LAST UPDATED: May 1st, 2015
Date: November 20 , Weather: Mild in the Mid 40’s, Time: 4:00 PM, Score: 156 4/8 Gross and Location: Ohio
Q: Tell me a little about the hunt?
A: I first got a trail camera video of this Buck in the middle of August while he was visiting a mineral lick. The first thought that entered my mind while viewing the video was “WOW”. After viewing the video several hundred times the name “WOW” seemed to stick.
I had 4 cameras running full time on our 230 acre farm. I got a second video of him on a trail camera on the 11th of October, about 2 weeks into the Ohio bow season. I had hunted numerous times from different stands & taken 1 doe but had not seen “WOW” or any of the other bucks we had targeted as shooters. On November 3rd, I got a daytime video of him working a scrape on a different area of the farm. I immediately moved a stand to that area and started hunting. I hunted that stand religiously for two weeks without seeing the first sign of “WOW.
A never-give-up attitude helped bowhunter Dale Mohler take this great Ohio buck.
I first laid eyes on him the evening of November 18th. He was in a field checking a group of does at dusk. I hunted that location the following evening without seeing hide or hair of the one buck I was after. I started to feel as if I was always a step behind this awesome buck. While that thought continued to replay itself in my mind I decided to try a different location that was situated near a beautiful turnip plot. I was not there long before “WOW” came to within about 60 yards in some brush following a doe & her 2 fawns.
Every opportunity that buck got he was trying to run off the two fawns and corner the doe. Unfortunetly, for me they never came close enough, and eventually moved off in the opposite direction. I finally got down out of the stand at about 11AM to get some farm work done. As I worked and thought about the encounter I began to renew my confidence that I still had a chance at this buck. It did not take too long before I had talked myself out of working and was back in the woods. I finally made it back out to hunt at 3:30 PM.
I decided to hunt from an elevated box blind on the other end of the food plot due to a change in wind direction. I sat there for a short period of time before I noticed a doe heading in my direction. She cautiously made her way to the food plot while I watched her and I noticed some movement not too far behind her. My eyes watched every step as the deer finally cleared the shadows of the big timber. It was “WOW”! As soon as the light hit those massive antlers there was no mistaking his identity.
He stepped into the open at 30 yards and stopped broadside. I quickly drew my bow, settled the pin, and released the arrow. As I watched the arrow on a direct course for the sweet spot I noticed that the buck started to lunge forward. The arrow seemed to pass through a little further back than I had hoped but the buck just turned and stood there; watching the doe feed in the food plot.
A different angle of this awesome Ohio whitetail.
She eventually moved downwind of my position and spooked; quickly heading back through the woods. I watched as “WOW” followed at a slow walk for about 80 yards and then he bedded down. I watched him for two solid hours through my binoculars until it was too dark to see. Then, I quietly snuck out of my stand and the woods trying my best not to push this wonderful buck. I returned the following morning after daylight & found him dead where he had bedded. What an amazing sight, I was truly honored to be able to grab those antlers for the first time.
Q: What was the key to your success?
A: Never giving up, being flexible and spending a lot of time in the stand.
EQUIPMENT:
- Bow: Diamond Iceman
- Broadhead: NAP Hellrazor 100 grain
- Arrow: Gold Tip
- Camo: Realtree
- Blind: Homemade elevated box blind
- Clothing: Scent Blocker
