- October 28th
- Hunter:Doug Hampton
- Location:Kansas
- Weapon:PSE X-Force
- Animal:144" 9 Point Whitetail
With temperatures blazing and expectations equally high, Rod Owen and new teammate, Doug Hampton, came upon an excellent find while hunting in the Kansas countryside.
The duo headed toward a secluded foot plot filled with Green Patch Plus. No signs of activity greeted them as they patiently waited for the first hints of deer nearby. Not long after, the first buck, a four and half year old nine point, wandered out. With a little bit of grunting and snort wheezing, he came right on in and presented Doug with a twenty-five yard broadside shot. The PSE X-Force did the trick, and the buck ran only about sixty yards before expiring on camera.
- October 28th
- Hunter:Kayla Kuehn
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:TC Contender .223
- Animal:2 year old 8 point Whitetail Buck
Keith Kuehn and brother, Dale Kuehn, had high hopes for Keith’s children, Kayla and Adam, during the Missouri youth season. Keith manned the camera for his 13 year old daughter, Kayla, and Dale was with Keith’s son, Adam. Both hunters saw lots of deer the entire weekend, but hadn’t seen any bucks that they wanted to harvest. Adam had a super close encounter with a 125” buck, but passed up the 10 yard shot from his blind in hopes that either the deer would make it through the season, or that Kayla would get a chance at the buck since she had never harvested a deer before.
The last morning of the youth season came and went with no success, but as Keith and Kayla were leaving the blind, they spotted a few deer in a nearby field. Kayla urged her father to take a closer look, but Keith explained to her that the chance of stalking up on a deer in an open field was slim to none. After meeting up with their hunting party, Kayla continued to ask if they could check out the field before they left for home. As most fathers do, Keith gave in to his daughter’s request so Dale grabbed the camera, and the Kuehn family made one last trip back to the deer woods.
Luck was definitely on Kayla’s side, because when they took a closer look at the field, there were several deer milling around, including a nice, 2 year old 8 point buck. The Kuehn clan stalked and crawled to within 150 yards of the deer, and Keith sat up, allowing Kayla to use his shoulder as a steady gun rest. Kayla steadied the gun, aligned the cross hairs, and made a great shot that dropped the buck in its tracks. Keith said her reaction was priceless and the hunters were all pumped that they were able to be with Kayla as she harvested her first whitetail ever! Keith was so proud to see his children evolve as hunters first hand, as his daughter took her first deer, and Adam passed up a 2 year old buck all in the name of management.
- October 27th
- Hunter:Tim Woods
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE X-Force
- Animal:10 Pt 130 class Whitetail
Ben Rising and Tim Woods have been hard at it all season, but nothing in their home state of Ohio has been working out for them. Encounters and sightings were few and far between so they decided to make the trip to Hadley Creek Outfitters in Pike County, Illinois. The two hunters arrived on the 25th and immediately were seeing lots of deer. On this hunt, Ben started out behind the bow and had several good encounters, but nothing in range so they decided to switch it up and Tim took his turn in the hot seat. After bouncing from stand to stand, one of the guides, Rick, reported to Ben and Tim that he had been seeing a few shooters dogging does in a Biologic Clover Plus food plot and wanted the hunters to try their luck hunting that same field. After hanging their sets in two separate trees, the does started pouring out and behind them were a few good bucks. A great 130 class, ten pointer started dogging does and eventually got within shooting range of Tim’s treestand. After grunting the buck to a stop, Ben made the shot with his PSE X-Force and let the Rage broadhead eat. Ben and Tim once again capitalized on another great hunt at Hadley Creek Outfitters and couldn’t be happier that Tim was able to lay one down.
- October 27th
- Hunter:Zach Playle (John Williams' Grandson)
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:TC Triumph .50 Cal. Muzzleloader
- Animal:135” 5 year old Whitetail
Story as told by Steve “Coon Dog” Coon.
Zach is stepping up from the minors to the big leagues this 2007 Missouri youth season. Zach is leaving the shooting house and climbing into an Ameristep treestand with the new Thompson Center Triumph .50 caliber muzzleloader.
The first morning of the Missouri youth season, he passed a nice 7 pointer. As the day continued and the evening rolled around, Zach spotted three good bucks in the Biologic Clover Plus and Maximum field. Of those three bucks was a tall, wide 8 pointer that was closing the distance toward Zach’s treestand. The big buck got to 95 yards and that’s when things started to get interesting. Zach was having a hard time steadying his Nikon rangefinder, so I hit the pause button on the camera to give the youth hunter some assistance. Once we ranged the buck at 95 yards, I shouldered the camera and gave Zach the signal to take the shot.
