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Every hunters definition of a trophy deer is different, but we can all agree that the first nice buck of our hunting career is a trophy we will always cherish.
Ike Logan of Bridgewater, Virginia took the first deer of his hunting career in 2008 at the age of 39, little did he know what shooting that doe would do to him. Over the following 4 years up until 2013, Ike had managed to harvest 2 more does, one of which he took with a bow as well as taking a 6 pointer in 2012 with his TC bone collector muzzleloader.
Going into the 2013 hunting season Ike has become a more confident and disciplined hunter. He sat up some trail camera's on his family farm in Mount Crawford, Vrginia and has been taking some inventory as well as focusing on trying to take a more mature deer. During the October bow season Ike passed on smaller, immature bucks and began adapting some true deer management skills.
THE HUNT
On opening day of the 2013 Muzzleloading season Ike postioned himself in a treestand some 30 yards off a big field just inside the wood line on his families farm property. He witnessed lots of doe activity in the field and was fairly certain that there were bucks moving in and out of the far wood line pushing the does so he decided to sit till 11am.
The morning action peaked Ike's desire to get back in the woods and he again took the same stand at 2pm. At 3pm he spotted a lone doe but nothing else. At 5:15 he decided to use his Knight & Hale pack rack to try and spark some action himself. Within 30 seconds of Ike hitting the pack rack a 4pnt buck emerged out of the woods along with a spike and another 4pnt buck.
Ike decided he would remain quiet and see what unfolds. The two 4pnt bucks began sparring as the spike looked on. The time was 5:45 pm (primetime) and a nice 8pnt buck walked out and all the other deer took notice. Ike decided again to rattle several times, and although the 8pnt looked his way he remained with all the other deer. Shortly after 6pm all the deer cleared the field and moved back into the woods.
At that point Ike conceeded that it had at least been an eventful opening day. He began preparing to get out of his stand when he spotted a doe with her 2 offspring walking toward him so again he got ready. Moments later the 8pnt came back out of the woods and gave chase. All the deer were about 80 yards away at that point and Ike decided he would take the first good shot he had at the 8pnt buck.
Last light presented Ike with a 80yard broadside shot, he squeezed the trigger, smoke rolled and as Ike lowered the gun he saw the buck bolt back into the woods but didn't hear him crash. Ike couldn't decide whether to back out or pursue the buck. His desire carried him to where he had shot the buck but he saw no blood. Darkness had fallen by now so Ike continued on by way of flahlight to where he thought the buck had gone into the woods and he found himself on a gametrail. With no tracking experience to rely on and no white belly visible, Ike thought the deer was gone.
About that time he happened upon the first spots of blood but the blood stopped after 20 yards. Ike continued on when he heard something running through the woods. Now his hope was fading fast and he was sure he had jumped the buck up.
Not knowing what to do and feeling hopeless he decided to call in some back up. Ike called his lifelong friend Kevin Fulk who was hunting another piece of property about 20 minutes away. By the time Kevin showed up Ike's father Jim had also joined the search team. Kevin having some experience with tracking got Ike to lead him to where he last saw blood and Kevin reassured his friend that they would find this buck.
The search party decided to spread out using flashlights and it's not long until Kevin picked up some more blood. They found that after being jumped up the buck went back across the field some 300 yards to the far woodline. Once in the far woods they came to a hollow and stopped. They began panning the woods for sign of the buck because the blood trail had become heavier and they felt he was close. All of the sudden they saw eyes. The buck was laying down with his head up looking at them. The party started to talk strategy when the buck sprung to it's feet and went up and over a bank and they heard it crash into the river.
The search parties hearts collectively sunk at that point. This is the North River, some 50 yards wide and about 5.5 feet deep where the buck entered. The three men followed up an over the bank to where the buck entered the river and they all threw a flashlight beam of hope across the way and couldn't believe what they saw, the buck layed on the far bank in the water, again with a raised head looking back at them.
The three men decided to shut off their lights and wait it out. After a solid 20 minutes they threw a light back across the river and low and behold the animal had finally expired. Now how to get to him, without hesitation Ike stripped down to his underwear and waded/swam across the dark chilled river and retrieved the buck and brought him back across.
What a great dramatic ending to a great deer hunting story....
Ike skinned and processed the deer himself and is doing his own European Mount!!
Let the moral of this story be to "Never Give Up Hope"- after all it was Ike's wife Hope who encouraged him through a text message to rattle that final time!
