day
- Location:Ohio
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:120"n
Rick and Gregg had been hunting extremely hard this year, traveling out of state every week to hunt in Ohio. After an unsuccessful 7-day trip to southern Ohio, the Pennsylvania team were starting to feel like success may never come. The two PA hunters once again loaded up the truck and headed to Ohio for the first two days of the Ohio gun season. We were determined to take a buck with a bow so the guns stayed at home, and the PSE X-Force was hanging in the tree. The weather did not look good for the opening day. Rick was up first, and his bad luck continued as the rain started on Sunday night and continued all through opening day. After a long, wet 12-hours in the Ameristep blind with only 1-deer seen, mother nature relented, and day two looked great for Gregg. Just after first light, the two saw a good buck that did not give them a shot. It was a long 8-hours until they saw another small buck. About an hour before dark, Gregg looked back where the first buck had come from and saw a good buck heading to the biologic fields. The buck never knew the orange clad hunters were in the tree, and at 30-yards, Gregg put a Rage broadhead through both lungs. This was the first time Gregg has taken a buck with a bow during gun season. Traveling out of state every week, thousands of miles every month, finally paid off for Gregg. The 8-pointer had awesome 7" brow tines and a great spread.
- November 26th
- Hunter:Mike Joggerst
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:T/C Muzzleloader
- Animal:145" 10 Point
Story as told by Terry Drury
Deer season is always better when you get to spend it with family and friends. This year I have been blessed with both. Last weekend I was able to harvest a beautiful buck with my son Matt Drury in camp, and luckily tonight I was able to celebrate a great buck with long time friend Mike Joggerst. Mike and I have been friends since our days in high school, and are still able to spend time together each deer season. Mike has been a great help over the years contributing with our doe harvest efforts, and I was excited for him to get a chance to shoot a mature buck this season. The gun season had been terribly slow as thick cloud cover had consumed our weather over the past three days. Finally, high pressure moved into the area as the sky cleared. The winds switched out of the North and we were able to hunt some new stands. The action started quickly as a pair of young bucks chased a doe at full speed right by our box. After several more encounters with young bucks cruising for receptive does a mature buck stepped into the field. We instantly know this deer was a shooter as we observed the heavy beamed buck enter the Biologic Maximum field. The buck feed slowly until noticing the does that were feeding directly in front of the blind. He quickly moved towards them giving Mike a perfect 60 yard shot. The Thompson Center 50 caliber rang true as the buck buckled and made a mad dash for cover. After a quick track job the buck was recovered a mere 80 yards from where Mike had made the shot. There was no ground shrinkage with this buck as we admired his massive beams and tines. It was a great mature deer to harvest and I could not be happier for Mike to score on this great deer. Now I have high hopes of getting Matt back in camp to help him score on a great buck as well.
- November 22nd
- Hunter:Jason Luster
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force Bow
- Animal:127” 10-pointer
Story coming soon!
- November 22nd
- Hunter:Dave Bogart
- Location:Kansas
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force Bow
- Animal:167" Whitetail Buck
- November 19th
- Hunter:Mark Luster
- Location:Kansas
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force Bow
- Animal:129" Whitetail Buck
Story as told by Mark Luster
Dave and I drew tags for our first ever out of state whitetail hunt this year. My brother, Jason, had met a gentleman through his work that had offered up his property in Kansas for us to bowhunt on, and the group of us could not wait to get there. After going out and spending some time on the property this spring turkey hunting on it, we thought we had a good handle on where we wanted to hunt come this fall when we made it back. Nov.19 found Dave and I fresh off an unsuccessful shotgun season in IL, but with renewed hopes that Kansas would change our luck. After arriving at our hunting site we were, as normal, very late and did not get into the stand we had picked out until 4:30 pm. At about 5:30, I told Dave we needed to try and shake things up a bit, so I picked up the antlers and cracked them together. Just minutes later, I looked up and saw what I thought was a shooter buck searching for the fight. He presented me with a 28 yard shot, and the PSE worked flawlessly! Just over one hour into our first ever out of state hunt, and we had a mature 129" buck on the ground!!
The next two days were terribly windy with very little movement but the wind was riding on a strong cold front. Nov. 21 found us at a local gas station eating lunch when we met a gentleman by the name of Jerry Maxwell. Being a deer hunter himself, we struck up a conversation, and he offered to let Dave and I bowhunt on his property. Not only was he going to let us bowhunt, but he took us around his property and showed us the spots he had seen some nice bucks. Dave and I gave up the evening hunt of the 21st to trim up lanes at a few spots we felt strongly about and prepare for the next morning. Thankgiving morning found Dave and I hanging a tree stand in one of those spots we had scoped out the evening before. At about 10:00 a.m. Dave looks at me with an urgency that only a fellow bowhunter can understand and says, "HERE COMES A BOONER!" I look around the tree to see why he was in such a hurry. Standing a mere 26 yards away was a giant 10 point smelling the sapplings we had just cut! To shrink a long story, about 15 long minutes later, Dave and I were able to get it together when he presented us a quartering away 40 yard shot that Dave made good on. After several, "I can't believe that just happened!" statements, Dave and I walked up on the 167" Kansas giant! Not quite a booner, but plenty close enough! To say that Dave and my first out of state whitetail hunt was a success is a huge understatement! We could not have imagined that our trip would end with two bucks and a new friend, but that is exactly how our trip ended. Jason and Jeff are heading that way real soon, so who knows what is to come?
- November 22nd
- Hunter:Dave Kramer
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force Bow
- Animal:138 2/8" Whitetail Buck
Story as told by Dave Kramer
Bill and I had just come off a weeks vacation bow hunting in Iowa. We had plenty of encounters with mature bucks, but were unable to capitalize on any of them. In fact, I had missed a forty yard shot at a giant 160 class on the sixteenth. We went back in and videoed the same buck the night after the miss and the following day. We have never had a buck that was this predictable and not killed him. Back to work and only one weekend left to hunt, our families gave us the go ahead to try our luck on Thanksgiving day morning. With permission from my brother Doug, we decided to take our four wheelers to the back of his farm and get ahead of the deer going back to bed. We were going after the same buck that I had missed a week before.
We were in stand 1/2 hour before light and just when we could see, I spotted a big buck working a scrape under a cedar in the center of a Biologic food plot. It wasn't the same buck I had missed but he was definitely mature. I blew my MAD grunt, snort , wheeze one time and here he came. I stopped him at 32 yards and sent my arrow on it's way. Because of low light , we unable to see the hit so we decided to let him lay for at least the rest of the morning. With it being at first light, we decided to switch stands and see if Bill couldn't get a shot at a doe or another big buck. One hour later, guess who showed up. The same giant that I missed a week prior. He came in and bedded at fifty yards for over an hour. Finally, after what seemed like forever he got up and followed two does to within 25 yards. Bill stopped him and released an arrow, only to see it slap the big buck on the back. None worse for the wear, the giant slowly walked away. I've never seen Bill more dejected. We decided to climb down and head in for a Thanksgiving day lunch before following up our track job. Around 3:00 we set out to try and recover my buck. Our apprehension was short lived for we found the buck less than 100 yards from the stand. We were both so excited about finally taking a mature buck yet so bummed out about our ALMOST Thanksgiving day double.