Zach made a great shot, and he was excited to say the least. The buck piled up within 30 yards, and that’s when I noticed that in all the excitement, I had unknowingly watched Zach kill his buck with the camera on pause. Needless to say I felt bad for Zach, but we were all still totally pumped, because it's not everyday you get to kill your first muzzleloader buck and for it to be a 130 class buck at that. Zach started hunting with us when he was 8 years old, and this was his 5th straight year to harvest a buck. We didn’t get the impact, but it’s a phenomenal story that we look forward to sharing this summer on the Dream Season Televison Series, “Land of the Giants.”
- October 26th
- Hunter:Jared Rotenberger
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:PSE Bow
- Animal:152" 10 Point Whitetail
Jared Rotenberger works for John Frank and had wanted to get into bow hunting for a while! John set him up and wanted to film him to try and capture his first bow harvest on camera! Jared had only been shooting a bow for 6 weeks when he got his very first opportunity at a magnificent animal! They went in the same spot where John had shot his 174”giant the year before, the missing peg stand, to try and recapture some of that same magic!
It was about 3:45 in the afternoon and the buck came in feeding on acorns when Jared and John spotted him. Jared decided to grunt with the snort wheeze and the deer closed the distance to the exact spot that John’s deer jumped the fence the year before, but this time the buck never made it that far! The 152” 10 pointer came to the fence looking for the grunt noise and Jared let him have it for a great shot. He ran about 80 yards and Jared and John tracked him for a perfect recovery. This buck was yet another victim of the RAGE Broadhead!! It was great video footage and Jared is now “hooked” on the sport so many people know and love!
- October 26th
- Hunter:Jason Luster
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Bow
- Animal:130" 8 Point Whitetail
Story as told by Jason Luster.
I'll name this buck "Payback".
My brother, Mark, harvested the buck we've come to know as "Dozer" the previous afternoon, October 25th. Two days prior, I called Mark stating a large buck was chasing does in a small picked corn field less than 300 yards from my house! The following evening our dad witnessed the same thing; likewise giving Mark a head's up. The rest, as they say, is history. In an attempt to "payback" his big brother, Mark mentioned to Jeff Hoffman and me a location he and Dave had hung a set that had yet to be hunted. So the very next day, October 26th, the wind direction was right so Jeff and I jumped at the opportunity.
Jeff and I hadn't seen a deer the entire afternoon. With 10 minutes of shooting light left, I decided to do some aggressive calling. It wasn't 60 seconds, and I heard something coming fast. He barely gave Jeff time to get the camera up and focused! The shot was good, and he went less than 75 yards. Although he's no 177" Dozer, I guess "Payback" will do, for now. That makes 2 P&Y bucks and 1 B&C for the Illinois boys - and it's not even November!!
- October 24th
- Hunter:John Frank
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:PSE Bow
- Animal:147” 10 point Whitetail
John, Adam, Jacob and some friends ride Motocross in Missouri during the summer months and John…always looking for a new opportunity to kill a whitetail...noticed a lot of deer sign in the timber from the previous year. John elected to ask the landowner if he could get permission to hunt there, and the landowner was happy to oblige. John now had the green light to come hunt there any time!
The Tuesday before Adam and John were to leave for their second hunt in Missouri, John lacerated his cornea on his right eye. Determined to get out for a hunt while they were in Missouri, John was practicing and determined to not let his injury slow him down! Adam was up first with little results so now it was up to John, lacerated cornea and all. John was trying to call a buck in to the stand the next day when this great 4-year-old 147” 10 pointer came in from behind John and Adam. He was in bow range when John heard the sticks snapping, and John spun around told Adam shooter coming. The buck came in to 22 steps, and John let the arrow fly! The buck ran 65-70 yards and his front legs just gave out! After John shot, he couldn’t feel any pain in his eye anymore…the adrenaline was pumping, and he and Adam are off to another great start!
- October 19th
- Hunter:Mark Drury
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:PSE Bow
- Animal:153” 10 point Whitetail
On October 11th, Mark Drury’s luck took a turn for the worse when he tumbled out of the box blind he was building. Hobbled by a severe knee sprain and a deep bruise ego, he continued to valiantly hunt the Iowa archery season.
