Bucks may be arduous to trace on path cameras from yr to yr. Generally they develop a lot between summers that they’re barely recognizable. However 31-year-old Jonathon Stuart of Russellville, Kentucky couldn’t mistake the slim, lofty unfold on his goal buck if he tried. This in the end contributed to him in the end tagging the 160-class whitetail on Sept. 7 after watching him develop for greater than a yr.
“He took on about 35 inches price of development from final yr to this yr,” Stuart tells Out of doors Life. “I began getting footage of him in early Might this yr. A number of occasions it’s all guessing video games till June, however his body was so distinctive and he had already grown a lot, you wouldn’t even must know this deer to know the images from final yr and this yr was the identical deer. A number of different deer had simply began rising major beams and he already had 5- or 6-inch tines.”
Stuart has hunted on household property in Kentucky for six consecutive years and is aware of the way to decide deer development with precision.
“I take a look at pictures of years previous and their development price and the place they’re at sure factors in the summertime, and I simply knew that this deer was going to obliterate no matter he was final yr,” Stuart says.
Even with dozens of path digital camera pictures and over a yr of patterns to work from, the buck gave Stuart a tough time main as much as archery season. His consistency dropped off and he turned very unpredictable.
“He’d be there for every week then he’d disappear for every week or two. And it was simply hit-or-miss all summer season,” Stuart remembers. “I didn’t get footage of the deer from the final day of June till August. We had an extended sizzling dry spell and I used to be fearful possibly EHD had set in. However he truly got here again on the primary day of August and was again to his previous self, right here just a few days, gone just a few days, right here every week, gone every week.”
Stuart reached the top of his endurance with the buck and insisted on discovering the place he was repeatedly disappearing to, hoping to map the buck’s vary in preparation for a profitable hunt. His exploring labored.
“About two weeks earlier than the season opened in Kentucky, I made a decision to enterprise to the higher finish of this farm and set a digital camera up in a spot that I don’t usually go,” Stuart says. “Inside a few day I received an image of him, and I used to be getting footage of him virtually day-after-day.”
However when opening day rolled round, torrential rains stored most hunters at residence. Stuart remembers the realm getting 6 inches of rain in simply three hours. He tried getting out to hunt, however his spots had all flooded out. Lastly, on Wednesday, Sept. 7, the climate cleared up and Stuart was in his treestand by 2:00 within the afternoon. As he pulled his bow up, he seen two younger bucks strolling close by. Then, at about 5:30, Stuart stood as much as stretch his legs.
“As I turned again round to take a seat down, I seemed again towards the place the 2 bucks got here from earlier within the day, and I noticed some deer coming down off a hill alongside the sting of a cornfield. It was the group of seven bachelor bucks that had been there all through the summer season, together with my goal deer.”
Stuart watched them feed within the corn earlier than turning towards the woods. The wind had been unhealthy all day and the bucks had been tremendous cautious, however ultimately the goal buck and one youthful spike got here towards Stuart’s treestand to drink some water.
“After all the spike got here on to the water, however the greater deer performed it gradual, double-checking all the pieces. As soon as he lastly stepped into my 30-yard window, I used to be capable of put a shot on him and the remainder was historical past.”
This was Stuart’s second greatest buck ever, scoring 163.5 inches.
“I killed one in full velvet in 2018 that went 167 3/8 inches,” Stuart says. “The deer I killed this yr ran with the deer I killed final yr, who scored 163 3/8 inches. So this yr’s deer was simply an eighth of an inch greater.”