With one available day left to bowhunt, Team Iowa may be heading in to the gun season with only one resident deer on the ground.
- November 20th
- Hunter:Joe Eugster
- Location:Wisconsin
- Weapon:Thompson Center Encore Pro Hunter
- Animal:174 2/8" Whitetail
Many parts of Wisconsin are in "Earn A Buck" areas. "Earn A Buck" means you need to shoot an anterless deer to receive a buck tag. On Joe's first trip to the woods, he still needs to harvest a doe, when this 174" buck steps out into the Biologic at 25 yards broadside. All Joe can do is watch with his jaw down! Joe has several more encounters with this buck that he names the "Devil Buck" because of the points coming out of his bases.
A couple days later Joe encounters the Devil Buck while filming Dan Christenson. Dan had just missed a shot at a beautiful buck when the Devil Buck shows up just out of range. A few days later, Eric is filming Joe when they spotted the Devil Buck and called him in to 36 yards and Joe misses him! The next encounter with the Devil Buck was with Joe's niece, Michaela, and her mother, Dawn. Michaela found out last year she had cancer and had just finished several months of chemo and radiation. For Michaela's 13th birthday, Joe promised to take her hunting and try to get her on a hunting video or on Dream Season.
On the afternoon of November 17th, Joe, Michaela and Dawn headed to the box blind. Lots of action! The Devil Buck comes out onto a small bean field at 100 yards and Michaela shoots. When the smoke clears, he's still standing there. The next morning the three head back to the box blind and guess who shows up again! Michaela takes another shot and when the smoke clears, he is still standing there again! We think there must have been a little buck fever going on here! Michaela is the same young lady who earlier in the season dropped a running bear in its tracks, shot a doe at 274 yards and dropped a buck in its tracks with her TC 243! These are two incredible hunts that none of them will ever forget.
On November 20th, Eric couldn't film Joe, so Joe called on his good friend Mark McCaully to come and video his hunt. It was overcast and spitting rain when they got up in their stands. Joe spotted the Devil Buck tending to a group of does in a cornfield and decides to make a stalk. They climb down and take off in hot pursuit. Soon they have the buck at about 200 yards. Joe starts grunting and growling and calls him in to 150 yards! The Devil Buck turns broadside and Joe takes the shot. The buck runs into the woods. A few minutes later all the does come back out, but no Devil Buck. They are both pretty confident of the shot, but decide to wait until morning.
In the morning, Joe, Eric and Mark meet, load up, and drive to the area. Eric is filming a rooster pheasant in the lane, turns the camera on Joe while he tells about going to recover the buck, when he looks over his shoulder, and there the Devil Buck lays! After the Hero's and pictures, Joe calls Michaela and she comes over to see the Buck she missed twice. Joe had found the Devil Buck's sheds from last year and gave them to Michaela to remember her special hunt. Incredible Buck! Incredible Storyline!
- November 19th
- Hunter:Eric Grover
- Location:Wisconsin
- Weapon:TC Pro Hunter .50 cal. Muzzleloader
- Animal:128 4/8" Whitetail Buck
With Wisconsin gun season opening on November 17th, Eric spends time hunting with his son, Kyle. On Monday, November 19th, Eric and Joe decide to get back together and try something different. This past summer, Eric and his younger son, Klint, had moved a rusty old farm gravity box to a high grassy knoll which overlooked a biologic food plot surrounded by soybeans and corn. Joe came up with this idea during the 2006 hunting season and had some great success with his son, Jacob, last gun season. We call this the "farm blind". Just an old gravity box with holes cut out of the side for viewing and shooting.
With the winds blowing out of the South directly into the food plot, we figured the deer would move into the wind from the sanctuary to feed. The farm blind sits up on a high grassy knoll about 150 yards up wind. We were concerned that our scent might be detected. After sitting for about an hour, the first couple deer moved into the food plot. From that point on, we watched the deer funnel from the sanctuary to the food plot to feed. Joe and I were both somewhat amazed. We had our Scentblocker on and we were high above the deer, but we were directly up wind from all the action. We figured the gravity box must have been containing some of our scent. As we watched, a few small bucks appeared. Then Joe spots a mature buck feeding cross wind into the food plot. He lifts his head and his antlers are full of long grass. At first Joe thought he was a non-typical. We spent some time watching and deciding whether or not this was a buck we should take. It was just too good. He was 120 yards according to the range finder. All the deer suddenly seemed to be alerted and a quick decision had to be made. I told Joe I am taking him and the TC Pro Hunter did its job. This big 8 mulekicks and runs just 50 yards. It was all about the hunt -- something different. The farm blind will see many more hunts to come. Team Wisconsin is just getting started!
- November 18th
- Hunter:Krista Pitcher
- Location:Wisconsin
- Weapon:T/C Encore 243
- Animal:120" 8 Point
Story as told by Tom Peplinski
It was the second day of the Wisconsin gun season. Clay and I normally don’t hunt the gun season, at least not opening weekend, so that we can take our wives out and sit with them. Going into the gun season we decided that I would sit with Clay’s wife Kristy, and Clay would sit with my wife Amy. (Amy says she has more luck sitting with Clay). Kristy hasn’t hunted in a long time and has never killed a buck. I could tell she really wanted to kill a nice buck, something that she could be really proud of.
Opening day was a struggle, as it always seems to be. Sunday, the second day, wasn’t any better in the morning so we decided to sit a food plot we sat opening night again. We sat there for two reasons, the first and more important was a front was moving in and we wanted to sit in a blind in case the sleet and snow really starting coming down. The second is we had an acre or so of standing beans we over seeded with Maximum, and the beans were still there. Normally by this time of year the beans are well gone, but with the Maximum over seeding, we think this got us another two to three weeks out of the plot.
The blind was the right spot, at just a little past four o’clock, this nice 8 pointer walked out. I could tell it was an eight pointer Clay and I had seen several times bow hunting so I immediately told her to kill it. She was so nervous and excited she almost didn’t get off a shot, and after the deer went down, she was shaking so bad when I went to hi-five her she grabbed my hand and held on while she sat there just shaking. That is what hunting should be all about. I was happier than I think she was at that point.
So, Clay and I along with my wife Amy all congratulated Kristy on her first buck, and a dandy for anyone’s first.
- November 18th
- Hunter:Terry Drury
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:Thompson Center Firearm
- Animal:140" Whitetail
Well, after my successful hunt in Iowa we wasted no time heading back to Missouri so I could go afield with a T/C in my hands. Even though the weather was supposed to be warm, we still had high hopes of harvesting a mature buck. After a couple of frustrating days with not a sighting of a shooter buck, we decided to try something new...we decided to hunt a Biologic field on the wrong wind! Fortunately, we were set up in a scent proof box blind. In fact, it was the same box blind that we hunted the evening before on the right wind without seeing a shooter, but knowing the random habits of mature whitetail bucks we guessed that we might get a crack at a shooter if we sat the box blind again.
After encounters with numerous does comfortably feeding on the Biologic, and a couple 2 ½ year old bucks fighting and chasing does, we finally saw what we were waiting for. The buck that stepped into the Biologic was well known around my farm as Grey Face. We had a couple of encounters with him already this season, but never close enough with a bow. On this day, however, I had a T/C Pro Hunter in my hands and was not about to let him get away this time! At 100 yards Grey Face turned broadside and the T/C did its job as the big buck only ran about 80 yards after the shot. What a great end to a beautiful evening!
