11-02-2021 | Ohio

Shaffer

The Story of Splitz

The evening of 10-28-2021, Shaffer made the long trip to our leased property in Ohio with high hopes for that weekend. The next couple of days consisted of all day sits in the rain, with a big 10 point showing up Saturday morning and evening, but not seeing much otherwise. That is until Sunday evening, the does started showing themselves and the activity started to pick up.

A nice 8 point comes through running does, presenting no shot, until the does circled back around and the 8 point followed. Unfortunately, he misranged him and shot low.

Shaffer had a plan all mapped out for 11-02, with when and where he would set up to hunt, morning and evening, so he could target the 8 point seen previously. He went to his spot that was perfectly picked for the morning wind to see if he could catch the 8 working he scrapes that he had worked the night before. He was glassing 1,200 yards to the south of that spot, just to catch a glimpse of the target 8. Suddenly, Shaffer heard deer running behind him, and saw a younger buck chasing a doe. He soon turned his attention to the wooded lot behind him that had a hot doe in the area. 15 minutes later he sees a buck sneaking up, but is unsure if it's a shooter.

Under further investigation, he got closer and Shaffer quickly realized it was Splitz, a mature buck that we definitely wanted to harvest.

Splitz snuck behind Shaffer at 18 yards and vanished. It wasn't until 30 minutes later, which seemed like hours, he resurfaced at about 30 yards behind in the thicket, then gone again he was. Shaffer told himself "I need to slowly get down and make my way into the woods on the ground, just in case he does this again." He talked himself out of it, knowing he had different plans for the evening hunt of 11-02.

Playing cat and mouse, Shaffer patiently sat and waited. Another 15 minutes slowly crept by and he heard a stick crack, still behind him, and there Splitz was. He was 15 yards away and closing. Shaffer quietly picked up his bow, never losing sight of Splitz, and drew back waiting on the perfect shot. That opportunity presented itself within a blink of an eye, at only 5 steps from the base of Shaffer's stand. Shaffer then released his arrow and the rest is history. He got to watch this old mature buck within 60 yards, seconds after the shot, which felt like minutes.

All the thanks and glory go the Good Lord above. He is The Alpha, The Omega, and The Creator of which we love -

The Great Outdoors.

11-21-2021 | Virginia

Tiffany

The Story of Star

Tiffany called him "Star." After slipping by Shaffer mid October without presenting a shot, being missed TWICE during muzzleloader, once by Tiffany, she thought he better thank his lucky stars because he had somehow cheated death so many times. The week prior, Tiffany & Shaffer thought they had saw a photo of this particular buck on a deer hunting page in the area, showing that he walked out in front of someone else... but they were wrong. During the evening of 11-20, there was a doe with a fawn in the field across from Tiffany, she decided to hit the grunt call a few times and a 6 pointer came up from her left and started bumping the doe around. Next thing she knows, she looks to the right and gets a quick glimpse of what she thinks is Star. It was getting dark by the time the buck showed himself again, of course heading over to the same doe that the previous seen 6 pointer was bumping. The buck was broadside for just a few seconds, but Tiffany was uncomfortable with the shot, so she didn't try it.

Continuing back to the same spot the next morning, 11-21, Tiffany takes her time getting to her same spot as the day before, finally gets settled in just to see another small 4 or 6 point running a doe hard, in the same exact place as the evening before. The deer continue running all over the field and eventually go down over the hill where she could no longer see them. About 15 minutes later Tiffany hits the grunt call, not even 5 minutes pass and Star slipped up right over the hill to the right at 8:00am, 80 yards away, with a slight quarter to her. She let the .308 sing on this beautiful 11 pointer on a gorgeous November morning.

She gives all thanks and glory to the Lord for allowing her to have the courage and knowledge to participate in such a wild ride of a sport. Also sends out a huge thank you to her family and husband for all of the help and guidance.