As with many late summer work conversations, the subject had turned to hunting. When a coworker mentioned that he’d picked up a nice shed on the side of the road back in the spring, Logan Bebout was interested. When he found out the shed had been laying next to property owned by his brother-in-law, the Ohio hunter was all in. His coworker told him that, if he took the buck in the fall, he’d give him the shed he had found.

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After a coworker told him about a shed he had found, Logan Bebout started hunting for the buck that lost it. Images courtesy of Logan Bebout

“My brother-in-law doesn’t hunt, so when I asked if I could put out some trail cameras and hunt his farm, he didn’t mind at all,” Bebout reported.

On Oct. 19, he and his daughter hung a few cameras in likely spots around the property. Just two days later, he was looking at a picture of a massive buck — clearly the same buck the shed had come from. But the antlers were considerably larger this year. The image was captured in the dark.

The big buck returned the following night, again, right after sundown. Then it disappeared for 10 days. On Nov. 5th, the deer finally showed back up at night, trailing a doe.

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After disappearing for several days, the big buck turned back up on camera.

Bebout decided to put out some corn the next day to try to hold the does in that area. He also had a feeling that he knew where the buck would be if it was still locked down with the doe from the night before. As he left his truck, he grabbed his bow, just in case.

After climbing a fence and crossing a pasture, he thought the deer might be in an area of tall grass just beyond the next fence.

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“I didn’t even pull my binos out,” Bebout said, “I just eased up to the edge and looked down into the draw. I immediately saw the doe at 70 yards. She was looking right at me. Then I looked over and saw the rack. I knew it was him, and I immediately dropped to the ground.”

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Bebout checked an area where he thought the buck might be bedded with a doe and spotted the deer just 70 yards away.

The giant buck’s attention was fully on the doe. After watching the buck for another 15 minutes, Bebout decided to back out. Still in his work clothes, he quickly returned to his truck to put on camo and call a hunting buddy to discuss possible hunt plans.

“I’ve never successfully stalked a mature buck,” Bebout said, “but after talking it over with my buddy, we decided that it would be the best course of action since the buck was locked tight on the doe in the small patch of cover.”

He returned to the edge above where the buck was bedded and dropped down another 40 yards beyond where he had seen the deer. The cover formed a bottleneck, and he hoped the doe would exit and lead the buck past his hiding spot.

The wind was good, so Bebout settled in to watch the buck. The deer was about 80 yards away and clearly visible from his vantage point. The doe finally stood and walked directly away for about four steps, then bedded back down. In an attempt to make the buck stand and move toward him, Bebout raised his call and emitted a low grunt. The big buck locked his eyes onto the hunter, but never moved from its bedded position. In fact, the big buck relaxed even more, fully laying its head down on the ground.

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Bebout then decided to try cutting the distance. Dropping down below a slight rise and into the nearby creek, he slowly crept toward the bedded deer.

“There was a highway running behind me,” he explained. “I waited until a truck or car was passing and used the noise to cover any sound I made as I moved closer.”

After a painstaking 45-minute stalk, he was finally within 45 yards of the bedded buck, but darkness was fast approaching. Should he whistle or call to try to get the buck to stand? Should he try to move closer? The questions loomed.

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That’s when a little fork horn entered the cover, working its way toward the bedded doe. When the young buck got close, the big buck raised its head and snort-wheezed while remaining bedded. The forky circled the big buck, only 15 yards from the waiting hunter. Next, the young buck moved toward the bedded buck. Again, the old monarch snort-wheezed from its bed.

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A young buck in the area forced the old monarch to rise from his bed and offer Bebout a clear shot.

Finally, the big deer had had enough, rising to its feet with ears back and hair bristling, and moving aggressively toward the younger deer. Bebout noticed the buck had a limp and an obvious leg injury, explaining the extended time in the bed. The hunter also noticed that the old giant had lost a tremendous amount of body weight since the last trail cam photo. The rut was taking its toll.

Bebout hit full draw, the buck walking straight at him. At just 15 yards, he started to bleat at the deer in an attempt to stop it. The buck kept moving. Realizing the deer was about to pass completely through his only shooting lane, Bebout settled his pin and released his arrow.

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The hit was slightly high and farther back than intended. “It wasn’t exactly where I was aiming, but for a sitting shot at a moving target, it wasn’t bad,” Bebout explained.

The giant buck turned and crashed back into the cover. Watching the possible exit points, Bebout scanned the area for signs of the fleeing buck. It didn’t leave the tall grass. While he didn’t hear the buck crash, he did hear a heavy cough just minutes after the shot.

Meanwhile, the doe remained bedded nearby.

After giving the buck some time, Bebout backed out and climbed the ridge behind his location. He started glassing the area where the buck had gone. Almost immediately, he saw the expired deer only 20 yards from the spot of the shot.

The main-framed 10-pointer had three scorable kickers off the bases and a flyer off the G-2. The massive rack was measured at 185 ⅜ inches by Buckmasters scorer Toby Hughes. Logan Bebout can no longer say he has never successfully stalked a mature buck.

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