Bad Shots: The Never Forgotten Bucks

No hunter makes a bad shot intentionally. Inexperience, buck fever, equipment malfunctions, and sometimes nature itself works to conspire against a hunter. When one or more of the aforementioned events happen, that particular hunting situation is forever imprinted on the hunter’s psyche. Events like these can ruin the remainder of a season for some hunters. He’ll replay the scene over and over in his mind searching for something he could have done differently, and as opening day of the following season approaches, he’ll toss and turn in bed reliving that nightmare hunt. The good news is that should that hunter encounter a similar situation on a future hunt, more than likely s/he’ll be successful because s/he learned from previous experiences.

New Wisconsin Record Buck

On September 20, 2009, in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, bowhunter Wayne Schumacher heard the sound of a twig cracking underneath his treestand. Looking down, Wayne could see part of a buck’s rack and knew it was no ordinary deer!

For a few tense moments, the giant buck tested the wind and finding nothing, proceeded to head for a nearby food plot. At 15 yards, the buck paused, quartering away. Wayne (trying desperately to ignore the antlers), drew, anchored and sent the arrow on its way. Confident the shot was good, he watched the buck bolt away, looking “like a moose running through the grass.”