Jeff Punches His Tag Early

We got our Kansas whitetail permits in the mail on July 14th. By then, we had already been refining our bow and arrow set-ups for about three months. But with the Kansas tags in hand, we had a goal... something to push each other and work toward. We had about two-and-a-half more months of dialing in our equipment until the season opener. So after all that thought and preparation, it may seem anti-climactic that Jeff filled his tag on just the 5th day of the season - but not when you consider the fact that the deer was an incredible 160" giant.

We eased into opening day with the sense of possibility of an entire season of hunting ahead of us. We had a few guests in camp, so our first priority was to make sure they were on deer every day. Jeff hunted every morning, but he skipped the afternoon hunts Monday and Tuesday to cook dinner at camp. Thanks to Jeff, we ate like kings so nobody twisted Jeff's arm to go out and hunt in the afternoons. Jeff hunted morning and afternoon on Wednesday and Thursday, but overall it was pretty uneventful. Camp cleared out Thursday evening, but Jeff and Bobby stayed on through the weekend to try and make something happen.

Friday afternoon, Jeff chose to hunt a small corn patch bordering a big set-aside CRP field - a stand that had been good to him in the past. He spotted a heavy, high-racked deer across the CRP standing at a fence as daylight was just starting to fade. The deer paced back and forth along the fence and seemed uninterested in crossing it. A smaller buck slipped through the barbed wire fence and the bigger buck just had to follow. He cocked his head to the side in attempt to go through the fence, but realized he couldn't fit and awkwardly jumped over it instead. Daylight was slipping away as both bucks eased across the field and into the standing corn. The small buck passed by and the big buck slowly - almost too slowly - fed down through Jeff's only shooting lane. The big buck passed into a blind spot and Jeff took this only chance to draw back his bow. In one of those rare textbook moments found in bowhunting, the buck stopped almost perfectly broadside with his head down feeding and Jeff zipped an arrow right through the boiler room. Another five minutes and shooting light would have vanished. The high-racked 11-point buck made a short 60 yard dash before toppling over. Jeff's good decision to stay a few extra days, plus some karma for being such a selfless guide and camp chef, really paid off. The buck measured just over 160" P&Y and makes Jeff's second 160+ buck with a bow in Kansas.


Jeff's Set-Up
- Hoyt Katera, 70#
- Easton Full Metal Jacket arrows
- G5 Tekan broadheads
- Norway Fusion vanes with OneStringer custom arrow wraps
- G5 Optix XR2
- QAD Ultra Rest

Jeff's Gear
- RutWear Endurance Stage 2 Fleece Pullover, 2010 prototype
- RutWear Endurance Stage 3 Vest, 2010 prototype
- RutWear Endurance Stage 3 Pant, 2010 prototype
- RutWear Hunt Pack with QVS



CW

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