The fact that my son, Matt, was in camp also made this weekend very special! The quality time we get to spend together in deer camp is priceless and I always cherish when he comes up. And although Matt wasn't able to harvest a deer, we still had a great time and made lasting memories!
- November 17th
- Hunter:John Frank
- Location:Kansas
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:158" 11 point Whitetail
John and I were off to Kansas for a great hunt at Spring Creek Outfitters with
Pat and Janet Post. Being that Brother John had just filmed me kill an
absolute giant in Iowa we made a deal going into Kansas that John was going
to kill one before we switched shooters.
We have two sets of timber saved just for John and I when we come down
to Kansas, so we know that these whitetails have had no hunting pressure.
Climb in the first day and a couple of nice three and a half year olds walk
under the stand but didn’t want to fill the tag on the first day because we
knew what Kansas had to offer. A couple more full days in the stand and the
deer traffic was just not typical of what we had seen in years past.
John and I cut a morning hunt a little short and get a new piece of
ground that Pat said really sees a lot of deer traffic. We throw up a set in
a couple hours in a giant cedar tree. We wanted to get out of there as fast
as possible so we cut minimal shooting lanes and let it set. We knew that
this set was perfect for a NW wind and if the weather wasn’t going to change
we were going to jump back in the set the next morning.
The weather stayed the same and we climbed up into the cage of cedar
and sat. From not seeing the deer in past days both John and I got lulled
into more of a time passage then the state of awareness needed for hunting
whitetails. John looked up at me at a quarter to ten and talked about
climbing down and grabbing some breakfast and heading to a new spot but like I
always say “It can all change in five minutes” so John decided to sit for a
bit longer. That’s when I looked back and seen the sunlight hit tines and
told John “Big Shooter Coming!!” The giant was walking right for our stand
and then got to a point of decision of which path he was going to take. Like
all mature bucks he circled down wind of us. Unfortunately for us that was
right were we had no shooting lanes. I told john that I had him but it wasn’t
great, so John tried to make it happen. He came to full draw no shot sat on
his seat and still now shot. The deer took a couple more steps and John
crouched and sat on his feet, the only shot that we were going to get at this
giant we had to take. John laced it at twelve steps and it runs off with the
fletchings of his arrow hanging out. We see it run down the hill pouring
blood and trying to make it up the other side of the hill he crashes at fifty
yards and another giant whitetail on the board for the Frank Brothers!!!!
- November 17th
- Hunter:Carol Graham
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:Shotgun
- Animal:171 & 1/8" Whitetail
Well, Carol finally did it, after hunting almost every afternoon for 47 days straight with a bow, passing on several 130-140 inch two and three yr olds, she was able to get a chance at a mature buck during the shotgun season in Illinois and pull off a successful harvest on video. November 17th proved to be a hot day during the rut as the bucks are on the tails of receptive does and won't leave their side. This worked in Carol's favor as this giant wasn't missing a step that doe took and popped out of the thick cover right in front of the stand's she and Joe Gizdic (Carol's camerman and hunting partner, and owner of Tall Tine Outfitters, www.talltineoutfitters.net) were in. The 5 1/2 year old buck stood for a few seconds facing them so Carol waited for a better angle and shot as the buck stepped broadside, then he circled a few steps and she shot again, delivering a double lung hit and 2 steps later he was still standing! As she squeezed the last shot the buck was going down and unfortunately his antler got in the slugs path and blew a chunk of main beam out, luckly not breaking it off. Being a taxidermist Carol will be able to reinforce and repair the missing chunk. His massive rack scores an impressive 171 & 1/8 with over 40 inches of mass measurements and a 20 inch spread! Becoming new members of the Drury team this year, Carol and Joe have gotten off to a great start with his 162 inch buck in North Dakota (on video) and this brute. And the season isn't over yet!
- November 17th
- Hunter:Tom Ware
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:T/C Pro Hunter
- Animal:Whitetail 153 5/8" 10 Pointer
We were hunting a home made shooting tower made out of an old grain cart on the morning of November 17th, 2007. I was using my new Thompson Center Pro Hunter muzzleloader and I wanted to find a spot where I could see a long way in all directions. We saw some does around 7:00 am and were watching them on a ridge about 150 yards away. Then my cameraman Derick looked up and said BUCK! I looked up and saw a buck heading toward that same ridge with a doe in front of him. They went behind some brush and were there over an hour. Long story short, finally they jumped up and headed down the ridge parallel to us. I yelled and tried to stop him and sure enough, he stopped right behind a big power line telephone poll at about 120 yards. Then he took off again and ran quartering away for another 40 yards when he made the fatal mistake of stopping for a split second and looking back. I asked my cameraman if he was on him and before he could get the entire word YES out of his mouth I had fired. I can say I have never made a 160 yard shot before, but today I did and it was right on the money. He went down within 20 yards.
- November 17th
- Hunter:Adam Elbl
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:Thompson Center Omega
- Animal:150" Whitetail
Dream Season contestant, Rod Wilson, wanted to introduce his 13-year-old godson, Adam Elbl, to deer hunting on his farm in Illinois. Needless to say the youngster was excited to join him in deer camp. On the second evening of the Illinois gun season, with a Thompson Center Omega in hand, Adam sat over a Biologic food plot surrounded by standing corn. Young Adam could not believe his eyes when his dad, Jeff, brought his
attention to the buck walking up the food plot toward them. Adam maintained his composure and put a great shot on the 150-inch whitetail. After making the shot, Adam said, "That is the biggest deer I have ever seen!" It was truly a dream come true for the 13 year old.
- November 16th
- Hunter:Matt Hoffman
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:TC
- Animal:140” 8-pointer
Story told by Jeff Hoffman:
November 16th brought the open of the Illinois firearms season. Matt, my son, took a nice buck the previous year and I wasn’t there to experience that with him. So this year, I made a commitment to Matt that I would film him until he harvested a buck. So Friday morning we headed to a stand Jason and I hunted the previous night. We had very good luck seeing many deer and there was a hot doe being dogged by 4 bucks so I felt confident Matt and I would be in for some action. Unfortunately the deer didn’t cooperate so Plan B was to head to property Friday afternoon Jason recently purchased.
The afternoon started slow but around 4:15 I noticed a big mature buck stepping out of the timber into an adjacent CRP field. I motioned to Matt and he quickly positioned for the shot. The buck was on a mission and ducked behind a thicket of small hardwood trees. Matt grunted a couple times and to my amazement the buck spun and circled back out into the CRP trying to get downwind of the grunting. At 60 yards, in the wide open, Matt put the smack-down on him with the TC. The buck only went 50 yards and piled up on film….140” 8-pointer!!
What an experience and words can’t describe capturing that moment with my son!
