Posted on 10/21/2009 8:49:39 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
Scott O'Konek shoots his bow 300 days a year, dreaming that someday in the woods somewhere in Minnesota a white-tailed buck of memorable proportions will stride beneath his tree stand.
For O'Konek, 29, dream and reality blurred last week at Camp Ripley when a 32-point buck -- bearing perhaps the largest non-typical rack ever taken by archery in Minnesota -- ambled toward him.
Forty-four yards from O'Konek's perch, the statuesque whitetail stood a moment, shaking snow from its back as leaden skies drizzled rain. This was about 9 a.m. during the first of two special Camp Ripley archery hunts.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
ROFLMAO! Thanks! :)
it was just that no brother good in law of mine...from Illinoise...
send him back on the next plane!
Not sure which picture you are referring to, but there also seems to be an entrance(?) wound in the shot from the first picture at about the same elevation. I am curious what the actual elevation was at 44 yards.
Beautiful buck and a great shot none the less...
32 Point Ping!
Nice shot...Am particularly jealous today as 8 hours ago I was in a stand in the rain and got called out of state to work all freakin weekend! Seriously bummed............
Looks like a lucky a spine shot...
Like your sow from a few years back there, Envisioning?! Post that pic if you got it, bro...
That sucks bigtime...get an out of state license. They got public land there? You could have made that shot, me, not so much, this year with as little practice as I have had. Didn't the article say he shot 300 days a year?...
Post that pic if you got it, bro...
Bogs the home computer down too much...or I would.
Cool! I like archery but I know I would be terrible at it.
That had to hurt.
; )
Well, count me green with envy. That’s a dandy buck; a once in a lifetime monster. I’ve been chasing the deer for 29 seasons now...one of these days I may get my chance at one like that. Or not. :)
I took a nice doe Oct. 11 with my bow and have let many deer walk away before and since, including an 8-pointer with about a 14” spread. Been waiting for a big one like that to walk by, plus, I enjoy sitting out there sharing nature with the critters so I don’t want my season to end to soon. I could have filled both my tags by the second Saturday of the season, but what fun would that be?
I’ve put in a lot of time out there this season already, and the hunting hours are getting shorter each day, leaving me less time to hunt in the evenings. After this weekend, the first nice-sized deer that gives me a shot is going down to fill my second tag, be it a buck or a doe.
A distance of 44 yards would flatten out the angle at which the arrow hits the deer quite a bit, as compared to shooting at a deer that’s within 15 or 20 yards.
For the arrow to hit the deer that high on the side and then hit the heart at the angle necessary to shoot 44 yards? I’m skeptical of that, but stranger things have happened.
No matter what, it was still one shot, one kill. Ethical, humane, legal, all that good stuff.
Good for the hunter, and he has my congratulations. Every time he goes hunting for the rest of his life he’ll flash back to taking that buck, and with good reason.
Consistency is the key to archery...your mechanics have to be the same for every shot as far as the position of the bow and your body in relation to each other.
Shooting at a deer is much different than shooting at a target though. When practicing/target shooting, it’s usually a sunny afternoon, you’re wearing comfortable clothes, you’re fresh, rested and shooting conditions are optimal.
When a deer walks by your stand, you’ve probably been sitting there on an uncomfortable seat nearly motionless for 3 hours, you may have dozed off a couple times, you’re shivering in the cold, you can’t feel two of the toes on your left foot, you have about 5 layers of clothing on which interfere with your arm movements, and when you stand up to take the shot you realize your lower back isn’t as young as it used to be and your right thigh is cramping up and partially asleep.
Then, you must overcome all of that and fall back on your practice and mechanics to do justice to the animal you hunt, the sport of bowhunting and to yourself and your fellow hunters with a well-placed shot. See what I mean? :)
But, therein lies the challenge of bowhunting. That’s why it’s said that when hunting with a bow, any deer is a trophy.
Thanks for the agonizing visual. I know I’m not ready for bowhunting. I went on my first deer hunt last year and I had the time of my life! I used my rifle.
Well said. I have been struggling with my confidence this year as I have not be able to put in anywhere near the amount of pratice required. To reach the consistancy needed requires nearly year round practice.
I had a shot at a doe at 35 yards a couple of weeks ago, but I could not take the shot because I was not 100% confident it would be a clean shot.
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