- December 27th
- Hunter:Bonnie McFerrin
- Location:Texas
- Weapon:PSE X-Force
- Animal:10 Pt. whitetail 156”
Mike & Bonnie McFerrin packed up the family the day after Christmas and traveled to their lease in south Texas for a week of hunting and relaxation. The family enjoys ringing in the New Year down south and winding down from the busy holiday season. Mike harvested a whitetail during early season, but Bonnie had yet to get a buck on the ground. During the month of October & November, Mike & Bonnie made several trips to the lease, but Bonnie came back empty handed every time!
The first morning hunt was very chilly, and the McFerrins hunted out of one of their Ameristep ground blind set-ups. They had a great encounter with a main-frame nine with an abnormal on his left main beam, but the buck gave them the slip in pursuit of a hot doe, and their morning hunt ended with some great footage of the deer. The wind direction changed mid-day, so the McFerrins decided to try a different set-up in the same area and try their luck on the buck they saw earlier that day.
Late afternoon, they climbed up in their tripods in a new location and settled in for the evening hunt. Not only did the wind change direction earlier in the day, but it also picked up quite a bit and made for a very windy evening. Mike & Bonnie watched a doe work her way into the area and hoped a buck would be with her. Luckily, the same buck they had encountered that morning followed the doe right into their shooting lane. He presented her with an 18 yard broadside shot, and she successfully harvested her first buck of the year with her PSE X-Force.
- December 23rd
- Hunter:Mark Drury
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:TC Omega
- Animal:5 1/2 Year Old 5x5 Whitetail Buck
As Told By Mark Drury:
Everybody knows how in tune we are with food plots especially during the late season. So Jared and I devised a plan that he’d hunt the second gun season and I’d hunt the late muzzleloader season with multiple destination feed fields specifically planted for this time of the year. If history would repeat itself at all it should be the perfect plan, so we thought. We hunted diligently through a cold front, rainstorm, ice storm, snowstorm, high winds, low winds, mornings, evenings and midday without seeing the first buck older than two and a half. By the end of second gun season we were ready to throw what we thought was the book on late season hunting out the window. Then late season muzzleloader rolls around and with it a near blizzard like storm blew. I was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of this awesome Iowa buck! All total we hunted 15 days and saw one mature buck. I’m still scratching my head as to why they didn’t move through nearly perfect weather conditions. It was as if the extreme cold of late November had already thrown them into winter mode. Their metabolism seemed to have slowed causing late and sporadic movement. I was tickled to death to see this guy coming, one of the widest bucks of my life.
- December 23rd
- Hunter:Bill Gadient
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:TC Pro Hunter
- Animal:160 5/8” Whitetail Buck
On December 21, a major winter storm blew into Iowa. With all the freezing rain and snow, Dave and I figured the deer would be laying low trying to avoid the harsh weather. The next day we had more of the same, but we knew the deer would have to feed out of necessity. With temps hovering around 10 degrees and 40 mph winds, we headed out to our Ameristep blind. Conditions were not suitable for man or deer, but we felt confident in our strategy and stuck it out. At about 4:15, several deer came out of the draw and headed our way, all passing within bow range. (I purposely brought my bow for that very reason.) 15 minutes later another group of deer exited the draw in our direction. I got into position with bow in hand and waited for my opportunity. The huge buck, and the others, got to within 130 yards and became a little nervous. Seeing that they were going to swing wide of us, I quickly swapped bow for gun and readied for the shot. The buck started to run and Dave and I followed. I made three loud bleats to stop him, and on the third he paused and looked our way. Dave assured me he was in frame and I squeezed off the T/C. Through the scope I could see the buck drop were he stood. This is another buck we have had some history with throughout the year, and it's the same buck that was in frame with Dave's muzz kill six days before. I knew this was a super buck when I shot him and couldn't wait to put my hands on him. After we got him loaded we headed to Dave's house and put a tape to him. The awesome spread and height put him just over the 160 mark at 160 5/8 gross.