Every hunters definition of a trophy deer is different, but we can all agree that the first nice buck of our hunting career is a trophy we will always cherish.
Ike Logan of Bridgewater, Virginia took the first deer of his hunting career in 2008 at the age of 39, little did he know what shooting that doe would do to him. Over the following 4 years up until 2013, Ike had managed to harvest 2 more does, one of which he took with a bow as well as taking a 6 pointer in 2012 with his TC bone collector muzzleloader.
Going into the 2013 hunting season Ike has become a more confident and disciplined hunter. He sat up some trail camera's on his family farm in Mount Crawford, Vrginia and has been taking some inventory as well as focusing on trying to take a more mature deer. During the October bow season Ike passed on smaller, immature bucks and began adapting some true deer management skills.
THE HUNT
On opening day of the 2013 Muzzleloading season Ike postioned himself in a treestand some 30 yards off a big field just inside the wood line on his families farm property. He witnessed lots of doe activity in the field and was fairly certain that there were bucks moving in and out of the far wood line pushing the does so he decided to sit till 11am.
The morning action peaked Ike's desire to get back in the woods and he again took the same stand at 2pm. At 3pm he spotted a lone doe but nothing else. At 5:15 he decided to use his Knight & Hale pack rack to try and spark some action himself. Within 30 seconds of Ike hitting the pack rack a 4pnt buck emerged out of the woods along with a spike and another 4pnt buck.
Ike decided he would remain quiet and see what unfolds. The two 4pnt bucks began sparring as the spike looked on. The time was 5:45 pm (primetime) and a nice 8pnt buck walked out and all the other deer took notice. Ike decided again to rattle several times, and although the 8pnt looked his way he remained with all the other deer. Shortly after 6pm all the deer cleared the field and moved back into the woods.
At that point Ike conceeded that it had at least been an eventful opening day. He began preparing to get out of his stand when he spotted a doe with her 2 offspring walking toward him so again he got ready. Moments later the 8pnt came back out of the woods and gave chase. All the deer were about 80 yards away at that point and Ike decided he would take the first good shot he had at the 8pnt buck.
Last light presented Ike with a 80yard broadside shot, he squeezed the trigger, smoke rolled and as Ike lowered the gun he saw the buck bolt back into the woods but didn't hear him crash. Ike couldn't decide whether to back out or pursue the buck. His desire carried him to where he had shot the buck but he saw no blood. Darkness had fallen by now so Ike continued on by way of flahlight to where he thought the buck had gone into the woods and he found himself on a gametrail. With no tracking experience to rely on and no white belly visible, Ike thought the deer was gone.
About that time he happened upon the first spots of blood but the blood stopped after 20 yards. Ike continued on when he heard something running through the woods. Now his hope was fading fast and he was sure he had jumped the buck up.
Not knowing what to do and feeling hopeless he decided to call in some back up. Ike called his lifelong friend Kevin Fulk who was hunting another piece of property about 20 minutes away. By the time Kevin showed up Ike's father Jim had also joined the search team. Kevin having some experience with tracking got Ike to lead him to where he last saw blood and Kevin reassured his friend that they would find this buck.
The search party decided to spread out using flashlights and it's not long until Kevin picked up some more blood. They found that after being jumped up the buck went back across the field some 300 yards to the far woodline. Once in the far woods they came to a hollow and stopped. They began panning the woods for sign of the buck because the blood trail had become heavier and they felt he was close. All of the sudden they saw eyes. The buck was laying down with his head up looking at them. The party started to talk strategy when the buck sprung to it's feet and went up and over a bank and they heard it crash into the river.
The search parties hearts collectively sunk at that point. This is the North River, some 50 yards wide and about 5.5 feet deep where the buck entered. The three men followed up an over the bank to where the buck entered the river and they all threw a flashlight beam of hope across the way and couldn't believe what they saw, the buck layed on the far bank in the water, again with a raised head looking back at them.
The three men decided to shut off their lights and wait it out. After a solid 20 minutes they threw a light back across the river and low and behold the animal had finally expired. Now how to get to him, without hesitation Ike stripped down to his underwear and waded/swam across the dark chilled river and retrieved the buck and brought him back across.
What a great dramatic ending to a great deer hunting story....
Ike skinned and processed the deer himself and is doing his own European Mount!!
Let the moral of this story be to "Never Give Up Hope"- after all it was Ike's wife Hope who encouraged him through a text message to rattle that final time!
