Bowhunter's Decision to Pass Buck Last Year Pays off Big

Travis Langley had a nice buck standing under him in early September of last year. He looked good, but I knew he was young. I wanted to see what he would do if he made it another year. I decided to pass and pray that he made it through, Langley said.

A spring shed hunt this year turned up one side of his rack, confirming that the buck had made it through the winter. After putting out cameras in July, Langley was happy to see that the buck was still in the area and that passing him last season had been a good call. The big 9-pointer had put on several inches of antler.

As the Kentucky season approached, the buck and his traveling buddy were regulars on Langley's trail cameras. I knew I needed to get in early while the bucks were still in velvet and before their late summer pattern changed, Langley said.

The first evening of the Kentucky season was wet and stormy. Langley decided to pass on hunting the shifting wind. By the evening of day two, the rain had passed by and the temperatures had fallen. Langley knew he needed to be in the stand early.

He climbed up at 3:30 that afternoon and turned on his Ozonics unit to battle the still shifting wind. Deer started moving almost immediately. After watching deer all evening, Langley looked up to see the buck he was after enter the bean field about 100 yards away from his stand location.

The deer walked out into the field to meet up with three other bucks that had come from the opposite direction. All four bucks started moving toward the hunter. It probably took 15-20 minutes for them to work into bow range, but, man, it felt like forever, Langley said.

His stand location was set up to offer a 30-40 yard shot at the main trail the deer normally used. The buck worked his way in and stopped at just past 40 yards, broadside. I always like to shoot at deer when they have their heads up, paying attention to something besides me, Langley said.

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When the buck turned to watch another buck enter the field, Langley drew his bow and let fly. The shot was true and the buck bolted into nearby tall grass. After just a few seconds, Langley thought he saw the buck's feet flip up into the air and he heard him crash to the ground.

Langley gave the deer a full hour before climbing down to look for his arrow. The blood trail was solid, and Langley was confident that the buck was down. I called my wife and asked her to drive down with the side by side, Langley said.

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Once his wife arrived, the two started down the buck's blood trail.

The buck was exactly where Langley thought it would be. The clean 5x4 had a 20-inch inside spread and 13-inch G2s. The buck taped out at 167 ⅜ inches. Langley estimates the buck had put on at least 30 inches of antler since he had passed on him last season.