- December 18th
- Hunter:Terry Drury
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X-Force
- Animal:140" 6 1/2 year old 9 Point
With December halfway over and all firearms seasons come and gone, my Missouri bow tags were still unfilled. However, we still had hope that eventually we would find a mature buck if we kept hunting hard. Due to the heavy snow and ice storms, paired with a poor moon phase, we knew it wasn't going to be easy. None the less, we headed afield every day despite the temperatures in the single digits and low teens with tree stands covered in ice.
We weren't seeing the mature bucks hitting the soybean or Biologic fields in the evenings due to layers of thick ice covering the food, so we adopted a new strategy by sitting in the timber during midday in order to catch bucks pawing through the snow for acorns. With southerly winds rolling in and temperatures on the rise, and after seeing numerous deer in the timber during lunch time hours, we slipped out of our stand in the afternoon to sit over a bean field. However, we were running a little late, so we decided to hop into a nearby box blind overlooking a Biologic Maximum field.
As luck would have it, a beautiful buck showed up that I knew all too well! A 6 ½ year old buck known as the Split G2 Without A Split walked onto the Biologic field with his nose to the ground trailing a group of does. He strolled right into bow range and my PSE bow and Rage broad head did their job! We waited until the next morning to recover him and found him laying in a hollow about 150 yards from the box we were sitting in. This buck was special because it was the first buck that I have ever harvested in the snow with my bow, and not to mention that it was the first buck I have ever arrowed out of a box blind! With crystal clear skies, and snow and ice covering the landscape, I couldn't have asked for a better ending!
- December 17th
- Hunter:Dave Kramer
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:TC Pro Hunter Muzzleloader .50 Cal.
- Animal:172 5/8” Whitetail Buck
Dave and Bill started out their season with high hopes, spotting several awesome bucks in velvet throughout the summer months. There was one buck in particular that had Team IA pumped about the upcoming season: a giant whitetail that Dave had gotten over a dozen trail camera photos of as well.
As the season journal has shown, Team IA has struggled to harvest many bucks on video this year, but it has not been for lack of effort on their part. As the season rolled on, Dave had an encounter with the giant buck in late October, but no shot opportunity. The rut came and went with no sightings of the buck at all. All Dave could hope for was that the buck would make it through Iowa’s shotgun season, so they could get a crack at the buck on a late season feeding pattern.
Well, with three days left in the shotgun season, Dave spotted the buck coming out of the timber to a cut cornfield. Three nights in a row, the buck came out to the same field, walking on the same trail, so the plan was to set up an ambush. The Iowa hunters put an Ameristep blind 20 yards off the trail that the buck had been using and planned to take a shot with the PSE during the IA muzzleloader season. The weatherman called for SW wind, which was ideal for the blind setup, but when they got in, it was a southeast wind, so Dave put down the PSE and took the TC Pro Hunter out of the blind and set up in front of some round corn stalk bales 70 yards from trail.
Dave and Bill sat motionless throughout the hunt as they had about 8 or 10 bucks throughout the course of the evening work past them about 70 yards off the trail they were intently staring at all evening. After the buck parade slowed down and with about 30 minutes of shooting light left, the giant buck stepped out of the timber and headed toward the field. The buck was about 130 yards away when a doe that had worked past the hunters, caught a glimpse of Bill raising the camera to video the monster buck. When the doe ran back into the timber, Dave swung the gun around to the buck, settled the cross hairs and let loose on the buck. The bullet penetrated the heart and both lungs and the giant piled up 45 yards from his last position.
After the shot, the celebration began as Team Iowa finally put it together on a giant whitetail that the Hawkeye state is known for. This buck is Dave’s second largest buck ever, his largest video buck, and his good friend, Bill, was there to capture the whole hunt on video. Check out this hunt on Dream Season Television, Season 5 “Land of the Giants.”
- December 8th
- Hunter:Evan Shults
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:TC Omega Muzzleloader
- Animal:133 2/8” Eight Point Whitetail
As told by Joe Shults:
For the second year in a row, Evan and I have had harsh weather conditions to deal with on our annual Father and Son hunt in Illinois. When we got to St. Louis and saw the dusting of snow on the rooftops and on the ground, Evan knew he was going to get to hunt in the snow once again!
