HUNTER: SHANE SKINNER
STATE: MISSOURI (Pulaski County)
YEAR: 2019
WEAPON: BOW
PRODUCTS USED (Click to View)
HHA Sight
Easton Blood Line 330 Arrows
Rage Hypodermic 2”
Trophy Ridge Quiver and Stabilizer
Lumenok by Burt Coyote
TruFire release
ScentLock Technologies Coat and Pants
Muck Boots
HUNTING PHOTOS
HUNTING STORY
My property is on the first ridge coming out of a huge river bottom with crop fields. I only have 14 acres to hunt. We plan a few small food plots to give the deer a place to stop and fill up on their way through headed to their bedding areas.
I got to the stand a little after 3:00pm that evening. The deer movement had been pretty slow up till that day. There was a front that had just pushed through so I was hoping it would make the deer more active.
The first deer came in at 4:57pm. It was a pair of eight point bucks that had worked their way up the hill and along the fence line. They looked to be 2.5. They rustled around the leaves every now and then grabbing acorns as they walked up.
There are two main trails that cut through me, one goes east/west, the other southwest/northeast. These two were on the trail coming from the southwest headed northeast. Just as they crossed the fence, they both stood at attention and looked to the south. Out of nowhere, they high tailed it out of there. My first thoughts were there must be a coyote or a bobcat. I have a large male bobcat that hangs around close by. A few minutes go by and nothing. I am still looking the direction that the two bucks were when I catch movement through the timber. Another 2.5 year old 8 is coming up the trail from the south. Behind him is a wider 3.5-4.5 year old 8. They get up to the fence that borders my property. The younger 8 hops the fence and start his way around behind the tree that I am in. I watched him until I lost him in my peripheral vision. By this time, another 1.5 buck has come up to the wide 8 that is still standing at the fence 18 yards from me. Mind you, the wind is swirling and now blowing directly to the south of me down that trail. They ended up following the fence to the east and crossing it 23 yards from me. I figured I had to try to pull my bow back or I wasn’t going to get a shot off. I had no clue where the buck was at this point that had walked behind me. I just knew he was behind me. I drew my bow back, the wide 8 stopped with his head behind a tree. I settled my pin behind his shoulder and let it fly. He was at 22 yards when I shot him. They arrow went through both lungs. He spun around, flipped over the fence, and went 40 yards before falling over. He crashed within site from my stand. Now the real work started……..