Every hunters definition of a trophy deer is different, but we can all agree that the first nice buck of our hunting career is a trophy we will always cherish.
Ike Logan of Bridgewater, Virginia took the first deer of his hunting career in 2008 at the age of 39, little did he know what shooting that doe would do to him. Over the following 4 years up until 2013, Ike had managed to harvest 2 more does, one of which he took with a bow as well as taking a 6 pointer in 2012 with his TC bone collector muzzleloader.
Going into the 2013 hunting season Ike has become a more confident and disciplined hunter. He sat up some trail camera's on his family farm in Mount Crawford, Vrginia and has been taking some inventory as well as focusing on trying to take a more mature deer. During the October bow season Ike passed on smaller, immature bucks and began adapting some true deer management skills.
THE HUNT
On opening day of the 2013 Muzzleloading season Ike postioned himself in a treestand some 30 yards off a big field just inside the wood line on his families farm property. He witnessed lots of doe activity in the field and was fairly certain that there were bucks moving in and out of the far wood line pushing the does so he decided to sit till 11am.
The morning action peaked Ike's desire to get back in the woods and he again took the same stand at 2pm. At 3pm he spotted a lone doe but nothing else. At 5:15 he decided to use his Knight & Hale pack rack to try and spark some action himself. Within 30 seconds of Ike hitting the pack rack a 4pnt buck emerged out of the woods along with a spike and another 4pnt buck.
Ike decided he would remain quiet and see what unfolds. The two 4pnt bucks began sparring as the spike looked on. The time was 5:45 pm (primetime) and a nice 8pnt buck walked out and all the other deer took notice. Ike decided again to rattle several times, and although the 8pnt looked his way he remained with all the other deer. Shortly after 6pm all the deer cleared the field and moved back into the woods.
At that point Ike conceeded that it had at least been an eventful opening day. He began preparing to get out of his stand when he spotted a doe with her 2 offspring walking toward him so again he got ready. Moments later the 8pnt came back out of the woods and gave chase. All the deer were about 80 yards away at that point and Ike decided he would take the first good shot he had at the 8pnt buck.
Last light presented Ike with a 80yard broadside shot, he squeezed the trigger, smoke rolled and as Ike lowered the gun he saw the buck bolt back into the woods but didn't hear him crash. Ike couldn't decide whether to back out or pursue the buck. His desire carried him to where he had shot the buck but he saw no blood. Darkness had fallen by now so Ike continued on by way of flahlight to where he thought the buck had gone into the woods and he found himself on a gametrail. With no tracking experience to rely on and no white belly visible, Ike thought the deer was gone.
About that time he happened upon the first spots of blood but the blood stopped after 20 yards. Ike continued on when he heard something running through the woods. Now his hope was fading fast and he was sure he had jumped the buck up.
Not knowing what to do and feeling hopeless he decided to call in some back up. Ike called his lifelong friend Kevin Fulk who was hunting another piece of property about 20 minutes away. By the time Kevin showed up Ike's father Jim had also joined the search team. Kevin having some experience with tracking got Ike to lead him to where he last saw blood and Kevin reassured his friend that they would find this buck.
The search party decided to spread out using flashlights and it's not long until Kevin picked up some more blood. They found that after being jumped up the buck went back across the field some 300 yards to the far woodline. Once in the far woods they came to a hollow and stopped. They began panning the woods for sign of the buck because the blood trail had become heavier and they felt he was close. All of the sudden they saw eyes. The buck was laying down with his head up looking at them. The party started to talk strategy when the buck sprung to it's feet and went up and over a bank and they heard it crash into the river.
The search parties hearts collectively sunk at that point. This is the North River, some 50 yards wide and about 5.5 feet deep where the buck entered. The three men followed up an over the bank to where the buck entered the river and they all threw a flashlight beam of hope across the way and couldn't believe what they saw, the buck layed on the far bank in the water, again with a raised head looking back at them.
The three men decided to shut off their lights and wait it out. After a solid 20 minutes they threw a light back across the river and low and behold the animal had finally expired. Now how to get to him, without hesitation Ike stripped down to his underwear and waded/swam across the dark chilled river and retrieved the buck and brought him back across.
What a great dramatic ending to a great deer hunting story....
Ike skinned and processed the deer himself and is doing his own European Mount!!
Let the moral of this story be to "Never Give Up Hope"- after all it was Ike's wife Hope who encouraged him through a text message to rattle that final time!
