November 4th 2005, I hunted and killed the biggest Michigan buck of my hunting career!
It all started with a call from a friend. It was Sunday night the 3rd of November. A pretty big storm was just finishing it’s pass through southern Michigan. It was suggested to me that if I wanted to kill the “Big One,” I should definitely consider driving down to Van Buren County first thing Monday morning. I hunt Van Buren County every year and I have seen some real monsters!
Up until that point, I had not quite gotten my chance to get a Pope and Young from that area. After talking on the phone Sunday night, I was very, very excited! My friend was right, with the weather that was happening, Monday morning would be the perfect hunt. I had one problem: I had to work Monday morning. It is a little hard to kill a huge, monster Whitetail from the inside of a business. I really didn’t know what I was going to do. I first thought that maybe I would wait until Monday night and drive down, hunt, and then drive back. I knew though, the a.m. hunt was my ticket to success. I was racking my brain for the answer.
The place I had my stand up had been the same spot for a few years and it was perfect for this time of year. I had already watched a couple of nice bucks from a distance several times from my perch above in the hardwoods. The drive from my house to my treestand was a two-hour drive. This means I had to get up around 3:30 am, drive a couple hours and then walk out and climb up into my spot and wait.
I finally came up with the idea to start calling coworkers that may cover for me Monday. I made a few calls and my friend and coworker April answered I explained the situation to her. April’s response, without missing a beat was all excitement and willingness to help. My coworkers are so supportive and helpful with getting me into the field and hunting. They have really put up with a lot. It might be waiting on me to come in late after a morning turkey hunt or helping me catch a flight to Nevada for a lion hunt My coworkers are the greatest!
Once I had it arranged for April to work for me, I quickly packed up my gear and put it in the truck and turned in early for sweet dreams of the hunt Rising early and driving the distance, I found myself in a thick fog. I grabbed all my stuff and headed to the stand. As the sun rose, I watched the fog disappear. A few does and a fawn passed under me. At 8:10 am, I heard something approaching from the west. It was coming towards me on a buck runway that crossed a two-track. I watched my monster buck step out. He was so big! His body weight was way heavier than the bucks near my house. When he stepped broadside, I drew, aimed and shot. After I watched the arrow hit, I felt a delayed buck fever. A good thing I guess, because my arrow hit its mark. So I sat and waited.
After a long track and a lot of worry, I found him near a small creek. It was a wonderful sight and a relief. I was amazed at how beautiful he was. I took several photos of him, finished up and loaded everything back up and headed home. The next morning, I got to work and the first person I showed the pictures to was April!! She was the reason I was able to get my once-in-a-lifetime buck. After I showed her the photos, I told her that when I talked about this buck and when I wrote the article about him, I would call him April’s Buck!!!