As we took Highway 61 North, the farther North we went, the more snow there was. When we arrived at the farm, the ground was white, and we wasted no time unloading the truck and getting into the timber. We saw about 7 deer the first evening, but no shooters.
The second evening of the hunt was awesome. After having to thaw the zipper to the Ameristep blind, we got settled in. With the frozen snow on the ground, we knew the standing beans would be a deer magnet! Soon, some doe started filtering into the beans. Then, finally, a nice 8-point buck appeared to feed. Evan was patient and let the buck feed until he offered him a good broadside shot. He touched the trigger on the TC Omega, and it found its mark!
While we where talking about the hunt, a doe came back into the field so Evan reloaded the Omega. We sat there until more doe came into the field. When the nice mature doe gave Evan a good shot, the Omega roared again and found its mark! A double with a muzzleloader!!
Even with the extreme ice storm and the power outage and cold weather, it was a great hunt. I am a lucky man to get to enjoy the outdoors with my son and to watch him mature through the years as a hunter and to see him grow to love the sport that I do so truly love. It is truly the hunt that I most look forward to every year!!!!!
- December 8th
- Hunter:Keith Kuehn
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:TC Pro Hunter
- Animal:10 Point 163 4/8
After a season of many great encounters, Keith Kuehn entered the late
muzzle loader season in Illinois with nothing but empty tags, but the
weather and fate were on his side. West central Illinois had been hit
with sleet and ice three days earlier and now frigid temps had the
deer on their feet heading for food. Keith positioned himself in
front of a Biologic food plot bordering a picked corn field. Early in
the hunt, a huge bodied 10 point was heading straight into the food
plot and straight to Keith, but the big buck followed a fleeing doe
back into the timber. Not disappointed, Keith was confident that with
plenty of daylight left, the big buck would show his face again.
Not long before dark, the big buck came into the field again, and before
the buck could retreat a second time, Keith placed a perfect shot on
the deer. The giant 163 4/8 buck lay a short 60 yards away in the timber.
- December 7th
- Hunter:Mark McCaulley
- Location:Wisconsin
- Weapon:Flint Lock - Early 1600 rds period
- Animal:Mature Doe
Quality Deer Management is something Joe Eugster and Eric Grover feel very strongly about. With this said, it was time to harvest a couple more does. Mark McCaulley, a good friend of Joe and Eric's, had an early 1600 rds flint lock, smoke pole, he wanted to harvest a deer with. Mark and a gentleman named Jim Williams met Joe at the farm. Jim shoots these dd smoke poles in competitions and agreed to teach us all a little about them. After our lesson, it was time to shoot the target. They compare Joe's TC Encore Prohunter to the old flint lock, kind of a modern vs. traditional. When Mark was comfortable with his gun, it was time to head to the woods.
What a morning, cold, fresh snow, and lots of deer. Mark passes a 140" ten point in search of a mature doe. Soon what they were looking for came by and Mark makes a perfect heart shot. Neat story line and great shot.
- December 7th
- Hunter:Tom Ware
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:Muzzleloader
- Animal:162 5/8 - 13 point
It had just snowed about an inch in Illinois, and if we got an east wind, I had a stand in mind that I had been waiting to hunt. I had paid the farmer to leave some standing beans, and I knew the access was awesome for an afternoon hunt. My cameraman, Jimmy, and I headed in about 2:00pm, and about 2:15pm, we had deer in the field. Some does and small bucks fed for a couple of hours, and then a doe picked us out of the tree and got a little nervous. The other deer in the field became nervous too as they all watched her try to figure out what we were. Within a few minutes, she trotted out of the standing beans and into the timber, taking the rest of the deer with her. We thought our hunt was over!
