Josh Dennison-Apple Creek, OH

The morning started as I got off work at 4:30am. I had been working a crazy split shift from 7:30pm-4:30 am. This was a dream shift for an autumn bowhunter. As I left work, I had just enough time to get to my hunting area and in the woods before daylight.

The morning of November the fifth was chilly with temperatures overnight in the upper 30's to lower 40's and mid 60's during midday hours. When I arrived, I got out of the warm cab and stood still listening for any disturbances as my body shivered trying to accept the sudden change in temperature. One deer snorted and bound as I closed the truck door. This didn't worry me because my stand was several hundred yards away. I confirmed the wind was out of the west. This was especially important on this hunt because I was not able to shower in Scent-a-way body soap after work. All my clothes are washed and kept in scent free bags with fresh earth scent wafers inside.

I dressed, checked my climbing tree stand and bow for defects, and started the long hike through the chilly darkness. I made several stops along the way to let my body cool down and to listen. I did not want to break a sweat in the cold breeze. As I approached the 100 yard limb lite I decided to take one last break to listen for anything I may have disturbed. One deer snorted as I took the next step and in return another deer snorted in the direction I was heading. This worried me a little thinking I may have spooked every deer out of the area before the hunt really began. Nevertheless, I kept moving and found my tree.

This land is all river bottoms and trees are not tall or straight. Trees in this area do not mature easily due to freezing floodwaters that creep up over the bank when a lot of precipitation falls in a short time. This makes it hard to use a climbing tree stand, but I found one tree that was straight up to about 12 feet. This location was about 70 yards east of a bedding area. I planned to use an aggressive approach and try coaxing a buck into range with the help of wildlife research centers new product "Excite", a Primetime "True Talker" grunt tube, and "The Can" from Primos hunting calls.

As legal shooting light approached I decided to start early and maybe entice a buck into my setup. I broke a stick off the tree next to me and dipped it into the estrus honey like substance. I threw the stick out to where I wanted the deer to stop. I then turned the can over three times. Each time the bleat came out slow with a slight hesitation about half way through. Then I grunted loud twice. Not having much luck earlier in the year, I sat back down to watch the day begin.

Two or three minutes passed when I started to hear something to my left. It sounded like a deer walking my way. I picked up my bow and got ready. As I looked for the source of the sound, I heard something in front of me. I turned my head and almost fell out of my tree stand. A large buck was on a fast paced trot to my stand. I remember telling myself "Don't screw this up, don't screw this up." This river bottom buck was on a mission to find the doe that made those love calls.

The buck got to about twenty yards and let out a deep loud grunt that would shake any hunter out of a tree. The monster then hung a hard left and presented a perfect 15-yard broadside shot. As I shook the bow up into position the buck stopped to smell the potent aroma that the imaginary doe left behind. I looked through the peep sight and found my pin. I tried to hold the bow steady but this buck seemed to grab my shoulders and shake me to pieces. As I squeezed the trigger the buck whirled and took off. My heart sunk when the deer slowed and I realized my arrow hit the deer way back. I elected to wait about four hours and then climb down to look for signs of a fatal hit.

When I got down I started tracking the buck and to my amazement it was easy. The buck left a great blood trail so I decided to try and at least get to the point where he entered the bedding area. As I approached the edge of the bedding area, the blood got a little thinner. I then picked up my head and looked straight into his eyes. Before I could get my bow up he picked himself up and ran blindly through the thick underbrush. All I remember at this moment was watching the small saplings bend to the ground as the bruiser's headgear got caught on them as he made his way through the river bottom.

I couldn't help but hang my head as I gathered my gear and headed for the truck. The best and worst scenarios ran through my mind and only seemed to confuse me on what to do. After talking to several people I decided to pick up my girl friend, Kristen, and my brother, Justin, to help me try to find my trophy.

The clock struck 4:00 as we arrived. We quickly got a game plan together and started in. It had been nine hours since the shot was made so I thought if we were going to find him it would be now. With Justin stationed at one end of the bedding area, Kristen and I started searching. We started just behind where I last heard the buck bound. As we started the search I looked ahead and was almost startled to see two eyes staring back at me. It was him and he bolted again. At this point I thought I had lost him for good. Kristen and I decided to sneak out and find Justin. Justin said he hadn't seen the brute so we backed out to leave him lay until the morning. Besides, I had to get ready for work that night.

That night seemed to last forever but when morning light broke we were hot on the trail again. We decided to try the same tactic as the night before only my brother was not able to be with us because of school. As we got positioned to start I noticed something out of place, Sure enough a deer bolted from Kristen's direction and ran toward me. Luckily the small doe didn't have antlers. We continued the search. We took a couple steps and I spotted him under some brush. I first checked for steam from his nostrils but finally he had expired. The excitement began with shout of relief and celebration.

I drug him into the clearing and started counting him up. The final count was 20 points total and 15 scoreable points. Kristen helped me field dress the monster and load him up. And we were off to start making phone calls and showing him off. We made sure the head was sticking out of the bed of the truck (it wasn't hard due to the 21 inch inside spread).

I had the buck shoulder mounted in time for the Ohio Deer and Turkey Expo. I had the deer scored by the Ohio Buckeye Big Buck Club. The estimated 3-year old brute dressed out at approximately 220 pounds and scores 160 4/8" non-typical. That's big enough to be entered in the Buckeye Big Bucks record book. What a memorable first buck, a 20-point exactly one month before my twentieth birthday.

What a season!