7 Photos
It’s easy to get caught up in the “latest and greatest” hunting hype, whether it be the fastest bow, sharpest expandable broadhead, cutting edge camo pattern, newest HD hunting show, and even letting all the smaller bucks get a pass. These are things that have been introduced into today’s hunting scene, but can also serve as detractants from our pure love and enjoyment of the hunt itself.
That’s exactly what happened to Wayne Dixon of Carroll County Virginia. Wayne has hunted our Southwest Virginia Mountains for many decades, but after his 2018 season he was left unfulfilled chasing the biggest bucks and paying too much attention to the things that took away from what lead him to hunt in the first place.
Wayne made the decision to return to his roots and in his own words “Put the hunt back into hunting”.
His choice of weapon going forward would be a traditional bow and arrow like the ones he began his hunting passion with in the 70’s. This choice of weapon brings along many more variables than does our modern equipment. A traditional bow requires hours of practice to allow muscle memory to take hold, and an ethical harvest shot typically doesn’t reach a distance that exceeds 25 yards. That being said another lost art of today's hunting also plays a major role in traditional bow hunting, and that is “scouting”, in order to pinpoint stand placement.
Wayne began his daily regimen of arrow shooting with his longbow in March of 2019 which continued consistently up till bow season. He also began scouting 3 properties he had permission to hunt in Floyd County in the late summer. Typically, behind every good hunter you will find a supportive and involved wife. This is just the case here as Wayne’s wife Shelby would often target shoot and scout alongside him.
To their surprise these scouting trips turned up a ton of sign, just not the sign they would have expected. On each property they found a ton of bear sign, so much so that Wayne now decided to forego deer hunting and match his skills against the animal with the most robust sense of smell on the planet this upcoming fall. To add to this challenge, in all of his years in the woods he was yet to harvest a bear.
As I mentioned at the outset, Wayne wanted to rekindle his early hunting day experience and feelings. Not only was his weapon of the primitive type, he also made no use of trail camera’s, and his clothing consisted of an insulated flannel shirt, wrangler insulated camo pants from Walmart and a baseball cap. He used no artificial scent control, and a lone wolf climber strapped to his back to perch himself in a vantage point.
As the opening day of bow season quickly approached Wayne felt that he was very prepared and his prior scouting sessions determined that afternoon hunting was going to provide him a better chance at harvesting a bear. He believed the bear were traveling from a core bedding area to food in the evening and he would sneak in early and climb accordingly.
The morning of October 5, 2019 dawned and Wayne couldn’t wait to get into the woods, he shot his bow a bit in the morning then headed out mid-day to the property that held the most sign. Checking the wind just prior to entering the woods he slowly began to approach the place where he would climb with the wind in his favor.
The action on that first set was fairly uneventful other than a few squirrels mingling, but just as the sun began to descend behind the mountains the laurel thickets nearby began to come alive. Just like that, the biggest bear Wayne had ever seen appeared broadsided at 30 yards, but knowing that was beyond his ethical shot distance he passed the bear and simply sat in amazement. Darkness sat in and he climbed down and drove home to share the excitement with Shelby.
The next evening played out exactly the same. He chose the same property and tree and like clockwork the Floyd County bruin appeared, but again out of traditional bow range.
Like most of us part-time hunters, we work full time and that had Wayne’s days occupied until the following Saturday. Again, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to go to the same property, but this time he would move his stand closer to where the bear had crossed twice. As fate had it, the sun faded and the laurels lit up. This time the bear would indeed be within Wayne’s bow range but just as that hope sat in, the big bears since of mortality kicked in and he picked up the hunters' scent most likely and skirted the area leaving Wayne stunned but in appreciation.
Let's fast forward to the October 19, the 3rd Saturday of the bow season. Wayne decided during the prior week that he would try one of the additional properties that had plenty of good bear sign, as well as yielding oak and hickory trees. As with any traditional bow hunter the wind plays the most significant role, and he approached an oak/hickory flat bench on the side of the mountain that would allow him to hopefully utilize the thermals and wind direction and avoid detection of any animal seeking to feed in that area. His earlier scouting visits to this area turned up lots of bear scat and tracks.