- November 16th
- Hunter:Eric Hale
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:TC Pro Hunter .50 Caliber Muzzleloader
- Animal:135” 10 point Whitetail
Eric and Chris returned to hunt Hadley Creek Outfitter in Pike County Illinois for gun season and spent a fun weekend with Mark and Taylor Drury. Friday morning they returned to the same draw that Eric had killed his 150” 10 point on the 9th. Eric passed on a 3 ½ year old buck before he saw a nice mature 4 ½ year old 10 point cruising for does. Sun light had just hit the top of the trees when Eric used a growl to stop him. Then Eric hit him with the heat bleat and he came right in, working a scrape on the way. At 51 yards the buck turned broadside and Eric took the shot with his TC Pro Hunter .50 caliber muzzleloader and the rest according to Eric is history.
- November 14th
- Hunter:Tim Woods
- Location:Kansas
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force Bow
- Animal:184" Whitetail Buck!
After Tim Woods’ buck harvest at Hadley Creek Outfitters in Pike County, Illinois, Tim and hunting partner, Ben Rising, headed back to their home state of Ohio for a little r&r. However, their time out of the deer woods was short lived, as they left Ohio for Otter Creek Hunting Company in Kansas shortly thereafter for a do-it-yourself hunt. After traveling over 1,000 miles to Kansas, the Buckeye Boys got settled in for what they hoped would be an eventful hunting experience. The deer movement was slow and the weather was warm, but they knew if they hung with it that their luck could change at any minute. On the morning of the 14th, their luck did change, and in a major way. With sustained wind speeds in the mid to upper 20’s and gusts up to 40 miles per hour, they spotted a small 8 point buck cruising for does. Ben and Tim were hunting between two doe bedding areas in some cedar brush only about 6 feet off of the ground. An hour after they had spotted the small buck, they looked out into the field in front of them only to see a monster, 180 class buck nudging a doe. Tim threw out all the stops, grunting and rattling in hopes that the buck would come their way. After they realized the buck was with a doe, Tim backed off the calls, praying that the doe would draw the buck within bow range. Instead, the huge buck nudged the doe out of sight and Tim picked up the horns and rattled until he was blue in the face. Within minutes the buck appeared and was walking straight toward their position. From 50 yards to 20 yards, the buck scanned the area looking for the source of all the noise. Not seeing any other bucks, the giant turned away and Tim grunted him to a stop. Tim’s arrow ten ringed the buck’s vitals and piled up within 50 yards of the impact. Tim said he was surprisingly calm throughout the entire hunt, but fell apart after he made the shot. The 184” giant whitetail is Tim’s biggest buck ever and he was totally jacked that he was fortunate enough to harvest a world class buck with his PSE Dream Season X-Force bow. Tune into Dream Season Television’s fifth season on The Outdoor Channel to see the unbelievable footage!
- November 14th
- Hunter:Jason Luster
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:2 Coyotes
November 14th proved to be another great day for predator hunting, not that we set out to do that. Jeff and I started the morning hunting a bottom to get out of the high winds. Right after daybreak, we had a nice 130” 8-pointer work his way in to our stand. Jeff was able to get over 20 minutes of footage of this buck, much of which was less than 30 yards. I elected to pass, and he eventually moved out. Jeff and I were discussing how windy it was and how difficult it was to hear when I heard something behind me. It was a coyote and he was less than 20 yards! I tapped Jeff on the leg and carefully moved to get in position. Jeff gave me the green light but, the coyote had now moved to a little over 40 yards. He stopped just long enough for me to squeeze off the shot. The shot was good and he didn’t make it 60 yards…and great footage to boot.
That evening, Jeff and I decided to mix it up a little and try a spot we had yet to hunt. It was on the edge of a logged timber and beside a picked corn field. The field was harvested late, and there was still a lot of corn on the ground. We setup about 100 yards too far south to intercept the herd of deer that entered the field just before dark, but in exactly the right spot to catch our second Wiley Coyote looking for his evening snack. He came in fast, but Jeff was able to get on him and again give me the go ahead. I smacked him right in the sweet spot at less than 15 yards with a two-blade Rage, and Jeff captured great over-the-shoulder footage. The coyote went less than 25 yards.
Two coyotes in one day, with a bow, and both captured on camera!!
- November 14th
- Hunter:John Williams
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:Thompson Center Triumph .50 Cal. Muzzleloader
- Animal:3 ½ year old 128” 8 Pointer
The evening of the 13th was a great hunt for the Missouri duo. The buck that they had been waiting for all season, a 4 year old 135,” stepped out into the field, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough camera light left to take the shot. The next morning, as Coon Dog and John sat a timber set, which they have hunted before on an early morning, a 3 ½ year old 8 pointer came cruising through the timber at daybreak. As the deer approached John’s treestand, John watched and waited before he decided to harvest the deer and with a well-placed shot the deer dropped in its tracks at 41 yards. So with the third set of horns on the ground for Dream Season Television’s Team Missouri, they will continue to hunt the rest of gun season in hopes of putting another deer down. Stay tuned for more updates on Coon Dog and John’s season.
- November 13th
- Hunter:Eric Grover
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:12 Point, 140 Class
With the rut going strong, Eric Grover and Joe Eugster, Team Wisconsin, decide to round up some help. They call on a couple good friends to help behind the camera. Eric makes plans to revisit Hadley Creek Outfitters in Pike County, Illinois, while Joe decides to stay back and continue to hunt the giant whitetail that has really gotten under his skin with several recent encounters in the past few days.
Eric and friend, Waylon Kannenberg, arrive late on November 11th at Hadley Creek. The first morning out, guide Dave Plocher took us to a large block of woods with deep draws and mature oaks. That morning, we saw well over 15 different bucks cruising the woods looking for a hot doe. The day turned to rain, and we moved to a field blind. We saw many deer on the winter wheat that night including a large 150 mainframe 10-pointer. November 13th we woke to clear skies. We put up a double just outside a cedar thicket overlooking a deep draw with mature oaks. As the blue skies arrived, we had a young buck feed below us on a banner crop of acorns. We decided to do a few blind grunt calls. Just minutes later, Eric looked over his shoulder, and there he was coming straight at us and continues to walk directly under us. Waylon does a great job getting on the mature buck right away. As he passes by, a decision has to be made. Eric comes to a full draw and places the rage precisely behind the ribs. The buck mule kicks and staggers to 40 yards before going down. As Eric climbs out of the stand to recover his first Illinois buck, another large mainframe 10 appears. Eric spends several minutes coaxing this 160 class whitetail within 20 yards by using several grunt snort wheeze calls. Waylon is still on stand and is able to capture another Pike County giant.
We thank Stacey and Michelle and the great guides at Hadley Creek. They run nothing but a first class operation. Waylon and I both plan to be back knowing this is perhaps the best whitetail outfitter in the country.
- November 12th
- Hunter:Bric Steward
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:Bow
- Animal:Whitetail 130" 10 Point
Well the calendar finally turned from October to November. I couldn't wait for the first two weeks. Although the weather has been up and down this year, the deer movement has been the same.
I awoke to another warm morning on November 12th. As I drove to pick up my dad, Larry, for the morning’s hunt, I knew the deer had to start doing their thing, the "RUT."
The day broke with the sounds of chasing in the bottom below my stand. Eventually a little spike appeared along with two does. This was a good sign. Does had to be in the area that might be close to estrous. We settled back in, and I quickly turned to Dad's alert, "A mature doe is coming right in." After observing she wasn't being pushed, I gave the famous..."MAW", to stop her in my lane at 21 yards. I settled the pin and zipped it through the boiler room. I then calmly turned to give the after shot interview and was directing Dad to zoom in on her, when I heard the sound every bow hunter loves..."CH-CH-CH-CH."