On the rainy morning of Thursday October 18th, Mark went to hunt the same stand in which he killed a 171” monster last year only to spot a giant 9 pointer bedded a few feet from where the 171” had expired! The buck put on a stunning show as he took turns standing up, working scrapes and rubs, and then bedding back down all morning long. Finally at noon, Mark, soaking wet, had to climb down for a Doctor’s appointment.
Dried out and ready to resume the hunt, they climbed back up at 3:45pm and spotted the same buck bedded again, only this time 15 yards from the same spot he was in that morning! After a two-hour downpour, the buck stood and walked away straight into the fierce wind and pouring rain. Mark growled, and the buck spun around and walked back to within 28 yards. The cameraman’s view was obstructed and before they could get the deer in frame, he turned back around and vanished into the woods. After eight hours of hunting in the rainfall, they were only left with the faint hope of what the next day may bring.
The next morning, they decided to journey back to the same area, but in a different stand about 400 yards down. After 15 minutes passed, they spotted a tremendous 10 pointer working scrapes and rubs so hard that “he was breaking small trees in half!” exclaimed Mark. He worked his way to 21 yards, and Mark placed a killing quartering away shot and watched in awe as the buck ran 50 yards and collapsed. Needless to say, Mark’s knee immediately felt better! This Iowa monster weighed 250 pounds and scored 153”!
- October 18th
- Hunter:Darrell Tudela Sr.
- Location:Maine
- Weapon:.270
- Animal:Moose
Darrell Tudela Sr. has been entering the Maine State Moose lottery for 20 years. Technically, he still has not drawn a permit. However, his 17 year old grandson Adam, drew what would have been his second Moose permit this year. Without a second thought, Adam had already decided in his mind that he would grant this permit to his “Bubba”. Darrell was as proud of Adam as he was grateful for the opportunity!
Their first morning of the hunt started off a little tough with a missing permit situation. However, they were able to confirm and get permission from the State to carry on with their hunt. The rest of the first day was spent covering a lot of ground in the fog and not even a glimpse of a Moose.
The second morning was quite a different story. Darrell Sr. and Darrell Jr set up where a giant bull had been spotted the day before by another hunter in camp. Although the giant they were hoping for did not appear, another mature Bull Moose came in to the call and offered a broad side shot at about 80 yards and the .270 found its mark.
Another awesome Tudela family memory in the North Maine woods!
- October 13th
- Hunter:Suzy O'Dell & Amy Reisner
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:TC Pro Hunter Muzzleloader
- Animal:181 4/8" Whitetail and 160" 8 point Whitetail
This year, Dave and I decided to film our wives for Iowa's early muzzleloader season. Like every other year, we had been seeing some nice deer and anticipation was high for opening day. When the opener finally arrived, we all decided to sleep in on opening morning and hunt the evening as much of our scouting showed the best movement at that time. So on the eve of October 13th, Dave took his wife Amy, and I took Suzy to the deer stand. The conditions were perfect. We had a front moving in, and the forecast was calling for rain the next four days. We were hoping to catch some mature bucks on their feet moving ahead of the front.
Suzy and I were headed to our favorite bean field, and Dave was headed to one of his favorite farms. Once Suzy and I arrived at the blind, things started out slow. We didn't see much movement until 5:30PM. Then things heated up quickly. A nice 130" three and a half year old buck showed up first following a couple of younger bucks and some does. He fed on some beans, dogged the does a little, and then made a scrape. Suzy decided to pass the buck in hopes of seeing something better. Well, she didn't have to wait long, and the biggest buck that I have ever filmed in the wild showed up on the scene. He went straight to the scrape the 130" buck was just at and preceded to try to tear down every branch with his massive antlers. What an awesome sight! After what seemed like forever, the giant buck finally offered Suzy a shot and she squeezed the trigger on her TC Pro Hunter. 145 yards and she dropped the buck on the shot! I couldn't believe it. After 14 plus years of filming whitetail hunts, my lovely wife had just harvested the biggest buck I had ever captured on video! Later, when we put the tape to his horns, he scored 181 and 4/8"!
The story doesn't end there, however. Once we got in cell phone range, I received a message from Dave that Amy had harvested her largest buck ever: a fully mature 160" main frame 8 pointer! I couldn't believe it. Two mature Iowa giants on opening day of Iowa's early muzzleloader season. October 13th, 2007 will definitely be a date that none of us will ever forget!
Dave, Suzy, and I are up to bat next as we all have Iowa bow tags yet to fill. Stay tuned....