By 1pm Wayne was perched 12ft above the forest floor. The falling mast around him filled him with excitement, in anticipation of what may come in the next few hours. On this hunt he carried along a doe bleat call to use intermittently in hopes of attracting a mature bear seeking easy prey. The consistent noise of falling acorns almost lulled Wayne to sleep when late in the afternoon a decent buck showed up.
Now his hunting instincts kicked in, and although his total focus had been on taking his first bear, Wayne was now considering the deployment of an arrow the buck's way if he came into his 20-yard air space. The buck continued feeding for a long period of time, but remained out of bow range. Then the buck turned its attention to the something other than feeding as it locked its line of sight back into the woods from which it had come.
Wayne turned his attention to that same arear and before long he saw what appeared to be a black cow moving through the woods. As the black object came to an opening about 70 yards away, he could tell now that it was a large bear.
Wayne told me “It looked like a Volkswagen with feet”........
The buck turned and bolted and the wobbly walking bruin started closing the distance between him and the hunter. Although there were lots of yielding oaks, the bear was b-lined for a hickory tree that Wayne was fortunately close to. Wayne was now fighting “bear fever” for the first time in his 40 plus years of hunting, and now the moment of truth was here as the bear was just 15-yards away. Wayne drew, anchored and instinctively released an arrow that appeared to hit perfectly behind the front shoulder. The massive animal turned and bound quickly into thicker cover out of sight and crashed, but never providing that death moan that so many successful bear hunter's report.
It was now 6:15pm and darkness was nearing. Wayne phoned his wife to report the events, then climbed down and immediately picked up a great blood trail. He nocked an arrow and followed the trail very slowly while watching ahead. After about 75-yards of traversing he came upon the bear laying in the leaves facing toward him. The bear sensed Wayne’s presence and raised its head slowly. Wayne released a second arrow into the bears exposed chest and it buried all the way to the feathers.
What took place next I don’t think any hunter could truly be prepared for.......
The huge bear let out a loud roar and lunged toward Wayne. Fight or flight took place and the amazed hunter turned and ran straight up the mountain till he couldn’t hear the injured bear following any longer. When he turned back, he could see the bear gingerly heading down the mountainside.
As I was listening to Wayne retell this insane chain of events, I had to stop him and ask him “what were his exact emotions?”
He told me “I was as nervous as a dog pooping a peach seed”, and as I laughed at this expression, I found it very applicable to what had just taken place.
He now sat in total darkness regaining his composure and trying to come up with the best plan. To him it seemed that now with time having passed and a second arrow sunk into the bear, the animal had to have expired. With the aid of his flashlight and only a wooden bow and arrow as protection he sat out again on the blood trail that he was able to locate some 50-yards from where the bear was last seen.
Wayne covered several hundred yards this time until his flashlight revealed that the bear had now traveled onto an adjoining property owners land, but he could see the bear and it was still moving around a bit.
Wayne was now presented with several more decisions. Without hesitation he retreated to where his stand was located, grabbed it and went back to his vehicle and drove the 8 miles to his current residence in Floyd County and discussed everything with his wife.
At approximately 9:20 pm he and Shelby drove to the landowner's home and Wayne went to the door, knocked and explained the situation. As fortune would have it the landowner was tremendously hospitable and was amazed by the story and even offered to help. Wayne told him he would prefer that they give it another few hours, and he would return and try yet again. The property owner gave the thumbs up and said just knock when you return and that he would help assist in the recovery.
Wayne returned home, grilled a steak and anxiously waited for several hours to pass. At 11 pm Wayne returned, and he and the property owner took a side by side 4-wheeler to the sight where the bear was last laying. Again, the bears will to survive allowed it to get to its feet and run into thick cover, the bear only made it a short distance before crashing hard once again.
They waited a short time and heard no more movement, so they went and got the property owners tractor and returned to find the bear expired in thick cover. It took some elbow grease, straps and the tractor bucket, but by 1 am the giant Virginia bear had been recovered.
To be able to relive and cover the stories I have alongside these Virginia hunters over the years is a tremendous blessing that God has bestowed upon me, and this amazing story might be the most thrilling to date!