I just saw rack and had to rapidly get an arrow knocked. He was zipping up her same trail. As fast as I could, I was at full draw and trying to stop him. With another "MAW" he stopped in the same lane. I sent the Rage passing completely through to stick in the ground a mere 6 inches from my other arrow! It literally happened so fast; I wasn't sure how big he was. I just knew he was mature. After a super wide blood trail left by the Rage, I found my mystery deer, a 130" 10 point...and a mature doe. After the work of dragging both deer out, it hit home to me how fortunate I was to experience a hunt like this with my Dad behind the camera. Mark says it best..."SWEET NOVEMBER!"
- November 12th
- Hunter:David Lindsey
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:Bow
- Animal:Whitetail 141" 8 Point
David had been putting in his time looking for a mature shooter. After passing a ton of young deer with good potential and having some great encounters with some mature bucks, he was still chasing them . He had been hunting a bottleneck in a clover plus field with good visibility and decided to put out his decoy and take the horns off in hopes a cruising buck would want a little female attention. 2 hours before dark, the "Heart-Shape" buck, the deer we passed last year as a 8 pt. with a drop tine, stepped out of a ditch and bee-lined towards the doe decoy. From 12 yards, David put a Rage in the cage in this 7 1/2 yr old brute. A great ending to an old deer that we had lots of photos and sheds from.
- November 12th
- Hunter:Bobby Goodine
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:Bow
- Animal:Whiteail 157 4/8'' 10 pt
After a few days behind the camera, Bobby decided to hunt some food plots on a new farm for the last 5 days and saw several mature shooters, but none within range. We decided to take our buck decoy "lil jon" (who was having a good week) to the biggest food plot in hopes of luring one of the shooters in range and laying down some footage. After seeing several small bucks and does, the buck we were after came into the food plot; we wheezed at him, and he immediately went the other way. When he was leaving, we noticed he had just broken a brow tine, and knew he had been getting whipped. Ten minutes later, the deer known to the local neighbors as "Mr. T," followed a doe into the field. Bobby wheezed at him, and he headed straight for the decoy. He side stepped all the way to the decoy, and Bobby smoked him. It was Bobby's first buck with a bow and first video kill.
- November 12th
- Hunter:Mark Luster
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:133 4/8" 11 Point Whitetail
Story as told by Mark Luster
Nov.12 saw Dave and I back in the stand again, this time at a spot that I had hung last Feb., and I had not hunted it yet this year. I had sent Jeff and Jason there earlier this year, and Jason was able to harvest his buck from this stand, but had conveyed to Dave and I that it was very thick in there, and the shooting lanes had started to grow shut, but once the leaves were off, they said, they thought it would be ok. Well, once in the stand, it did not take long to see what they were talking about. I had told Dave that I had about 20 yards tops to shoot in any direction, and that it would be a miracle if we got a shot. I told Dave that I thought rattling would be our best bet to get them in close to our stand because we were hung right on an inside corner and didn't think that the bucks would break out into the open to get downwind of us.
Seconds after rattling, I heard something. I looked down and saw a very nice buck was already inside 20 yards and closing. He came in with the wind right at his back, so he caught us off guard to say the least! It happened very quickly, but we got on the right page, and the Rage was on its way. After the shot, we heard something and looked up, and coming right down the edge of the cover on the downwind side is a fully mature 8 point that ends up at 15 yards. Dave and I were trying to get my bow in his hands and the camera in mine, but he saw our movement and got nervous and walked off. All in all it was a great, QUICK hunt, and I am now tagged out in IL and behind the camera for the rest of the IL archery season! Dave and I are heading to the great state of Kansas shortly, so I'll have another chance to have a bow in my hands real soon! I guess miracles do happen.
- November 11th
- Hunter:Jason Luster
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:Coyote
Story as told by Jason Luster
The morning of November 11th came with much anticipation. Jeff just took a big 10-pointer the night before, and I was now back behind the bow. We were headed to one of our best spots; an area that many large whitetails have been taken including a couple B & C’s. Unfortunately, the deer weren’t cooperating. By 10:00 am, Jeff and I had not seen a deer, and I was wondering if we had picked a “gar hole”.
Just when we were about to get down, Jeff pointed and stated there was a coyote coming fast. The coyote hung up on us about 60 yards out. Jeff pulled out one of his bag of tricks and imitated a rabbit squeal. That proved to be deadly. He closed the distance, and I zipped an arrow thru him at 31 yards.
Although not a good morning with respect to deer movement, it proved to be a great morning for predator hunting!!
- November 11th
- Hunter:Adam Kuehn
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:TC 30-30 Contender
- Animal:144 1/8” 10 Point Buck
- November 10th
- Hunter:Jerry Wilson
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:Rifle
- Animal:171 4/8” Whitetail Buck
Keith Kuehn and Rod Wilson have been hard at it just like all the other Dream Season 5 teams have been all season, so they decided to take Keith’s son, Adam, and Rod’s father, Jerry, out for the opening weekend of Missouri’s firearms season. The four of them were excited to not only get the chance to reach out and touch some of those bucks that have evaded them throughout the archery season, but also just to spend some quality time together, having fun at deer camp.
The first morning of the rifle season came and went with no deer down, but as Jerry was heading to his treestand a giant 170 class buck jumped out of the brush right in front of him. Needless to say the buck was not waiting around to greet the hunters so just as the buck was heading back into the brush, Mr. Wilson got his gun up and prepared to take the shot. Rod tried to get the camera rolling in time and in all the confusion, Jerry thought that Rod had given him the go ahead, but was actually telling him that he was not on the buck. Mr. Wilson took the shot and scored on his largest Missouri whitetail ever, a monster 171 4/8” buck and was elated beyond belief. Although the hunt wasn’t captured on video the group was extremely happy for Mr. Wilson.
The following evening, Adam Kuehn was hunting over a biologic field with his Thompson Center Contender with hopes of seeing the giant 10 pointer that Keith and Rod had gotten trail camera photos of in that area. As luck would have it, the Missouri monarch made his presence known. The huge buck gave Adam a lethal shot opportunity and he made the most of the opportunity by harvesting his biggest Missouri whitetail as well. Adam’s 10 point buck grossed 144 1/8” and the four hunters were totally pumped about the success they had hunting together on their northern Missouri farm. Rod and Keith had trail camera photos of both bucks they had harvested that weekend and were absolutely ecstatic that all their preseason scouting had paid off. The opening weekend of Missouri’s firearms season will be a trip that none of the hunters will ever forget.