We had about 10 minutes of shooting time left when a big deer slowly walked over the hill and into our view. The light was low through the trees as I tried to figure out just how big he was through my binoculars. He wasn’t real wide, but I kept on counting points. 6 were on the left, and 6 were on the right. I told my cameraman I was going to shoot him when he came into the big shooting lane to my left. He fed for a few minutes and never moved an inch. I had a small opening through some brush and decided to take the shot. I took it and felt the shot was a good one. He ran off about 60 yards and over a small ridge. I waited until the next morning and found him piled up only 10 yards out of my view.
- December 5th
- Hunter:Joe Eugster
- Location:Wisconsin
- Weapon:Thompson Center Encore
- Animal:10 point Whitetail
This buck storyline starts back in the Spring, when Joe and his wife and kids found one of the buck's sheds. Joe looked for several more days and couldn't find the other side. A few months later, Joe and his family went to visit Joe's niece, Michaela, and her mom Dawn, who live four hours up North. There was a nice shed antler on the table and Joe asked where they had found it. Michaela said they found it in Grandpa and Grandma's yard. The dog had brought it home. Grandma and Grandpa's house is only a half mile from where Joe found the other side of this buck's antlers! From then on, they called this the "Michaela Buck" and hoped that she would get a crack at him. Michaela never did get a shot at this buck, but she did get two shots at an even bigger buck called the "Devil Buck".
Joe had a few encounters with the "Michaela Buck" including one time when he missed him with his bow. On December 3rd, Eric couldn't film, he was having Christmas with his in-laws, Mark McCaully gratiously came over to video. Joe and Mark McCaully set up on a trophy oats field with a bow in Joe's hand. Twenty does and the "Michaela Buck" showed up, but no shot was offered. The next day Joe and Eric build a ground blind where all the deer entered the trophy oats. The following evening, with several more inches of snow and well below freezing temperatures, Joe and Eric went in with a PSE and a TC Encore. (You can use either weapon in the area where they were hunting.*) Several animals came right past the blind, but no mature bucks. Near the end of the frigid hunt, three mature bucks come on to the field and work towards them. Joe was so cold that he decided that it was time to pick up the TC. When the "Michaela Buck" was at 85 yards and Eric was on him good, Joe squeezed the trigger and dropped the "Michaela Buck" in its tracks with a perfect shot!
This buck has beautiful main beams and guessed his live weight to be over 250 lbs. Joe and Eric had to try several times to get him in the truck. What a Buck! What a Hunt!
*Note: In the CWD zone there are different regulations compared to other areas in the state of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin DNR has requested hunters to harvest more deer in the CWD zone in an effort to reduce the herd size. For more information, check out the Wisconsin DNR's rules and regulations for the CWD areas.
- December 4th
- Hunter:Chris Ward
- Location:Kansas
- Weapon:PSE dream season X Force
- Animal:135 6x4 10pt.
After killing my buck on the previous evening, it was back to work with Chris trying to get the job done with his X Force. As I stated earlier, our intentions were to harvest two mature deer with our PSE's during gun season in Kansas. This challenge was issued by Drury Outdoors and PSE for a new television show airing this summer, Bow Madness!
For six days Chris slapped on some blaze orange and passed up several 120-130 class bucks with no shooters even being seen. We have never seen Kansas bucks act so nocturnal, and lethargic this time of year. We think it must have been due to a long trickle rut with extremely hot temperatures during the rut and our bucks were exhausted. I have to say that Chris never once gave up on killing a good buck with his bow, even though my nerves were wearing out. But on this morning, we finally got the correct wind to hunt my super funnel. Chris calls it two ponds, and the temps were in the low 30's with high pressure just settling in.
