I'm a bit behind on this as I actually harvested on Oct. 28. Just wanted to share the experience. My hunting buddy and I had been contemplating an out of state hunt for some time now, and finally pulled the trigger this year. We found an outfitter in Muskingum county that we were happy with. We were greeted with cold temps and low winds upon arrival. We knew going in that we were a touch early, but were hopeful to catch some good pre-rut action. My first 6 sits saw a steady SSW wind that enabled me to hunt a large food plot that served as a staging plot to an adjoining bean field. I was covered in 1.5 year old bucks on more than one occasion. In fact, I was able to get some good footage of some of these deer sparring. At first light on Oct. the 27th, I had an encounter with a deer named Stickers 13. The deer skirted my ladder stand, and never presented a shot. The following evening, the wind shifted, and I had to abandon my perch. I set up my climber on a ridge top, about 800 yards from the food plot I had previously been hunting. Around 4:30, I heard a deer grunt in the bottom of a patch of timber directly to my right. I gave a brief rattling sequence, and a series of grunts in response. 10 minutes later, Stickers 13 was stomping up the hill to investigate. The buck knew that something wasn't right in the area, but he was unable to peg my location. He tended a scrape, all the while peering my direction. Finally, something caught his attention directly away from me. He turned his head, and I realized this was my chance to draw. As I completed my draw cycle, the buck turned his head back to my attention. It was a nervous moment to say the least. Already having ranged the scrape at 29 yards, I settled the 30 pin on the lower third of his mid section and let her fly. I watched the deer drop as the arrow neared its target. The hit was on his spine, and required another shot to finish him off. He green scored 134 6/8" gross, and is my biggest bow kill. It was truly the experience of my lifetime. I would like to thank Kish Creek Outfitters for making it all possible.
