When the sun rose on September 25th, Josh Woods had a familiar feeling in his gut. It was warm, as was expected this time of year. But it was also first day of the Red Moon. He had not been bow hunting yet, but he was too busy today. So, he began going about the day’s business. As owner of Callawegian Stitchery, he was busy finishing up some customer orders for wool Anoraks before rifle season opens.
The longer he worked, the worse became that gut feeling that he should hunt today. He finally decided to give in, so he checked the wind direction to help him choose the location for his first bow hunt of the season. The wind ruled out every stand but one, a box blind over a clover field. Nearby there was a good stand of timber and tall CRP, as well.
This decision also caused this Army Veteran some concern. You see, Josh Woods builds his own traditional bows out of Osage Orange. The confined space in a box blind prevents use of a long bow, so he would have to revert to his crossbow for this hunt.
This change in plans came with its own set of obstacles causing some further delays in getting to the field. But finally, at about 4:15, Woods was in the blind and set. Trail camera pics from around the food plot had been showing pretty good evening activity.
Woods’ blind is on the edge of a clover food plot. He has cut “bicycle spoke” Sendero shooting lanes to the timber and through the CRP behind the blind to give him 360-degrees of shot opportunities. This is a great setup and is designed to be used with both bow and gun. He settled in and began his first hunt of the year.
A couple of young bucks and young does came out first. Nothing to get too excited about. They fed a while and filtered back into the timber. At about 5:30 Josh caught movement all the way across the clover field.
Through his binoculars he saw a nice buck … a very nice non-typical buck eating persimmons at the field’s edge. He knew almost immediately that it was a shooter. He took a deep breath and began planning his moves inside the blind to prepare for a hopeful shot. Window blinds had to be moved, windows opened and his chair needed to be adjusted to be prepared for the opportunity. Silence was the key to these moves.
The buck was at about 70 yards, looking into the clover plot. Josh’s movements were slow and deliberate. He got ready and checked on the buck. He was very excited when he saw the buck turn and begin moving toward the blind. He was, however, moving very slowly, feeding on the clover. This slow movement on the buck’s part just added further anxiety and anticipation to the hunter’s already pounding heart.
Whether good or bad, this slow, deliberate walk by the monster buck caused Woods to think back over his decades of deer hunting. This was not the first world-class whitetail buck he had encountered. Memories flooded his thoughts.
When I use the term “World-Class”, I am speaking of deer that score well over 170 inches. Josh Woods already had two such bucks hanging in his mancave. In the early 2000’s he built a .58-cailber Goodoien Barreled muzzleloader. He was successful with that gun on an unbelievable buck.
Then he took another incredible buck with a Sharps .45-100. Its 520-grain bullet made quick work of one of the most spectacular bucks I have personally ever seen. But even with this history in his books, he was fighting back emotions (buck fever for most of us) as this one stepped into bow range.
At 40 yards from the blind the buck would hit a fork in his path. It would have to make a decision. One path would lead him further away and the other would bring his closer to the blind. He made the choice that caused our hunter’s heart to almost jump out of his chest.
The deer would, at about 25-yards, provide Josh with a quartering away shot. It was the perfect shot. When the buck stepped into the kill zone Woods bleated. The buck stopped instantly. The lighted nock disappeared into the buck’s chest.
The deer turned and hit the woods at a sprint. Josh heard the massive animal crash. The blood trail was good, and the big buck was found 30 yards into the timber. There was no exit wound. The arrow passed through both lungs and lodged in the opposite-side shoulder joint. A very clean kill.
Josh Woods had just killed a Boone and Crockett buck, and he knew it. You see, this is the third Booner-quality buck this amazing hunter has harvested. He immediately texted his wife and called his son, not only to share in the celebration, but to get some help in moving this huge buck out of the timber.
This buck had not appeared on any trail camera pics. This was the first time Woods knew of his existence. That is one of the most exciting parts of deer hunting. No matter how much scouting you do or how many cameras you have deployed, you never know what might show up. This buck green scored 191 2/8 inches. When your gut tells you to hunt, don’t fight the feeling.
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