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Buck #18

Hunter:    Brad Knutson               

Score:     144 1/2" green

Points:     10 points

Weight:    170 lbs

Date:        September 26, 2003

Location:  Lake of the Woods County, northern Minnesota

Method:    archery

I had wanted to go to Lake of the Woods County to archery hunt whitetails for quite some time and now that my schedule allowed it, I decided to go. Born and raised there, I knew the area well and still owned some land there. I bought my license on-line, packed my gear and waited for my license to arrive.  I called my grandparents to tell them I was coming to visit. I drove the 18 hours from Colorado to get there and spent the day and evening with my grandparents. The next day I left to go hunting. A cold front had set in with winds blowing about 20 mph and spitting rain. I was not deterred. The first evening I went out on stand and saw lots of nice deer but no shot opportunities. The next day the winds switched so I went to a different field that evening. As the day ended, the deer were coming out as predicted. I was sitting on the edge on a long field, with deer trails coming out all along the field with some not far from my stand. 

At 7:10 pm, a buck was coming out of the woods. All I saw was mass and points. I never looked at the rack again. I drew and waited. He stopped momentarily at 30 yards, standing broadside but I had no shot! He started moving out into the field, quartering away from me. He was 40 yards and I stopped him with a bleat sound. I put the pin on him and released. My arrow flew true. It penetrated the last rib and exited on the other side five ribs ahead. The buck jumped, turned and ran back into the woods. I could not believe it. Two days into my hunt and I shoot a 140 class buck! I watched the other deer in the field for a few minutes before I quietly got down out of my stand, found where he went into the woods and saw some blood. I marked it and went to my truck to get my flashlight. It was a hard 45 minutes to wait. I went back to the blood trail and started the tracking. After about an 80 yard blood trail, there he was! A nice 10 point! My arrow was still in him. The fletching was visible at the entrance and the broadhead on the other. Upon inspection of the broadhead, the only damage was one slightly bent blade. After going through two ribs and being exposed during his final run, the arrow did its job.