At 20 minutes after daylight, Chris caught movement of big buck coming up the funnel from a wheat and bean field. Sure enough, we knew he was a shooter and what was so impressive about the deer as he came in was his 20 inch wide rack and six points stacked on one side. The deer read the script perfectly until he got to within 20 yards, and he skylined the two of us. He was coming up a ditch and looked straight up at us. Now, just so you know this set is 30 ft. with the camera man stand at 36 ft., and he was in a 15 foot ditch. Talk about being tuned into your environment! Well, the deer froze for 5 solid minutes of pre roll, but we never moved a muscle, and he finally turned broadside taking a few steps, and Chris stopped him perfectly. He let the X weave fly with a lighted nock, and the rage blew through his rib cage for a perfect double lung shot. The deer made it about 80 yards and fell over. It is our best bow kill footage to date. Chris could not have said it better after the shot, "The challenge was made, the gauntlet ran, and the goal was accomplished!" The rest is, as they say, history, and we finished up our best season ever!
- December 3rd
- Hunter:Eric Hale
- Location:Kansas
- Weapon:TC 270 encore
- Animal:170 7/8 10pt.
On November 26th, Chris and I made our annual trek to Kansas. This year we went with the intention on taking to Kansas bucks with our new PSE bows during the firearms season. We knew taking two mature bucks at this time of year would be tough, but little did we know how tough it would be. As usual, we put out our Wildlife Eyes to try and take a quick inventory of what we might have to hunt. We were floored to see a couple of giants living on the farm. The first was of a deer we named the big seven who this year blew into a giant nine point that would score in the 150's as a 5 year old. The second was of a deer we named two years ago, "Floppy," due to a severely damaged right ear. We think we have old footage of him at 4 years old two years ago when he would have scored 150. This year he was 6 years old, and we thought he would score around 170!
Well, we immediately went to work on trying to get a crack at him. But after six days of hunting, we never laid eyes on him. However, the Wildlife Eye kept on rolling and captured some of the best Wildlife Eye footage we have ever gotten to date. Our favorite piece is of him standing in front of the camera with the moon rising behind him, and he begins scratching his back with his massive rack. The footage told us what we needed to know, that he was nocturnal and living in basically 100 acres. The challenge to kill him began, and after hunting 6 days with archery equipment, we never got a glimpse of him, and we literally hunted all the way around his bedding area.
Finally, on the sixth night, we gave in and decided to drag out the TC encore and try and salvage at least some part of our trip because we only had three days left to hunt and two unfilled tags. With the perfect wind and weather, we eased into the same shooting house that I shot my giant in last year. This year, our landowner planted 4 acres of Biologic in front of the stand with beans and wheat bumping up to it. This is the only stand you can hunt this side of the farm out of without sending every deer that beds near the field to the next county.
At 4:45 p.m., the big boy showed himself and strolled into the Biologic and began feeding. For ten minutes the big boy stayed out at 257 yards, and I have to admit that I could not get my heart rate slowed down to make the ethical shot. Every time I would settle in, my heart would beat and cause the cross hairs to jump. Eventually the deer fed his way back toward his little sanctuary, and I thought our chance was gone, but several does appeared in front of the stand, and he came straight toward us closing the distance to 120 yards. He gave me a perfect broadside shot, and I dumped him in his tracks. Another giant for me in back to back years in the same stand. As Jared Lurk says, "I guess lightning can strike the same person twice." The interesting thing with this story is that I offered Chris the gun on camera six different times to shoot him, and he wouldn't take it! To take another giant like that, I almost felt guilty, and I wanted Chris to kill him. But, I learned yet again that a true friendship in this day and age can be hard to find.
- December 2nd
- Hunter:DeAnna Williams
- Location:Kansas
- Weapon:T.C. Pro Hunter
- Animal:9 point 3 1/2 year old
On the morning of December 2nd, somewhere off in the vast land of the state of Kanas, DeAnna Williams and Rod Owen journeyed into the the wilderness with Rod holding the camera and DeAnna with her trusted T.C. Pro Hunter in hands. For three long days, they sat and endured Mother Nature with virtually no deer movement. With morale sinking low, on the third evening, the couple once again set out into the Ameristep blind, determined to find success. Bedding on a funnel cut corn field with 30 minutes of day light left, a 9 pointer stepped out from the shadows into the far shooting lane. 140 to 150 yards away, the buck stood in between itself and DeAnna holding her T.C. At the moment when the time was right and the buck was in her sight, Rod steadily held the camera, keeping the buck in frame, and gave her the signal. DeAnna, after the grueling wait, fired a clean shot piercing the buck.