- November 10th
- Hunter:Alisha Coon
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:Thompson Center .243 Rifle
- Animal:2 ½ year old 9 point whitetail
A proud father is all Coon Dog can say when his daughter, Alisha, was born 22 years ago. He was a proud father anyway, but when Alisha decided to try her luck at deer hunting for the first time ever this season, Coon Dog was pumped. On opening day of the Missouri rifle season, Alisha sat over a biologic field with a Thompson Center .243 in hand. At daybreak a really nice buck stepped out, but Alisha was unable to get into position for a shot. As the hunt continued, a few more deer passed through the field, but not long after, her birthday buck stepped out. As the buck stood and ate the biologic, it gave her a perfect 100-yard shot. She put a perfect shot on the deer with the TC, and the excitement was almost too much to handle. The best part about the hunt was that it was captured on film and Alisha’s mom, Kathy, was also in the blind to experience Alisha’s first whitetail hunt ever. For the past 21 years coon dog has missed Alisha’s actual birthday, celebrating it either before or after deer season. However, on her 22nd birthday, Coon Dog will always remember it as the day Alisha shot her birthday buck. Coon Dog has always said how blessed he and Kathy are to have such a wonderful daughter and this was just another special memory that the Coon family will cherish forever.
- November 10th
- Hunter:Dustin Decker
- Location:Kentucky
- Weapon:25-06 Rifle
- Animal:12 Point 136” Whitetail Buck
My wife, Melissa, and daughter, Ashley, both could not go hunting on opening day of the Kentucky modern firearm season so I decided to take Dustin Decker. Dustin is a 16 year-old young man that works for me in my archery store. He takes care of all of the arrow orders that we have as well as several other duties. Dustin's uncle and good friend of mine, Robert Bacuhuss, set up a blind a few days before opening day for Dustin on his property.
Since Melissa and Ashley could not go out, it only made sense to give Dustin a shot in front of the camera. So we waited until good light to head to the blind because it is set at the corner of his woods over looking a picked cornfield. Wheat has been drilled in, and it is just coming up, and the deer are smoking it. There were a few deer in the wheat field so it took us a while to get to the blind and set up. It was a perfect morning. The temperature was around 30 degrees with a heavy frost, no wind; we saw a few deer early, and then about 9:00, I looked to our right side and out popped a great buck running a doe. They stopped right in front of the blind, and Dustin settled the cross hairs of his 25-06 on his vitals and let him have it. The buck went about 90 yards and piled up just inside the woods, and Dustin had just harvested his largest buck to date. He was pumped, and I was pumped for him. It was a very special bond to see that we both have the same desire and excitement that burns inside of us. The buck is a 12 pointer and field dressed 205 lbs and scored 136.”
- November 10th
- Hunter:JJ Kolesar
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:160" 11-point Whitetail
Story as told by J.J. Kolesar
When Mark Drury called Kyle and I over the summer to tell us we will have the opportunities to hunt with the Drury Outdoors Pro Staff, we were thrilled to say the least, but we knew we had to get our game-faces on. However, shortly after hearing that news, we found out we were outbidded on our lease from the previous year.
After many phone calls, a lot of no's, and one good hint from Team Kentucky, we found ourselves hunting with Langham Outdoors. The good thing was it is only 20 minutes from our homes. The upstart outfitter helped us by allowing us to lease some of their property. With very little time to scout, we relied heavily on the assistance of General Manager, Gary Laurent. He gave us the lowdown on the location of this dandy 11-pointer.
On Halloween, Kyle and I proceeded to hang a set to try and get the drop on this buck, but instead we bumped the deer. In turn, this gave us a clue on his travel routes and his routine. With the addition of some trail-cam pics and a topo map we hung a set and finally got to hunt it on Nov. 9.
That morning we saw a few bucks, including one possible shooter, but they were all about 80 yards away using a thicket and a brushy draw to move through our bottleneck. Kyle and I immediately said we needed to move the stand. That morning after the hunt, we moved our stands near the mouth of the draw.
The next morning the wind was still out of the North so we decided to hunt it. As luck would have it, this big boy came sauntering out of thicket to about 25 yards broadside. A PSE X-Force, a 2-blade Rage broadhead, and 60 yards later, I had harvested my first buck on film. I can't tell you how thankful and excited we are about our good fortune. Hope you enjoy! Team Illinois
- November 10th
- Hunter:Glen Simpson
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:140” 8 point Whitetail
MISSION: Breach the two and three and a half year old barrier...Time for a new Technique, Tactic and Procedure...Pull out the Rattlin Horns!
After several days of great encounters with quality 2 & 3 and half year old bucks, Ken and I decided it was finally time to reach deep into the rucksack and pull out old faithful...THE HORNS. The only question would be: was the time right and would they respond? Well, the question was answered, and respond they did! At the very first CRACK of the horns, bucks came out of the woodwork.
Within the next couple of days, we had encountered and filmed an astonishing 20 different bucks within two different counties in central Illinois, including a great up and coming, but busted up, 150 class buck and a good 8 point that both Ken and I chose to pass.
After reviewing the footage that evening, we decided that the 8 point that we passed just 2 days earlier may have been a mistake. The buck’s incredible body weight made his rack seem smaller than one would originally think as we both agreed that if given the opportunity the next morning that I would harvest this buck.
First light found us sitting 30 feet up in what we've now named the "Old Trusty Stand." With winds out of the north at 5 mph and the morning temperature around 25 degrees, the stage was set, and all we needed now was the star of the show. The first buck activity was a great 150+ class 10 pointer right on the heels of a doe, but just outside bow range and moving away fast. In an effort to break him off the doe, I picked up the horns and the MAD Calls Grunt, Snort Wheeze and tried to change the course of nature, but unfortunately as in most cases as this, failed to pull him from the clutches of sweat smell of the doe.
After watching them disappear into the thicket, I decided to crack the horns one more time in a last ditch effort. Minutes after, I spotted movement in the thicket heading right to Ken and I...had I done the impossible? Pulling up the Nikon binoculars, a bitter sweet feeling fell over me as I quickly recognized the large bodied 4 year old 8 pointer that was on t he High Value Target List, and he was coming on a rope. The buck jumped the fence at 45 yards and closed the distance looking for the fight as I stopped the buck broadside at 18 yards. After receiving the green light from Ken, I released the Rage tipped arrow at Mach speed from my PSE X- Force with devastating results. The buck ran 30 yards and fell over. Mission Accomplished!
- November 9th
- Hunter:Jeff Lindsey
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:Bow
- Animal:Whitetail 151 1/2" 12 Point
With the seeking phase in full swing, Jeff and his cameraman, Jon Gibbs, decided to head to a hilltop that still had standing beans where they had seen several shooters cruising the last week. They took the new Flambeau buck decoy a.k.a. "lil Jon" and put him out 20 yards upwind from our set. At daylight, they saw a monster 4 1/2 that paid them no attention. Right behind him was a 4 1/2 deer that we had lots of velvet/ hard horn wildlife footage of. Jeff and Jon wheezed and growled at him, and he headed right for their setup, but the buck saw a doe in the cedars and went after her. 10 minutes later, they saw him 50 yards downwind, headed directly for the decoy. A 10 yard shot with a hungry Rage, the tall browed buck never had a chance. He went 75 yards and piled up, and Jeff's Iowa rut hunt was over.