Every hunters definition of a trophy deer is different, but we can all agree that the first nice buck of our hunting career is a trophy we will always cherish.
Ike Logan of Bridgewater, Virginia took the first deer of his hunting career in 2008 at the age of 39, little did he know what shooting that doe would do to him. Over the following 4 years up until 2013, Ike had managed to harvest 2 more does, one of which he took with a bow as well as taking a 6 pointer in 2012 with his TC bone collector muzzleloader.
Going into the 2013 hunting season Ike has become a more confident and disciplined hunter. He sat up some trail camera's on his family farm in Mount Crawford, Vrginia and has been taking some inventory as well as focusing on trying to take a more mature deer. During the October bow season Ike passed on smaller, immature bucks and began adapting some true deer management skills.
THE HUNT
On opening day of the 2013 Muzzleloading season Ike postioned himself in a treestand some 30 yards off a big field just inside the wood line on his families farm property. He witnessed lots of doe activity in the field and was fairly certain that there were bucks moving in and out of the far wood line pushing the does so he decided to sit till 11am.
The morning action peaked Ike's desire to get back in the woods and he again took the same stand at 2pm. At 3pm he spotted a lone doe but nothing else. At 5:15 he decided to use his Knight & Hale pack rack to try and spark some action himself. Within 30 seconds of Ike hitting the pack rack a 4pnt buck emerged out of the woods along with a spike and another 4pnt buck.
Ike decided he would remain quiet and see what unfolds. The two 4pnt bucks began sparring as the spike looked on. The time was 5:45 pm (primetime) and a nice 8pnt buck walked out and all the other deer took notice. Ike decided again to rattle several times, and although the 8pnt looked his way he remained with all the other deer. Shortly after 6pm all the deer cleared the field and moved back into the woods.
At that point Ike conceeded that it had at least been an eventful opening day. He began preparing to get out of his stand when he spotted a doe with her 2 offspring walking toward him so again he got ready. Moments later the 8pnt came back out of the woods and gave chase. All the deer were about 80 yards away at that point and Ike decided he would take the first good shot he had at the 8pnt buck.
Last light presented Ike with a 80yard broadside shot, he squeezed the trigger, smoke rolled and as Ike lowered the gun he saw the buck bolt back into the woods but didn't hear him crash. Ike couldn't decide whether to back out or pursue the buck. His desire carried him to where he had shot the buck but he saw no blood. Darkness had fallen by now so Ike continued on by way of flahlight to where he thought the buck had gone into the woods and he found himself on a gametrail. With no tracking experience to rely on and no white belly visible, Ike thought the deer was gone.
About that time he happened upon the first spots of blood but the blood stopped after 20 yards. Ike continued on when he heard something running through the woods. Now his hope was fading fast and he was sure he had jumped the buck up.
Not knowing what to do and feeling hopeless he decided to call in some back up. Ike called his lifelong friend Kevin Fulk who was hunting another piece of property about 20 minutes away. By the time Kevin showed up Ike's father Jim had also joined the search team. Kevin having some experience with tracking got Ike to lead him to where he last saw blood and Kevin reassured his friend that they would find this buck.
The search party decided to spread out using flashlights and it's not long until Kevin picked up some more blood. They found that after being jumped up the buck went back across the field some 300 yards to the far woodline. Once in the far woods they came to a hollow and stopped. They began panning the woods for sign of the buck because the blood trail had become heavier and they felt he was close. All of the sudden they saw eyes. The buck was laying down with his head up looking at them. The party started to talk strategy when the buck sprung to it's feet and went up and over a bank and they heard it crash into the river.
The search parties hearts collectively sunk at that point. This is the North River, some 50 yards wide and about 5.5 feet deep where the buck entered. The three men followed up an over the bank to where the buck entered the river and they all threw a flashlight beam of hope across the way and couldn't believe what they saw, the buck layed on the far bank in the water, again with a raised head looking back at them.
The three men decided to shut off their lights and wait it out. After a solid 20 minutes they threw a light back across the river and low and behold the animal had finally expired. Now how to get to him, without hesitation Ike stripped down to his underwear and waded/swam across the dark chilled river and retrieved the buck and brought him back across.
What a great dramatic ending to a great deer hunting story....
Ike skinned and processed the deer himself and is doing his own European Mount!!
Let the moral of this story be to "Never Give Up Hope"- after all it was Ike's wife Hope who encouraged him through a text message to rattle that final time!
