2010: Another Madison County Fencerow Buck

by Luke Kontras
(Madison County, OH)

Last year, I posted a story about a buck I shot on a fencerow in Madison County, OH on November 1st ( http://www.deerhuntingguide.net/the-forgotten-fence-row.html ). This year was a little different, but the result was much the same on November 5th, on a fencerow about 2 miles from last year's bowkill. As a full-time graduate student, I don't have the most time to hunt, but I tend to neglect my studies at times in pursuit of my number one passion, big whitetails. After hunting roughly 35 times this season, and hanging and pulling my treestand 35 times, things finally came together. I am a firm believer in "the element of surprise" being a necessity when hunting big deer in an area with relatively high hunting pressure. Exhausting as it was, I never hunted the same tree twice. My brother and I have a long history with this 158 2/8 inch 11 pointer, but up to this point had failed to catch up with him due to his nocturnal nature. It took the magic of a coldfront, a November 5th, and another subpar test grade for me to finally catch up with this buck. Two hours prior to giving this buck a double pneumothorax, I was drenched in sweat, once again, sawing limbs and hanging a treestand in a small blackcherry tree on another Madison County Fencerow. I had a "hunch" about this area, but would've never guessed what would happen in a couple hours. At ten minutes after 6 on November 5th, this buck appeared out of nowhere and made a scrape 20 yards away, before heading my direction on the fencerow and giving me the opportunity to kill another Madison County buck with a 5 yard shot with my Hoyt Katera XL and a G5 T3 Mechanical broadhead. The buck barely bled a drop, went 75 yards, and dropped dead in thick cover. I am already thinking about next year's bow season. Thank God for making me a bowhunter.