It was my 3rd trip to Americas top Corn and Big Buck proucing state, Iowa. After 2 unsuccessful trips loaded with big buck encounters, my girlfriend and camera-girl Arika Sanders headed to Iowa to ransack Kisky farms and try to lay a meat missile into one of their giants grown with love! I had also been hunting a few farms that were for sale with Gabe Adair, from Whitetail Properties, and was skipping around on farms, depending on the prevailing winds. I had gotten some cool trail cam video on my Bushnell trail scout of a big one I was hunting on a piece of Gabe's and had a few encounters with him, but the wind never got right to hunt the farm again.
Our first evening back, November 24, was spent in a blind on a cut corn field at the Kisky's. There was little action and the sun went down with only a few young deer entering the field. The next morning we headed for a tree high on a heavily timbered ridge 500 yards above a corn filed. I hunted this stand in late October and had an exciting morning, rattling in 5 different bucks including a 6 year old brute with a broken front shoulder that had been broken since he was a 2 year old. I was going to shoot him but there were too many twigs in the way and he winded us at the last moment.
We made our way to the stands 45 minutes before shooting light and would be set up in two separate trees. I climbed up Arika's tree and got the camera equipment set, then climbed down, sent her up and got in my own perch. As the sun rose, the woods were quiet and no deer seemed to be moving. Much different than my first sit on the ridge. After an hour and a half I decided to try a doe bleat on my Flextone Buck Collector call. Within seconds I saw a deer fleeing the scene. I didn't realize but Arika was filming a mature 8pt behind her and I though she was just getting scenic’s and pan shots. As we talked over the situation I looked down the draw and saw a brute headed right to our stands! At first she couldn't see the buck but I told her to keep watching cause he was closing fast. Finally she spotted him and zoomed in. The buck was headed straight from the base of her stand and was about to go under it. I could see she was going to get bound up so I stopped the buck and sent a G5 Tekkan on a Beman Bone Collector arrow through his boiler room. The buck jumped and ran 20 yards and stopped, looking straight at the camera. Arika slowly pushed back to the buck as he began to sway, looking like he was about to fall. In the meantime, I grabbed another arrow and got hooked up. The buck was quartering severely left, I put my 20 yd pin in front of his hip and the Tekkan ripped completely through him and came out his right shoulder. He went 40 yards and tipped over!!! He is a 4 year old buck, one Don had trail cam photos of this year and encounters with the year before.
It was a real treat to spend time hunting at the Kisky's. Don has been someone I have envied as a deer hunter for 20 years! It was very special to share the recovery with He and Kandi and these are memories I won't ever forget. Thanks to Don and Kandi for letting me kill one of the many monsters that roam their farms and thanks to their son Kaleb for showing me up as the biggest moron in camp!!! Thanks Kaleb!!! Check this show out on Season 2 it will be action packed!!! Bone Killed one too, but he will have to tell you about it, cause my fingers are tired!!!!!!!!
