Bowhunting Iowa Boone & Crockett Bucks
exA Classic Evening with an Iowa Giant – Bowhunting Boone & Crockett Bucks
Does a plan ever fall into place the way it should? The months leading up to October and November are filled with daydreams of target bucks making their way in front of our stands. Perfect conditions, with a shooter buck coming in on a string, setting up for perfect shot placement. If only that was how it worked… but that wouldn’t be as rewarding, would it?
Using Trail Camera Scouting
Gearing up for the 2023 hunting season, I started to set trail cameras on my home farm in late June. I had a couple of cameras left over and thought I should maybe set one on a smaller farm I hadn’t hunted much since 2018. We call this farm the gully farm, as a giant gully of cottonwoods and cedars line the middle of some row crop and gives the deer just enough cover to stage before coming out to feed. I had a camera on this farm in 2022 with few deer that gained my interest. Still, I went ahead and put a camera on the edge of some timber just to see what was around.
Six weeks later, I retrieved my SD card. I had low expectations, given the lack of impressive deer from the year prior. As I thumbed through the pictures, one deer caught my eye on August 6, 2023. There stood a tall, very wide, and nearly symmetrical ten-pointer. I did not recognize the deer but instantly knew I had just found my target buck. I planned to move a couple more cameras to this farm to try to put a plan together.
Getting Stands Set
Very few trees allowed for only one good stand location, so I went back and made sure everything was prepped and ready. I propped up a 15-foot ladder stand in a black cherry along a fence line that splits the gully farm and some CRP. Next, I went and weed-trimmed a trail 20 yards north, allowing easier travel between the row crop and CRP. I strategically trimmed the trail right under an adjacent bur oak, where I partially snapped a branch to create a mock scrape. Then I trimmed shooting lanes and broadcast some oats and brassica seed in front of the stand into standing beans. I even called the tenant on the farm to see if he’d leave some of the crop standing when it came time to harvest.
To my excitement, I got one or two pictures of the buck every week leading up to season. I knew he was around, but most pictures came a couple hundred yards from my stand along the neighboring property boundary. There was no way to access this area or hang another stand, so I knew I would have to be patient.
High Anticipation
I kept my boss updated, and even he began to feel invested in this deer. When October 1st came, he let me go a little early to make my first sit. It was unusually cool for opener, and the wind was perfect. All I wanted was to get eyes on this buck.
As soon as I got into the stand, does began filing out of the timber 100 yards north of me. The beans were still a tad green and were palatable. I only had to wait another 20 minutes for my first encounter with the ten-pointer I had only seen on a computer screen. From the dark shadows, I watched the wide-framed deer emerge into the sunlight. As he reached the timber’s edge, my heart started to thump a little faster. He had all my attention, but now there was nothing to do but hope he made his way over 100 yards in my direction to get within bow range.
He fed for an hour or so and then ventured back into the timber. I was shocked how early he came out to feed. He was completely unaware of my presence. I knew if I could just play my cards right, he just might enter the field from the trail to the north of my stand. I had gotten a couple of pictures of him using the trail at night, and plenty of other deer had been using it. This game had begun.
Play the Wind
From that point forward, every time I had a straight north wind, I tried my best to get in the stand. I saw the ten every single time I sat. He had a routine, popping out of the timber edge to the north about 45 minutes ahead of sunset each evening. There were four other bucks I’d classify as “mature” that I would see on a regular basis, too. None of them matched the body size or aura of this buck, letting me know that he was the king of the herd. I also knew that as the season got later and the beans turned, his pattern would likely change. It was a race against the clock, and time was running out – even if it was only the first week of October.
On October 7th, I made my fourth trek to the stand. I got into the field much earlier and did not spook any deer off the beans as I ascended 15 feet. An hour later, I had about a dozen does work their way towards me, feeding on the small brassicas and oats that were still green. Not long after, the ten-pointer entered the field. He was only 85 yards away. He looked over at the does surrounding my stand and started walking over to check out what they were feeding on. I knew I was about to have my chance.
Being Patient
There were so many does around me; I feared standing up would spook them. I slowly grabbed my bow and attached my release. I had a spot marked out at 30 yards, and once the ten reached the mark, I slowly drew back while staying seated. Now, I was afraid the lower arm of my bow would hit the gun rail on the stand, so I leaned back slightly more than I would if I were standing in a normal position. As soon as he turned broadside, I rested the pin behind the shoulder and released.
Whack! The lower cam of my bow smacked my knee, and the arrow didn’t come out at full speed. I watched my broadhead hit the dirt right next to the ten’s front hoof. All the deer were immediately startled but had no idea what happened. They worked off 75 yards or so and then began feeding again, including the ten-pointer. He never knew I was there, but I was absolutely crushed. I could not believe I made such a bone-headed mistake. I told myself the next time I came to the tree, I would stand the entire time to ensure I was ready if I were lucky enough to have a second chance.
Do Second Chances Exist?
I went back to my truck feeling defeated as I knew the weather wouldn’t cooperate for about a week and had some other obligations that would prohibit me from coming back to the stand until next weekend. Even though I was disappointed, I tried to find the silver lining and thought maybe giving the area a rest is exactly what was needed. I worked all week, and the following Saturday, October 14th, I moved my girlfriend (now wife) into my hometown with me. We had agreed I would not hunt that day, as moving would take all day and she was clearly the priority.
By two in the afternoon, we had every box in the house and were exhausted. A crisp north wind was setting in, temps were dropping, and we both needed a break. I didn’t even have to ask; she took one look at me and said I better go hit the stand tonight to rest up. Say no more!
I got in the stand about 3:15 p.m. There were a few does already out in the field, but I was able to get set without spooking them off. I nocked an arrow in my bow and stood in my stand. I scanned the edge of the timber over and over again, watching all four of the other recognizable bucks make their entrance one-by-one. With about fifteen minutes of legal shooting light left, I knew there was only one deer that hadn’t appeared yet. That’s when I heard antler tips in a tree branch just north of me.
Finally He Appears
There he was, working over the mock scrape on the trail just ahead of me. I quickly grabbed my bow and positioned my feet, ready to draw. I pulled back as soon as I saw his tines start to work their way through the trail out to the beans. He entered the field exactly 20 yards upwind of me. I let him lower his head to graze the oats, and I rested my pin behind the shoulder for a perfect quartering-away shot. I released my arrow and watched it hit its mark. He bolted down into the timber towards our neighbor’s property. I knew I had just closed the chapter on this deer.
After the Shot
I called my dad and let him know I needed some help. He was just as excited as I was and hopped in the truck to head my way. I then called my girlfriend, and I made sure to thank her for letting me slip out of my unpacking duties. She was thrilled, of course, and headed out to the farm to help recover the buck too. Shortly after my dad and girlfriend arrived, we found the buck about 50 yards from where he entered the timber. Pictures were taken, stories were told, and we drove him back to town.
The next day I called my neighbor Bob and told him all about the deer. When we exchanged some pictures, he let me know that one of his daughters had nicknamed the buck “The Classic” due to his stereotypical frame and how “classic” of an appearance he had every time they saw him. Admittedly, she was a little disappointed that someone else wrapped their tag on the buck, so I assured Bob that from now on, that buck would forever be named Classic.
We found some trail camera pictures of Classic from the year prior. He had broken off a g2 and didn’t have near the mass or width that he had put on in 2023. I’d guess he added around 20 to 25 inches of antler growth. Regardless of the antler size, this buck allowed me to learn a lot about preseason patterns of mature whitetails. No matter how pinned down a deer is, or how routine one might become, you can never count on having a perfect, or in other words, a classic, hunt.
