Halloween weekend in Ohio has always been good for Team Backwoods, but this year was exceptionally good. Three bucks in one day will make anyone's day!
It all started about an hour into the morning hunt. With a late October chill in the air, Bill and Amber Goodin were settled in waiting for a big buck to come by. They didn't have to wait too long. Before they knew it, a great Ohio 8 point wandered came barreling through the woods crossing them at less than 30 yards. Amber settled the Excalibur LumiZone Scope on the big buck's boiler plate and let a FireBolt fly. The Ohio whitetail ran about 30 yards and piled up. The first buck of the day had been brought to the table.
A short while later, and not too far away, Karl Metzler and Eric Ross were high in the trees in a pinch point. Shortly after they were settled into the stands, Karl pulled out the Woods Wise Super Hot Daddy grunter and let a few aggressive grunts fly. After a couple brief calling sessions, the boys caught movement out of the corner of their eyes and, simultaneously, they saw a big deer moving through the brush. When he stepped into a clearing the boys got excited. A big Ohio 12-pointer was making his way right to them, and he was closing the distance fast. Karl readied the Excalibur Equinox and, when the buck stopped broadside at 30 yards, he touched the trigger, sending a FireBolt at 350 fps his way. Twenty yards later, buck number 2 was on the ground…
When Karl and Eric recovered the big Ohio whitetail, they noticed he had three fresh breaks on the right side of his rack - the end of the main beam, his brow tine, and his G4 were all broken off. Even with three broken tines, he rough scored 159".
With the morning hunt drawing to a close, everyone met back at headquarters to share stories, take pictures, and make plans for the afternoon hunt. With two bucks already on the ground, we figured we'd better get back into the woods to see what else might happen…
That afternoon, Dan Wallace and Bill Troubridge from Excalibur Crossbows scurried up the tree in one of our favorite spots. Just a few days earlier, Dave Bomers from Exmark Mowers had taken a nice Ohio 8-point from the same tree. It was obvious the bucks were cruising and Bill and Dan figured this spot offered the best opportunity at a wandering buck.
Just about the time all the little kids in Ohio were getting their costumes on for a night of Trick-or-Treating, another great Ohio buck slipped into the woods right behind the boys. The problem was he snuck in on the uphill side of them, right where they didn't want him to come in…
After a long "Mexican Stand-off" the big boy let his guard down and began what would ultimately be his death march, passing within 25 yards of the boys. A touch of the trigger, and buck number 3 was on the ground.
If you've hunted long enough you understand the old saying "Some days are diamonds, some days are duds." Well, Halloween was a diamond for the Backwoods Boys. Here's to many more diamonds in the future.