I want to congratulate Wayne Dixon on a hunt of a lifetime from all aspects, and a story I will never forget😊!
His Floyd County bear has State record potential scoring 20 3/16 in both Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett, and its live weight was 450 lbs.
Some key notes:
*Bow used-Medora(made by Sauk Trail Archery) 56 AMO 50# @ 28”
*Arrows used- Gold Tip Traditional 400 spine, 125 gr Ozcut broadheads
*EFA Quiver
*Pocket knife
*Flashlight
*Windictaor odorless powder
*Grunt call, bleat
*Lone wolf climber
*Great desire
*The bear that Wayne had several close encounters with on his first 2 bow hunts was killed during rifle season and weighed 525 lbs.
Jeff Phillips
2/1/2020
It’s easy to get caught up in the “latest and greatest” hunting hype, whether it be the fastest bow, sharpest expandable broadhead, cutting edge camo pattern, newest HD hunting show, and even letting all the smaller bucks get a pass. These are things that have been introduced into today’s hunting scene, but can also serve as detractants from our pure love and enjoyment of the hunt itself.
That’s exactly what happened to Wayne Dixon of Carroll County Virginia. Wayne has hunted our Southwest Virginia Mountains for many decades, but after his 2018 season he was left unfulfilled chasing the biggest bucks and paying too much attention to the things that took away from what lead him to hunt in the first place.
Wayne made the decision to return to his roots and in his own words “Put the hunt back into hunting”.
His choice of weapon going forward would be a traditional bow and arrow like the ones he began his hunting passion with in the 70’s. This choice of weapon brings along many more variables than does our modern equipment. A traditional bow requires hours of practice to allow muscle memory to take hold, and an ethical harvest shot typically doesn’t reach a distance that exceeds 25 yards. That being said another lost art of today's hunting also plays a major role in traditional bow hunting, and that is “scouting”, in order to pinpoint stand placement.
Wayne began his daily regimen of arrow shooting with his longbow in March of 2019 which continued consistently up till bow season. He also began scouting 3 properties he had permission to hunt in Floyd County in the late summer. Typically, behind every good hunter you will find a supportive and involved wife. This is just the case here as Wayne’s wife Shelby would often target shoot and scout alongside him.
To their surprise these scouting trips turned up a ton of sign, just not the sign they would have expected. On each property they found a ton of bear sign, so much so that Wayne now decided to forego deer hunting and match his skills against the animal with the most robust sense of smell on the planet this upcoming fall. To add to this challenge, in all of his years in the woods he was yet to harvest a bear.
As I mentioned at the outset, Wayne wanted to rekindle his early hunting day experience and feelings. Not only was his weapon of the primitive type, he also made no use of trail camera’s, and his clothing consisted of an insulated flannel shirt, wrangler insulated camo pants from Walmart and a baseball cap. He used no artificial scent control, and a lone wolf climber strapped to his back to perch himself in a vantage point.
As the opening day of bow season quickly approached Wayne felt that he was very prepared and his prior scouting sessions determined that afternoon hunting was going to provide him a better chance at harvesting a bear. He believed the bear were traveling from a core bedding area to food in the evening and he would sneak in early and climb accordingly.
The morning of October 5, 2019 dawned and Wayne couldn’t wait to get into the woods, he shot his bow a bit in the morning then headed out mid-day to the property that held the most sign. Checking the wind just prior to entering the woods he slowly began to approach the place where he would climb with the wind in his favor.
The action on that first set was fairly uneventful other than a few squirrels mingling, but just as the sun began to descend behind the mountains the laurel thickets nearby began to come alive. Just like that, the biggest bear Wayne had ever seen appeared broadsided at 30 yards, but knowing that was beyond his ethical shot distance he passed the bear and simply sat in amazement. Darkness sat in and he climbed down and drove home to share the excitement with Shelby.
The next evening played out exactly the same. He chose the same property and tree and like clockwork the Floyd County bruin appeared, but again out of traditional bow range.