The next morning, as the sun rose in the cold fall air, DeAnna made a short 80 yard track to where the expired buck lay. DeAnna had finished embarking on an incredible journey and had her 1st Drury video harvested buck. Not only was it her first Drury video harvested buck, but the kill also served as another milestone as this was her 1st buck in the great state of Kansas.
- December 2nd
- Hunter:John O’Dell
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:TC Pro Hunter Muzzleloader
- Animal:148” 11 point Whitetail
As told by John O’Dell:
Dave and I had just returned from Hadley Creek in Pike County IL. We were there with Mark Drury and our wives Suzy and Amy. Suzy and I were celebrating our 11-year wedding anniversary by deer hunting at Hadley Creek. Although we did not harvest a deer we passed many young bucks and we had a great time with Mark and with our friends and guides from Hadley Creek.
We had to return Friday the 30th from Illinois and the plan was to hunt on opening day in Iowa on December 1st. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans and a major ice storm blew in and blanketed NE Iowa. Dave and I were unable to hunt which meant that I only had one day to hunt as I was scheduled to fly to Chicago for business early Monday morning.
Once I saw the forecast calling for the storm to blow through and the wind to switch out of the NW I knew where I would be hunting: The magic bean field. Over the previous summer Dave and I had built a shooting house and the first time we hunted it Dave harvested a near 160" 11 pointer. Then the next person to hunt out of the shooting house was my lovely wife Suzy and that evening she harvested a 181" 13 pointer so even though I only had one day to hunt I had high hopes of harvesting a mature deer.
So Dave and I decided with only one day to hunt to head in before first light and sit all day. We saw lots of deer and tons of turkeys. Finally at 4:30PM the buck we had been waiting for showed himself at the edge of the field. He immediately began checking does. This gave Dave and I ample opportunity to age and score this deer as we have a self-imposed 4 & 1/2 year old age limit on this farm. Once we knew he was at least a four year old it was game on! When he presented me with the quartering away angle I was waiting for I took the shot with my TC Pro Hunter and he barely made it to the edge of the field. He expired within feet of where Suzy's 181" giant and fallen in October. Mission accomplished! One day to hunt and we had a mature buck on the ground!
- December 1st
- Hunter:Steve Mackanos
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:T/C Encore Muzzleloader
- Animal:143” 9 pt.
Chalk one up for the sales team! Steve Mackanos, an independent sales representative, who has sold Drury Outdoor products for over 14 years finally learned what being in front of the camera is all about. Steve came away from the experience with a greater appreciation for what Mark, Terry and all the Drury Team members accomplish year-in and year-out. Steve started off his quest for a “video buck” during a November weekend of the Missouri archery season. Steve knew the reality of his “real” job was going to pose a challenge to his quest based on the limited days he had available to hunt. During three days of the MO Archery season Steve had several close encounters with young bucks and does but no sightings of a mature buck. This lead Steve’s quest for a “video buck” into the Missouri gun season. With just one long weekend to hunt, Steve knew it was going to be tough. Again, several encounters with young bucks and does but nothing mature that would help him accomplish his goal. With the Missouri Gun season winding down Steve thought the chance to take a “video buck” was probably winding down as well. Steve had one last effort in mind. Having already drawn an Illinois muzzleloader tag, if he could secure a cameraman during this November 29th to December 2nd hunt, he’d be in business. With a cameraman on board Steve arrived in Illinois with high hopes. He knew the area held some quality bucks, but the first two days gave no indication of that. Finally on the morning of the third day, hunting from a make-shift ground blind, Steve spotted a mature buck moving into the area. The buck appeared to be cruising this area for does as he zigzagged back and forth and just out of muzzleloader range. After disappearing for several minutes he unexpectedly reappeared about 100 yards away. Steve made the necessary adjustment to get the buck in his sights and the quest for the “video buck” finally became a reality!
