2011 was a great year. To start the season off Brandon Wikman put down a Buffalo County legend, High Towers, on September 26th. High Towers scored 145 inches with 13 inch G2′s. This incredible hunt was captured on film and will be featured in Campfire Stories on the Pursuit Channel this fall.
A few days later I filmed Scott Swanson for In-Pursuit with Greg and Jake kill a grey faced giant on September 30th. The Big 6×6 scored 175 inches. Scott hunted with me for six days and had some amazing encounters, including Skyscraper, a 195 inch bruiser. The footage will be aired the week of September 10, 2012 on the Outdoor Channel.
In addition to these great kills, all my clients had the chance to take a buck over 130 inches during the first two weeks of season. Although, early season tends to be overlooked by many hunters, at Schuhter’s Outpost it’s some of the best hunting you can ask for.
From October 1st through October 13th I closed camp down as this period, give or take a few days, is commonly known as the October Lull. Usually, around October 12th, the first mature does in our area will start to come into estrous. This is the time when big mature bucks that are living on your property know where these does are and will seek them out first. For hunters who know where these does are, this is the opportune time to kill those big mature bucks that they’ve been watching all summer long.
October 14th was first day I put clients back in the woods. That evening one of them encountered a 160 inch 8×5 grunting and seeking a hot doe. Unfortunately, after shooting targets that day, my client forgot to set their pin back to 20 yards and shot over his back.
Three days later, another client experienced the hunt of his life. The evening of October 17th my client had a doe bed by his stand. After doing a few short grunts he heard some crashing down below. Within a few seconds in came Skyscraper, a 195 inch giant busting brush and doing the buck growl. My client had him at 31 yards and sent his arrow for the boiler room. In reaction to the shot, the buck lunged to his left and the arrow hit his shoulder. Two weeks later our neighbor harvested that buck. Congratulations on a true Buffalo County legend.
Shortly after this encounter, on October 19th, I climbed in a tree with another client of mine to film his hunt. The evening was cold and windy but conditions were in our favor. With good camera light left we had two bucks come into a water hole. The leader was a small 7pt and the one in the back was a buck we knew very well, Split G2. This buck was very elusive but that night we were in the perfect spot. That was until the wind took a sudden shift both bucks ran back to where they came from. However, Split G2 stopped at 36 yards and my client unleashed his arrow which deflected off a branch. Another bow hunters nightmare.
However, Split G2 managed to survive several encounters with other clients of mine until he met his demise on December 7th with a muzzleloader. I didn’t have any clients at camp and no bookings for late season so on December 6th I stepped foot into the woods for the first time with a weapon. That evening ended up being pretty quiet so I switched farms on December 7th and had my good friend Brandon Wikman filming me. We saw over 30 deer and 4 shooter bucks. Although, he was unable to film my kill as I had to make a last minute move, I managed to take down Split G2 that evening. His massive frame scored 171 inches. It was a phenomenal hunt and memory I got to share with a great friend.
Back to October when the action was just starting to heat up I had a new group of hunters in camp. On the morning of October 23rd my client, Adam Smith, experienced some great rut action. He was hunting the lower third of a big wooded bluff that skirted a field edge in the valley. As light was approaching he heard a buck grunting in field. With in minutes the huge 150 inch 8pt came storming in chasing a doe. The buck stopped briefly to make a scrape but never gave my client a chance to release his arrow. The buck continued chasing the doe and 20 minutes later another bruiser buck showed up. My client arrowed the 143 inch 9pt, a buck that showed up on camera 4 days prior.
Three days later on the evening of October 26th Adam’s brother Rocky had just as much fun. He was sitting in an oak flat 60 yards off an alfalfa field when he saw a glimpse of a nice buck crossing the field. After giving a few grunts on his call in came a huge bodied 8pt with a wide rack. The buck literally came running right to his tree and Rocky arrowed his first Wisconsin whitetail. With a 20 1/2 inch spread the buck scored 145 inches. Congratulations to Adam and Rocky, two brothers who got to share an incredible hunt together.
It wasn’t long and another client of mine, Chuck Keefer, hunting with Back Country Quest TV, had his opportunity to fill his tag on a beautiful 6×6. After passing up a few nice bucks Chuck finally saw the buck he wanted. On October 29th Chuck was sitting between a bedding area and a water hole. After sitting in his stand for a few hours noon hit and he heard some brush breaking. Immediately he noticed it was the 6×6 from photos and got ready for his shot. As the buck approached the stand both Chuck and his cameraman were ready. But doing what big bucks do he immediately stopped once he got within range. Chuck sent his arrow and as the footage shows the buck jumped his string causing the arrow to hit above its mark. That night I had pictures of the 6×6 eating in my food plot. One month later I was able to capture more photos of him after our gun season alive and healthy. Chuck will be back in 2012 to see if he can finish his story and encounter this buck one more time.
To Be Continued..
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