John O’Dell
- October 13th
- Hunter:Mike McFerrin
- Location:Texas
- Weapon:PSE/Dream Season Bow
- Animal:140" 11pt Whitetail
Mike & Bonnie left their home in Houston on Friday and headed south to their lease for a weekend of bow hunting. They were extremely excited about hunting down south for the first time this year and anxious to get outdoors and try their luck. Friday evening, they enjoyed watching a bachelor group of bucks funnel their way from a food source to water not far from where they had their tripods set up. One buck made quite an impression on them because he met all of the requirements of their strict management plan, but the buck did not give Mike the opportunity to take a shot.
The next morning, they were in the same location at daylight, hoping that the nice mature buck would make his way back to the food source through the same funnel. As they watched the sunrise, they heard a fight taking place close to where they were sitting and were shocked to think that the bucks were already showing pre-rut behavior in October. Not long after the fight ended, the same buck they saw the night before made an appearance and gave Mike a 25 yard shot!
Mike was happy to harvest his first buck with his PSE/Dream Season bow, and Bonnie was behind the camera celebrating his success.
- October 8th
- Hunter:David Bogart
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:PSE Bow
- Animal:153" 10pt Whitetail
Mark had been watching a couple nice bucks this late summer and early fall in a picked corn field, but they only seemed to hit the field when the wind was out of the west or north. Oct.8th, the weatherman was calling for just such a wind for the first time since the beginning of the IL bow opener. With high hopes for this spot, Dave and Mark both took the day off of work to be in the stand, and it worked just as they had hoped!
The first buck through the shooting lane was a three year old that Dave elected to pass. It was followed by a real nice four plus year old that Dave was going to take, but another buck was bringing up the rear. Mark had some real giants on the trail cams so Dave wanted to make sure it was not one of them. What came out was a 153" ten point that Dave made good on.
To say Dave and Mark were excited is a huge understatement. It is not often that you get an opportunity and a truly mature buck on Oct.8. They are hoping this is just the start of a great season for the IL boys!
- October 7th
- Hunter:Jason Goodman
- Location:Kentucky
- Weapon:PSE Bow
- Animal:130 class 8pt Whitetail
On the morning of the 7th, Jason Goodman and hunting partner, Lance Chapman, headed to a Logan County, Kentucky spot that Jason had a long history with, his childhood home place. Jason was about 15 years old when he shot his last whitetail there, but 20 years later he had permission to hunt his old stomping grounds and couldn’t wait to get out in the timber.
Earlier in the season, Jason and Lance had hung a set between a CRP field about 300 yards away and a bedding area. One week prior, their trail cameras had taken pictures of a nice 130 class buck in that area so they decided to try out their spot and see if the buck would make an appearance. After a few does and a young buck walked past their position they heard a sparring match fairly close so Jason decided to take a chance and tickle the rattling horns a little bit. Close to 7:30 AM, it just so happened that the buck showed up and Jason was able to make a lethal, 28 yard shot with his PSE X-Force. Jason said it was a great feeling to not only take a 130 class buck with his bow, but to do it on the farm where he grew up as a child made it that much better.
- October 6th
- Hunter:Craig Olson
- Location:Wisconsin
- Weapon:PSE Dream Season X Force
- Animal:8pt 134 7/8" Whitetail
Deb and I headed back south from Hayward for another weekend venture with Tom Indebro and Bluff Country Outfitters. We were battling unseasonably warm weather as the mercury was touching the 93 degree mark. We also had to wear blaze orange due to the fact it was the first day of Wisconsin’s youth gun deer season.
When we arrived, Tom showed us a ton of trail camera photos of numerous bucks that were coming into his many ponds. The wind was perfect to hunt a pond which was very close to a bedding area. We got into the stand at 3:00 p.m. At 6:15 p.m., Deb caught a glimpse of an antler coming through a drainage ditch, and before we knew it, the 41/2 year old deer was standing elbow deep in the pond at 34 yards away. I drew back and made the shot with my new PSE Dream Season X Force. Deb and I thought we heard the deer crash, but after coming back to camp and reviewing the footage, we thought we would leave the deer over night.
The next morning we went up, and the deer was lying right on the trail not more than 40 yards below the stand. Hot weather and deer utilizing water sources were the key elements in the success of this hunt. It was another great hunt with Tom, Lori, and Dan with Bluff Country Outfitters, and Deb and I could not be more “Jacked Up” for the start of our season.