Like most of us part-time hunters, we work full time and that had Wayne’s days occupied until the following Saturday. Again, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to go to the same property, but this time he would move his stand closer to where the bear had crossed twice. As fate had it, the sun faded and the laurels lit up. This time the bear would indeed be within Wayne’s bow range but just as that hope sat in, the big bears since of mortality kicked in and he picked up the hunters' scent most likely and skirted the area leaving Wayne stunned but in appreciation.
Let's fast forward to the October 19, the 3rd Saturday of the bow season. Wayne decided during the prior week that he would try one of the additional properties that had plenty of good bear sign, as well as yielding oak and hickory trees. As with any traditional bow hunter the wind plays the most significant role, and he approached an oak/hickory flat bench on the side of the mountain that would allow him to hopefully utilize the thermals and wind direction and avoid detection of any animal seeking to feed in that area. His earlier scouting visits to this area turned up lots of bear scat and tracks.
By 1pm Wayne was perched 12ft above the forest floor. The falling mast around him filled him with excitement, in anticipation of what may come in the next few hours. On this hunt he carried along a doe bleat call to use intermittently in hopes of attracting a mature bear seeking easy prey. The consistent noise of falling acorns almost lulled Wayne to sleep when late in the afternoon a decent buck showed up.
Now his hunting instincts kicked in, and although his total focus had been on taking his first bear, Wayne was now considering the deployment of an arrow the buck's way if he came into his 20-yard air space. The buck continued feeding for a long period of time, but remained out of bow range. Then the buck turned its attention to the something other than feeding as it locked its line of sight back into the woods from which it had come.
Wayne turned his attention to that same arear and before long he saw what appeared to be a black cow moving through the woods. As the black object came to an opening about 70 yards away, he could tell now that it was a large bear.
Wayne told me “It looked like a Volkswagen with feet”........
The buck turned and bolted and the wobbly walking bruin started closing the distance between him and the hunter. Although there were lots of yielding oaks, the bear was b-lined for a hickory tree that Wayne was fortunately close to. Wayne was now fighting “bear fever” for the first time in his 40 plus years of hunting, and now the moment of truth was here as the bear was just 15-yards away. Wayne drew, anchored and instinctively released an arrow that appeared to hit perfectly behind the front shoulder. The massive animal turned and bound quickly into thicker cover out of sight and crashed, but never providing that death moan that so many successful bear hunter's report.
It was now 6:15pm and darkness was nearing. Wayne phoned his wife to report the events, then climbed down and immediately picked up a great blood trail. He nocked an arrow and followed the trail very slowly while watching ahead. After about 75-yards of traversing he came upon the bear laying in the leaves facing toward him. The bear sensed Wayne’s presence and raised its head slowly. Wayne released a second arrow into the bears exposed chest and it buried all the way to the feathers.
What took place next I don’t think any hunter could truly be prepared for.......
The huge bear let out a loud roar and lunged toward Wayne. Fight or flight took place and the amazed hunter turned and ran straight up the mountain till he couldn’t hear the injured bear following any longer. When he turned back, he could see the bear gingerly heading down the mountainside.
As I was listening to Wayne retell this insane chain of events, I had to stop him and ask him “what were his exact emotions?”
He told me “I was as nervous as a dog pooping a peach seed”, and as I laughed at this expression, I found it very applicable to what had just taken place.
He now sat in total darkness regaining his composure and trying to come up with the best plan. To him it seemed that now with time having passed and a second arrow sunk into the bear, the animal had to have expired. With the aid of his flashlight and only a wooden bow and arrow as protection he sat out again on the blood trail that he was able to locate some 50-yards from where the bear was last seen.
Wayne covered several hundred yards this time until his flashlight revealed that the bear had now traveled onto an adjoining property owners land, but he could see the bear and it was still moving around a bit.
Wayne was now presented with several more decisions. Without hesitation he retreated to where his stand was located, grabbed it and went back to his vehicle and drove the 8 miles to his current residence in Floyd County and discussed everything with his wife.
