Stuck in the Rut

Well, better late than never! I had hoped to keep everyone updated on my recent Missouri whitetail hunt, but as it turned out, there was no Internet access at the farm and spotty cell coverage. So, it had to wait until now. As you can see here, the hunt turned out very, very well:

BOWHUNTING Editor Christian Berg shows off his Missouri trophy!

My buck had 14 scorable points and grossed 157 2/8ths. Note the split G-4s, which had one broken tine on the right side. He weighed 210 pounds, live weight. Needless to say, I am thrilled!

This hunt was held at C&D Farms, which is owned by Hunter’s Specialties  David and Carman Forbes. Special thanks for their gracious invitation and for taking the time to really indoctrinate me into their scent-free “Scent-A-Way” sytem during my visit. I took this buck on Sunday evening, and I literally had a nice 8-pointer, a couple spikes and some does and fawns eating acorns under my tree for an hour before this big guy showed up in the adjacent clover field. I am sure David Forbes’ insistence on showering and laundering your clothes before every hunt, as well as spraying down from head to toe in Scent-A-Way spray and using some H.S. cover scent wafers really helped conceal my presence from those deer in extremely close quarters.

Although the three-day hunt turned out great, it was actually a little frustrating for most of the time. As you might imagine, the management program at C&D Farms is first-class, and there are plenty of lush food plots filled with H.S.’ Vita-Rack clover and brassica. Plus, there is plenty of CRP grassland, and the adjacent hardwoods are absolutely filled with oaks. So, there is no shortage of food or cover for the local whitetail population.

One of the clover food plots at C&D Farms in Missouri

With such tremendous habitat, there are plenty of deer on the property – and plenty of trophy-sized bucks. The problem was, I just wasn’t seeing any of them, while my fellow hunters were. At the end of the first two days, I had little to offer as other hunters gushed about the wall hangers they had spotted and showed photos and video of the monster bucks spotted out in varous feeding areas. I could only sit and wonder why I hadn’t seen a single mature animal. However, as is often the case, it’s not how you start – it’s how you finish.

On the third and final day of the hunt, two of my fellow hunters had to head home after the morning hunt, and one of them had been hunting in a particular area where some monster bucks were being sighted. Needless to say, I was more than willing to accept the opportunity to move after a couple unproductive evenings in another location.

I got on stand around 3:45 p.m. and had several deer and 13 hen turkeys in and out of the adjacent clover plot throughout the afternoon. Around 6 p.m., deer started pouring out into the field, and that’s when I ended up getting all those deer basically right under my tree for the next hour or so. Around 7, that group fed back off into the clover and moved about 50 yards up to my right, and by 7:10, light was beginning to fade fast. That’s when the nice 8-pointer stiffened up and craned his neck high into the air, looking past me to the bottom, right-hand corner of the food plot. I took that to be an ecouraging sign, and when I turned my head to the right, there he was. When I laid my eyes on the rack for the first time, the word “SHOOTER!” rang out in my head, and I realized right away the buck was in range. Grabbing the Leupold rangefinder from by pocket, I measured him at 35 yards and clipped my release onto the nocking loop. But just as I began to raise my bow arm to draw, the buck started walking closer. When he stopped, I quickly unclipped, grabbed the rangefiner again and measured him now at only 25 yards!

I re-attached my release to the string, pulled back, lined up the gap between my 20- and 30-yard pins and squeezed off the shot. The arrow was prefect, and I saw it suck into the crease right behind the buck’s shoulder before he wheeled off and sprinted across the field and into the woods on the other side. I head some loud crashing, and then silence. Immediately, I called David Forbes on the radio, and it wasn’t long before he and a posse of helpers showed up to help recover the buck. The blood trail was unbelieveable, and it turned out my Rage 2-blade broadhead had sliced right through the top of the heart. As soon as the lead tracker said he saw the deer, I rushed ahead of him, put my hands on the antlers and the celebration began!

BOWHUNTING Editor Christian Berg with his BowTech Admiral and Missouri trophy

The amazing thing about this deer was that, despite his size, he was probably only 3 1/2 years old, which is a real testament to the management program David and his property manager Robert Humphrey employ. In addition to the food plots, they provide a number of mineral stations on the property where H.S. Vita-Rack 26 is available year-round. This is a vitamin/mineral mix that has been tested on the farm for many years, and recently the company put out a new claim that year-round use of Vita-Rack 26 will virtually eliminate ticks on the local deer herd. You might find that hard to believe, but I swear this buck had only a single tick I could find, despite an extensive search. His coat was absolutely perfect, and as David pointed out, an animal has more energy to devote to body and antler growth if he isn’t constantly fighting off parasites. By comparison, the doe I shot a couple weeks ago back home in Pennsylvania was absolutely riddled with ticks.

All in all, a great trip, and thanks again to the Forbes family and Hunters Specialties for the opportunity. Look for a complete story about this hunt in a 2010 issue of BOWHUNTING!

David Forbes and Christian Berg