November 4th found me heading back to my stomping grounds in SE Ohio for the 11th year. I arrived on Saturday night, and checked my trail cams on the 4 farms I hunt in Ohio on Sunday the 5th. On Monday the 6th..... I hung a stand in one of my favorite locations at 1:30pm, and returned to my stand @ 3:45pm to settle in for my first hunt of the year in Ohio.

At 4:15pm a doe and yearling were being pushed around by a little buck and I decided to grunt and bleat to the buck and just goof around with him. I had CRP grassed all around me on the point I was on.... and I thought maybe something else would hear my calling too. The little buck didn't come........but kept looking out in the CRP grass..... so I looked to my left in the CRP grasses also......... and my heart about STOPPED!!!!

Coming straight to me was just tines......long tines..... a BUNCH of long tines ......and he was trotting through the CRP grass straight to me.

I grabbed my bow and thought...."you gotta be kiddin' me, not even an hour hunt"

The buck I named "Tiney" was now about 35 yards away and I started to draw my bow......and to my absolute HORROR, I could not get the bow back.

2 years ago I tore my tricep tendon off my elbow and had to have it reattached... I still don't have all my strength back......but practicing while warm is not too much of an issue..... but at the time I need my strength the most..... I can't get my bow back. So I try to pull it back again.....and to my FURTHER horror, I could not get it back as far as the first time.

My brain was an absolute hornets nest........ He now was just 12 yards from me and standing broadside in the brush...with a few shooting holes here and there. So........ I gritted my teeth and gave one big WWF yank with a grunt....... and POP.... I got it back. I about yelled outloud "YES!!"

......and to my horror again......... he heard that yank and my grunt to get that bow back....and was now looking straight up at me.

I had seconds....

I put the pin on him, found a 4 inch gap through the brush..... and found my mark. The arrow that left my bow killed a 175 inch buck and a 161 inch buck in Ohio in previous years....... and as it flew true again with my Slick Trick 85 doing its job. I anchored my largest buck to date yet.

Short tracking job....... and at the end of the trail laid "Tiney"......... all 186 1/8th inches of him. Main frame 10 point with 29 inch beams and 10 inch quads. Still thanking God for the moment he gave me. Might be my biggest buck ever......so you just savor the moments.

And for "Paul Harvey's 'The Rest of the Story'"...... the next day I went back and pulled the stand down, and took down the trail cam that was facing the scrape at the stand....... and low and behold...a trail cam pic.....there stood Tiney, at 3:07pm just a few minutes before I got to the stand on 11/6. He was still nearby...... and I called him out of his bed.

Thought you'd like to see him.

Good luck to all of you that are still out there hunting!!