The Ventura Buck

By Nick Ventura

The story behind this hunt was really short lived although it took many hours of dedication and hard work I never knew this buck existed. While chasing a buck on a different property of mine I gave that piece a lot of pressure early. Having moved into his core area multiple times with no sightings I decided to try my luck on my other farm which turned out to be the right move. I knew there were bucks in the area and although I did not have proof I was confident they were there.

I passed up two, two and a half year old, eight pointers the weekend before and decided to go deep into the bottom where I thought these deer were transitioning through. After getting the right wind and checking the maps over and over, I picked my spot and grabbed my Lone Wolf hang on and stick, my camera set-up, and my bow and made the hike to the back of the property.

While seeing does all night I found myself watching turkeys behind me at last light when I heard the all to familiar sound of a deer closing in fast. As I turned around to peek, I saw a typical ten that gave me no time to react, he was thirty yards away and coming right at me. With my bow on my left and camera on the other I went for the bow first thinking I had no chance to get this on camera. I turned around, as slowly as I could, and got my bow off the hook and had no need to range the deer at less than 15 yards.

This was last light and in the bottom of the gully my camera was not gathering the best light, but I turned it on quickly as he stopped behind a tree and got it right to my last opening. I drew back as quickly as I could and he stopped perfectly with no need to alert him I was there. I let the arrow go and watched as the fletching buried behind his shoulder. I then watched him jolt off towards the thicket.

The hunt itself was short to say the least, but having to carry the camera equipment in every hunt and moving stands finally paid off. This was my biggest buck to date and my first mature buck captured on film. It was a memorable hunt and although my season was cut short I was excited to say the least. I met my goal of harvesting a mature buck on film. The footage will be shown on www.bonedriven.com and I hope all that see it enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it.

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