- November 9th
- Hunter:John O'Dell
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:130” 10 point Whitetail
With rejuvenated spirits following Dave Reisner’s successful November 6th hunt John and Dave were in a stand the very next morning in search of Johns buck. The next couple of days they saw a lot of nice bucks and they could tell that the rut was in full swing as big bucks were chasing does. Dave and John had been waiting for a North wind all season to hunt an awesome set they had hung just above “the bean field” and the forecast said Friday the 9th they would get one. They woke up extra early and had grandeurs of seeing more deer than they had ever seen before from a stand, but as they walked to the stand in the darkness it proved harder to find then they had thought and as they walked aimlessly about they spooked more deer than they had ever spooked getting into a set before. Needless to say they didn’t have such high hopes after the morning blunder. The sun came up and mid morning was approaching when in comes a buck chasing a doe. The doe walked off and John seized this opportunity to use his Mad Calls and call to the lone Buck. It worked perfectly as the 10-point turned and walked directly to their location. He looked like a tank walking directly into the camera and with his big 5” bases John’s heart was racing. The buck got to 7 yards when John let an arrow fly from his PSE and the big buck dropped right in his tracks.
- November 9th
- Hunter:Eric Hale
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:150 3/8” 10 point Whitetail
Well, after Chris’s smash on the 5th, it was time for Eric to pick up his new PSE X-Force and try to fill his Illinois bow tag. A couple of days passed with a lot of action, but no shooters. Then on the 7th, exciting news came from the Hadley Creek Camp. A seventeen year-old boy named Bryce Frieden was in hunting camp and had accomplished the unthinkable. Bryce harvested a 209” giant! We took a few hours off to share the experience with Bryce and his dad, Scott.
Then, after the celebration, it was back to work. Owner of Hadley Creek, Stacey Ward, took us into a farm Hadley Creek now owns that used to be Terry Drury’s old farm, Brushy Ridge. After a morning sit, it was determined by myself, Chris, and Stacey that we needed to be further up a draw in a cedar thicket between two big ridges. We hung a double set, and the action immediately started on the evening of the 8th. Several bucks were sighted including a 150” 10 point giant. We knew that we needed to continue to hunt the new set. At 4:30 a.m. on the 9th, we began a 30-minute walk through a dry creek bottom to our stands. At 7:15 a.m., the same 10-point from the previous evening pushed does by the stand but offered no shot opportunity. The action kept rolling, and a 5 ½ year old 135” 8 point provided a 15 yard shot, but I elected to pass. After a few choice words from Chris, we sat tight all day, and at 3:15 p.m., I was rewarded for my patience, and the big 10 exploded into the thicket chasing a doe. I stopped the buck at 31 yards, and the X-Force performed flawlessly. The buck ran only 60 yards after a double lung hit, and the rest is history.
Another truly awesome experience at Hadley Creek Outfitters at Pike County, Illinois and we couldn’t be any more thankful for the experience!
- November 8th
- Hunter:Mike McFerrin
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:130” 11 point Whitetail
Mike McFerrin and Richard Saenz left Texas and headed to Pike County, Illinois, to hunt Hadley Creek for their first Illinois hunt.
They were excited about the opportunity to hunt the Midwest during the rut. They decided to put Richard in front of the camera first with Mike filming. Mike and Rich had many great encounters, but did not have the opportunity to harvest a mature whitetail. While in camp with Team Hale & Ward, they were excited to see a hunter bring in a monster 210” buck one evening. After hunting hard for four days, they elected to change things up, and on the fifth day, Mike started hunting with Richard filming. Shortly after getting into their set on the fifth morning, they had encounters with several shooters that were out of bow range. At 11:30 a.m., they were about climb down and change location when Mike heard leaves crunching and out of the corner of his eye saw a shooter buck making his way towards them. The buck offered Mike a 28 yard shot, and Mike sealed the deal on his first Illinois whitetail. Mike and Richard both agree that Hadley Creek is one of the finest hunting operations in the country and were proud to head back to Texas with a beautiful Illinois buck.
- November 8th
- Hunter:Louie Payne
- Location:Kentucky
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:132” Whitetail Buck
After spending 7 days in Illinois, we just were not seeing hardly any deer, so we decided to come back home to Kentucky and hunt hard for the next 4 days before modern gun season because after Kentucky’s 16 straight days of rifle hunting, it is very tough to get on anything with a bow after all that.
After hunting two days on my farm, we just were not seeing very many deer at all. Meanwhile, my buddy, Roger McMillion, called me up and said he got another picture of a shooter at his place, and he had just harvested a 143 a few days before, so he invited me to come over and hang a camera stand above the one he already had up. By the time we got finished hanging the stand, it was too late to go back to my farm, so he said just go to another one of his spots since we already had a set hung previously over a Biologic Outfitters Blend food plot. So we climbed up after setting the Flambeau Boss Buck decoy in the food plot, and about 45 minutes before dark, I looked over and a nice buck was walking across the pond dam. I grunted to him a couple of times, and he looked and started to head our way, and then he saw the decoy and came in slow and cautious through the food plot to the decoy. The buck presented me the shot, and at 28 yards, he received the lethal hit dealt by the PSE X-Force. The buck ended up field dressing 200 lbs and scored 132.”
- November 8th
- Hunter:Mark Drury
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:PSE Bow
- Animal:150” 9 point Whitetail
As told by Mark Drury
The rut has been hit-and-miss so far. When the weather is right you see them, when it’s not you don’t. It’s been par for the course in November.
A few mornings ago we watched a mature nine pointer with a bladed G1 breeding a doe about 25-28 yards from the tree but it was too brushy for a shot. We went back in there this morning. We’re sitting over a deep CRP draw and two fawns appeared. A little after 8 am we spotted a buck coming through checking doe bedding areas and immediately recognized him as the bladed G1 buck from the other day. He nudged the 2 fawns and walked right to us just as if he was following a script. He stopped four steps from the tree and presented me with a perfect shot. You got to love sweet November!
- November 7th
- Hunter:Josh Kinney
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:PSE X-Force
- Animal:160” 11 point Whitetail
St. Louis Cardinal’s pitcher and good friend of Mark and Terry’s, Josh Kinney, came up as a guest of Hadley Creek Outfitters to hunt a piece of property they own in Iowa. Josh is a baseball player with a passion for hunting, and he was an integral part of the World Series Champions in 2006! He was on the DL all of 2007, but he has healed since and wasn’t going to let that stop him from getting a chance to harvest a buck of a lifetime in Iowa.
Drury Outdoors cameraman, Josh Hopkins, was filming Josh Kinney, and they had scouted, hung and hunted this particular piece of property all week. As they were hunting this particular day, the wind switched on them, so they elected to get down and head for another stand. As they were walking to their next spot, they came up on a giant 11-point nudging a hot doe! This buck wasn’t paying any attention to Team Josh as they stalked up on him, and that fatal mistake let Josh Kinney get to within 12 steps to take a shot with his PSE Dream Season X-Force bow!
Josh is a great friend, and we have been tickled to watch him play baseball for our home team Cardinals, and now we are tickled to have him be a part of our video series! What a great day in Iowa!
- November 6th
- Hunter:Tony Smith
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:138” 11 point Whitetail
November 6th, 2007 will not likely be a day Tony Smith with Mossy Oak Apparel soon forgets. Tony came to town just a few days earlier and the action started the instant the Alabama native touched Central Illinois soil. The first morning in the stand brought fast paced action with many bucks on the move, and close - just not shooter material.