At approximately 9:20 pm he and Shelby drove to the landowner's home and Wayne went to the door, knocked and explained the situation. As fortune would have it the landowner was tremendously hospitable and was amazed by the story and even offered to help. Wayne told him he would prefer that they give it another few hours, and he would return and try yet again. The property owner gave the thumbs up and said just knock when you return and that he would help assist in the recovery.
Wayne returned home, grilled a steak and anxiously waited for several hours to pass. At 11 pm Wayne returned, and he and the property owner took a side by side 4-wheeler to the sight where the bear was last laying. Again, the bears will to survive allowed it to get to its feet and run into thick cover, the bear only made it a short distance before crashing hard once again.
They waited a short time and heard no more movement, so they went and got the property owners tractor and returned to find the bear expired in thick cover. It took some elbow grease, straps and the tractor bucket, but by 1 am the giant Virginia bear had been recovered.
To be able to relive and cover the stories I have alongside these Virginia hunters over the years is a tremendous blessing that God has bestowed upon me, and this amazing story might be the most thrilling to date!
I want to congratulate Wayne Dixon on a hunt of a lifetime from all aspects, and a story I will never forget😊!
His Floyd County bear has State record potential scoring 20 3/16 in both Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett, and its live weight was 450 lbs.
Some key notes:
*Bow used-Medora(made by Sauk Trail Archery) 56 AMO 50# @ 28”
*Arrows used- Gold Tip Traditional 400 spine, 125 gr Ozcut broadheads
*EFA Quiver
*Pocket knife
*Flashlight
*Windictaor odorless powder
*Grunt call, bleat
*Lone wolf climber
*Great desire
*The bear that Wayne had several close encounters with on his first 2 bow hunts was killed during rifle season and weighed 525 lbs.
Jeff Phillips
2/1/2020
It’s easy to get caught up in the “latest and greatest” hunting hype, whether it be the fastest bow, sharpest expandable broadhead, cutting edge camo pattern, newest HD hunting show, and even letting all the smaller bucks get a pass. These are things that have been introduced into today’s hunting scene, but can also serve as detractants from our pure love and enjoyment of the hunt itself.
That’s exactly what happened to Wayne Dixon of Carroll County Virginia. Wayne has hunted our Southwest Virginia Mountains for many decades, but after his 2018 season he was left unfulfilled chasing the biggest bucks and paying too much attention to the things that took away from what lead him to hunt in the first place.
Wayne made the decision to return to his roots and in his own words “Put the hunt back into hunting”.
His choice of weapon going forward would be a traditional bow and arrow like the ones he began his hunting passion with in the 70’s. This choice of weapon brings along many more variables than does our modern equipment. A traditional bow requires hours of practice to allow muscle memory to take hold, and an ethical harvest shot typically doesn’t reach a distance that exceeds 25 yards. That being said another lost art of today's hunting also plays a major role in traditional bow hunting, and that is “scouting”, in order to pinpoint stand placement.
Wayne began his daily regimen of arrow shooting with his longbow in March of 2019 which continued consistently up till bow season. He also began scouting 3 properties he had permission to hunt in Floyd County in the late summer. Typically, behind every good hunter you will find a supportive and involved wife. This is just the case here as Wayne’s wife Shelby would often target shoot and scout alongside him.
To their surprise these scouting trips turned up a ton of sign, just not the sign they would have expected. On each property they found a ton of bear sign, so much so that Wayne now decided to forego deer hunting and match his skills against the animal with the most robust sense of smell on the planet this upcoming fall. To add to this challenge, in all of his years in the woods he was yet to harvest a bear.
As I mentioned at the outset, Wayne wanted to rekindle his early hunting day experience and feelings. Not only was his weapon of the primitive type, he also made no use of trail camera’s, and his clothing consisted of an insulated flannel shirt, wrangler insulated camo pants from Walmart and a baseball cap. He used no artificial scent control, and a lone wolf climber strapped to his back to perch himself in a vantage point.
As the opening day of bow season quickly approached Wayne felt that he was very prepared and his prior scouting sessions determined that afternoon hunting was going to provide him a better chance at harvesting a bear. He believed the bear were traveling from a core bedding area to food in the evening and he would sneak in early and climb accordingly.
