Awesome buck!!! Big time congrats on that stud... I know you earned it!

Congrats on an awesome buck.

Thanks everyone for the congrats and kind words. I hunt my butt off and work hard on my leases as many of you know. It's nice when all the hard work and time is rewarded with a great buck such as Tiny.

Best of luck to you guys with the rest of hunting season!!

Congrats, I am proud for you!

Holy cow! Congrats Squeaky! You definitely deserve it!

Share the story with us. I think we would all love to read how the hunt went down. Your story is probably the closest any of us will ever get to taking a freakin' monster like that!

Congrats on one heck of a buck

Great deer Mike, Congrats!!

Bates not much of story but I will share the details of what little there is. I will need to share some info that I learned back on a mid Oct hunt to set up the hunt for Tiny. On the afternoon of Oct 18th I took my climber and climbed a tree on the edge of a standing corn field. This spot had a thick bedding area behind me with an old logging road leading out of into the standing corn. There was a major trail coming out of this road and it was only 20 yards from the tree I climbed. The afternoon started off pretty eventful as I had deer coming from my left and entering the standing corn. However I did not have a single deer come out of the logging road as I had anticipated. What I did learn on that afternoon hunt were two very important things that helped me be in the right spot the afternoon I killed Tiny. The first thing I learned were nearly every deer I saw that came from left cut the corner of that standing corn field and followed a tree line along the edge of a mowed CRP field. These deer where headed to a food plot we had planted several hundred yards away. The second thing I learned, was that any deer that came from the food plot used the same tree line to reach the standing corn field. Later that afternoon I watched 4 rack bucks come from the food plot and enter the standing corn at last shooting light. One of these bucks was Tiny or a big tall 10 pt we have on camera. The deer was 100 yards away and in low light so I could not confirm which deer it was. However, I knew if there was tree to climb on that tree line I would be in it the following afternoon.

At lunch the next day my buddy and I eased up this tree line looking for a tree. It didn't take long to locate the kill tree. We slipped off the cart and got my stand on the tree. I went ahead and climbed to tree to trim a few shooting lanes that I needed cut. Later that afternoon I was back and in position. As the sun started its decent down behind the tree line I heard the grass rustling as it brushed off an approaching deers legs. I could not see back to left very good due to the leaf foliage. However, I was able to catch glimpse of bone through the few areas I could see through. I ready for a shot opportunity just as the first buck clears the foliage to my left. He's a nice tall 8 put not Tiny. He walks on by and I hear the same familiar sound off grass rustling. I catch glimpses of another buck approaching. He's a nice 9 point but not Tiny. He walks on by and I once again hear the familiar sound. I peek through the foliage to see a nice high rack 10 pt coming. Still no Tiny. He walks on by and I hear the familiar sound again, so I take look. Following up the rear was a very nice wide 10 Pt that we considered a shooter. He was one of our hit list bucks, as he got closer I hooked my release to the bow string. When he clears the foliage he's at 25 yards and standing perfectly broadside. I feel myself starting to tense up on the release as I'm studying him. I make the decision to pass on him as I wanted to step up my game this year. This was a great buck that's probably a mid 140's class deer. He would have been a great bow kill but not the deer I wanted with Tiny being on the farm. I knew from that afternoon forward Tiny would be killed from this tree line if he remained on the farm.



Fast fwd to Nov 7th. This was the beginning of what was suppose to be 18 to 19 full days of hunting the Midwest. My morning started out awful. I went to a 160 AC lease we had that adjoins a huge CRP area. The plan was to climb so I could over look the CRP and get a gauge on how the rut was progressing. I like to be able to see a long ways when the bucks are swinging from the trees looking for does. However, this morning was nothing but problems. It was well after daylight by the time I got up the tree due to all the issues I had. That is another story by its self. The morning was pretty uneventful and not what I was expecting to see. The good news was the wind was changing out of a favorable direction for me to hunt Tiny that afternoon. My buddy and I decided he would hunt the food plot where Tiny had been spending so much time and I would hunt the tree line along the edge of the CRP. This gave us both a good opportunity at him depending on where he came from. Tiny was bedding right behind the food plot and we had recent trail cam pics of him in the plot daily for a week or more.

We both get settled in for the afternoon and it's not long before I start seeing deer. They were up on their feet early so I was optimistic one of us would get a shot at Tiny. An hour or so passes and I hear deer behind me in the thicket. I stand up and slowly turn to see its 3 does passing behind me in route to the food plot. I text Steve to let him know 3 doe are headed his way. A few minutes go by and I get a text from him the stating the does had came out into the plot but winded him. The wind had shifted more out of the SW than forecasted. This was bad for the stand he was in but still good for me. He decided he was going to get down an headed to the truck to keep from messing the plot up. Some more time passes and around 4:15 I look to my left and all I see is a big rack of bones headed my way. My first thought it's the high rack 10 pt that was on the hit list. However the bucks stops and turns his head and I see the mass. I knew at that second it was Tiny. You can not imagine the adrenaline rush I got when I saw it was him. I knew if I remained calm he was going to give me a shot. I could see much better to my left as the leaves had started falling. I was able to watch every move he made as he approached. I couldn't decide if he was going to take a 25 yard trail or the 20. I thought he was angling for the 25 yard trail so I quickly adjusted my sight. As he cleared the last tree blocking him from any shot he turned an took the 20 yard trail. By this time he was well into bow range and nothing but air between me and him. I quickly adjust my sight back to 20 yards as he's walking past. I come to full draw and give him a soft bruuuuup with my voice. He stops perfect, I settle my pin behind his shoulder and release the arrow. I watch as the Nocturnal Lighted Nock disappears into the area I was aiming. He bolts out of there in a dead run back towards the standing corn where he came from. Just as he hits the edge of the corn I see him starting to lean way over. I knew he was going down at that point. A short 30 seconds of thrashing in the corn and he was done. At this point I thought I had the all time adrenaline rush earlier. However, the rush I got when I knew he was done was nothing like I've ever experienced after harvesting a deer. See, my buddies and I thought this buck was a gross booner. His trail cam pics looked very impressive. As Matt stated earlier in this thread he has that shock and aw about him. I just knew I had killed a gross Boone with my bow. He's no where near that size but none the less a great deer I'm very thankful for. He sure gave me one heck of a high the afternoon it all came to end for him. He will have a special place in my trophy room that's for sure.

Great story mike and congrats again. With all that you put in to hunting you deserve it.

Wow! 3 and a half......Nice Buck,Congrats