Over the next couple of days the action remained high. Then on Monday November 5th I informed Jeff that I had to attend a meeting the next day and would not be able to hunt. Jeff decided to film Tony the next morning in my absence. The morning started off good with a few does passing through right after daybreak. After a brief delay in the action a doe passed by with a 130” 8-pointer on her tail. Tony was locked and loaded but the buck didn’t present a clean shot. Tony was let down to say the least for this would have been his first P&Y buck. But, Tony was in one of our best spots and Jeff knew the probability was high they would see more shooters. Not 5 minutes had passed and Jeff spotted a nice buck heading their way. Jeff exclaimed, “Tony get ready, here comes another one.”
Tony quickly positioned himself for the shot. As the buck passed by at 32 yards he released the arrow and smacked the big 11-pointer! The buck jumped and bounded but stopped still within 30 yards of the stand. Tony was ready and drilled him again. The 138” 11-pointer dropped in his tracks…and all caught on tape!!
- November 6th
- Hunter:Doug Hampton
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE X-Force
- Animal:130” 10pt Whitetail
Teammates Rod Owen and Doug Hampton are back in action, hunting in the great state of Illinois. After seven days with no luck, but still seeing plenty of great bucks, the team laid out a 200 yard scent trail with the Still Steamin’ scent lure and hoped for the best. A buck took the bait and headed towards the team. Utilizing the new MAD Snort, Grunt, Wheeze, Doug offered up several coaxing grunts that the buck just couldn’t resist. The buck followed the grunts in and offered Doug a twenty-yard broadside shot. With his adrenaline rising and heart pumping, Doug let the arrow from his PSE X-Force fly and connected with a perfect heart shot. The buck took off, and fifty yards later, collapsed and expired on tape.
The duo has three more days left to hunt in Illinois and hopes to add even more video to the great buck footage Rod has collected during their time there. “I’ve seen more great bucks during these 7 days than I have in the past 30 years hunting,” proclaimed Rod. Let’s hope for the best for Rod and Doug as they continue on their Illinois hunt before heading back to Kansas.
- November 5th
- Hunter:Chris Ward
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE X-Force Dream Season Bow
- Animal:134” 9pt Whitetail
Chris and Eric were excited to head back to Hadley Creek Outfitters for
the archery season this year after having great luck last year. The
first morning Chris passed on a "Superstar" 3yr. old due to unbelievable
genetics. The deer was a 6x5 with huge mass that will score around
145". Chris knew the buck would probably blow into a booner in one or
two years so he felt like he did the right thing.
After three days of awesome encounters, Chris' luck got better. On
November 5th, around 7:15am, Chris saw a few smaller bucks and a nice 2yr.
old when a great buck exploded through the timber chasing a doe. Chris
used the M.A.D. Buck Growl to grunt a few times, and when the deer didn't
respond, he hit the M.A.D. Heat Bleat two times. Less than a minute later,
the buck broke off from the doe and headed straight to the stand. At 15
yards Eric had great footage, but Chris couldn't get a shot from his
angle. The next shooting lane was at 40 yards. Chris stopped the buck
and made an awesome shot. The deer ran 40 yards and fell on film.
Eric is now up to bat and is excited about the next few days. Stay tuned
for more action.
- November 5th
- Hunter:Ken Barteau
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE X-Force
- Animal:138” 12pt Whitetail
Story as told by Glen Simpson
The Mission: Harvest a Pope and Young class whitetail buck in Illinois.
The mission began back in August when Ken and I came to Central Illinois to scout for the upcoming bow season. We had a very productive 4 day trip and hung several quality stands over well known and used funnels and choke points. We left Illinois very satisfied that when we came back for the 1st of a 3 leg trip that we would have an opportunity to harvest a quality whitetail.
We had several encounters with the buck Ken would eventually harvest, the first coming the 2nd week of October at about 80 yards when he offered no shot as he stayed tight to the thick cover. The 2nd encounter came on a very cold morning the 1st of November as several 2 1/2 year old bucks responded to grunt calls from the M.A.D Growl. The three 2 1/2 year old bucks came out of the thicket in response to Ken's calling as he opted to let the young 120 class deer walk in hopes of a shot at the bigger buck. The bigger buck again eluded us as he stayed in the thick cover.
The third and final encounter came on November 5th at 6:30 AM when the buck finally came through one of our shooting lanes at 40 yards. With just enough camera light to film, Ken placed a well aimed shot with his PSE X-Force downing the buck within 20 yards.
- November 3rd
- Hunter:Taylor Drury
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:Browning Micro Adrenaline
- Animal:105” 8 point Whitetail
Mark Drury went into this deer season with only one thing on his mind: To have his daughter Taylor, 12, take her first deer with a bow!
Taylor started practicing with her bow last year only able to pull 20 lbs. “We worked and worked all winter, spring and summer to build her muscles up to where she could pull in the low thirty pounds. She finally worked her way up to pulling 30½ lbs on her Browning Micro Adrenaline with a 22” draw until I was confident with her shot out to 25 yards”, said Mark.
The first week of the Missouri youth season came and Taylor had an exciting weekend. She had encounters with two nice bucks, both in the 150’s. She wisely passed both as the beans were too tall and she couldn’t get a good shot on their vitals.
The next week, Taylor had a three-day weekend and joined her father on his Missouri farm. The first night in, they sat in a ground blind, hoping for a doe, when a mature 4½ year-old buck appeared. After a few tense moments the buck stopped and presented a shot from about 22 yards out. Taylor let loose and just missed as the arrow passed one inch under him! “She was right on the line, but just too low. I was more nervous than she was!” said Mark.
The next morning feeling a little under the weather, Taylor skipped the morning hunt. That evening they climbed up in a tree-stand and a 1½ year-old 8-point buck came right under the stand. Mark expected her to shoot, but Taylor, on her own, elected to pass. Thirty minutes later another 8-pointer appeared. The 3½ year-old buck came out working a scrape, then he hung up in a cornfield. Mark let out with a couple of soft grunts and the buck headed towards them. He came straight to 5 yards from the base of the tree, turned broadside and stepped behind a cedar tree as Taylor drew. Mark zoomed back and got both Taylor and the buck in frame, over her shoulder, then zoomed back in just as the buck stepped out into the open, 10 steps from the tree. Taylor let it fly for a killing shot bringing down a buck that field dressed 185 lbs.! Proud father Mark said the best thing about the whole weekend was “It was really nice just her and I in camp. I couldn’t be any prouder. I’m on cloud nine!”
- November 1st
- Hunter:Julie Kreuter
- Location:Nebraska
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:9 point Whitetail
As told by Rick Kreuter
Julie and I slipped into our stand about 3:00 that afternoon. We saw this big buck stand up out of his bed about 150 yards from us. He went over and tested a 3yr old and then proceeded to follow a doe about 200 yds straight away from us. The doe led him all the way back to us about 30 minutes later. As they were feeding in a bunch of rushes, we could see that they were split apart by about 50 yards. I hit the heat bleat and buck growl and he replied with a snort wheeze and proceeded to make about 7 scrapes! With 30 plus minutes of communication with this buck on film, he finally decided to committ to our location. As the buck appeared out of the river bottom, he made one more scrape at 30 yds and then walked into 20 where Julie made a perfect double lung shot! PSE and Rage teamed up on a bruiser Nebraska whitetail!!