The morning of October 5, 2019 dawned and Wayne couldn’t wait to get into the woods, he shot his bow a bit in the morning then headed out mid-day to the property that held the most sign. Checking the wind just prior to entering the woods he slowly began to approach the place where he would climb with the wind in his favor.
The action on that first set was fairly uneventful other than a few squirrels mingling, but just as the sun began to descend behind the mountains the laurel thickets nearby began to come alive. Just like that, the biggest bear Wayne had ever seen appeared broadsided at 30 yards, but knowing that was beyond his ethical shot distance he passed the bear and simply sat in amazement. Darkness sat in and he climbed down and drove home to share the excitement with Shelby.
The next evening played out exactly the same. He chose the same property and tree and like clockwork the Floyd County bruin appeared, but again out of traditional bow range.
Like most of us part-time hunters, we work full time and that had Wayne’s days occupied until the following Saturday. Again, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to go to the same property, but this time he would move his stand closer to where the bear had crossed twice. As fate had it, the sun faded and the laurels lit up. This time the bear would indeed be within Wayne’s bow range but just as that hope sat in, the big bears since of mortality kicked in and he picked up the hunters' scent most likely and skirted the area leaving Wayne stunned but in appreciation.
Let's fast forward to the October 19, the 3rd Saturday of the bow season. Wayne decided during the prior week that he would try one of the additional properties that had plenty of good bear sign, as well as yielding oak and hickory trees. As with any traditional bow hunter the wind plays the most significant role, and he approached an oak/hickory flat bench on the side of the mountain that would allow him to hopefully utilize the thermals and wind direction and avoid detection of any animal seeking to feed in that area. His earlier scouting visits to this area turned up lots of bear scat and tracks.
By 1pm Wayne was perched 12ft above the forest floor. The falling mast around him filled him with excitement, in anticipation of what may come in the next few hours. On this hunt he carried along a doe bleat call to use intermittently in hopes of attracting a mature bear seeking easy prey. The consistent noise of falling acorns almost lulled Wayne to sleep when late in the afternoon a decent buck showed up.
Now his hunting instincts kicked in, and although his total focus had been on taking his first bear, Wayne was now considering the deployment of an arrow the buck's way if he came into his 20-yard air space. The buck continued feeding for a long period of time, but remained out of bow range. Then the buck turned its attention to the something other than feeding as it locked its line of sight back into the woods from which it had come.
Wayne turned his attention to that same arear and before long he saw what appeared to be a black cow moving through the woods. As the black object came to an opening about 70 yards away, he could tell now that it was a large bear.
Wayne told me “It looked like a Volkswagen with feet”........
The buck turned and bolted and the wobbly walking bruin started closing the distance between him and the hunter. Although there were lots of yielding oaks, the bear was b-lined for a hickory tree that Wayne was fortunately close to. Wayne was now fighting “bear fever” for the first time in his 40 plus years of hunting, and now the moment of truth was here as the bear was just 15-yards away. Wayne drew, anchored and instinctively released an arrow that appeared to hit perfectly behind the front shoulder. The massive animal turned and bound quickly into thicker cover out of sight and crashed, but never providing that death moan that so many successful bear hunter's report.
It was now 6:15pm and darkness was nearing. Wayne phoned his wife to report the events, then climbed down and immediately picked up a great blood trail. He nocked an arrow and followed the trail very slowly while watching ahead. After about 75-yards of traversing he came upon the bear laying in the leaves facing toward him. The bear sensed Wayne’s presence and raised its head slowly. Wayne released a second arrow into the bears exposed chest and it buried all the way to the feathers.
What took place next I don’t think any hunter could truly be prepared for.......
The huge bear let out a loud roar and lunged toward Wayne. Fight or flight took place and the amazed hunter turned and ran straight up the mountain till he couldn’t hear the injured bear following any longer. When he turned back, he could see the bear gingerly heading down the mountainside.
As I was listening to Wayne retell this insane chain of events, I had to stop him and ask him “what were his exact emotions?”
He told me “I was as nervous as a dog pooping a peach seed”, and as I laughed at this expression, I found it very applicable to what had just taken place.
He now sat in total darkness regaining his composure and trying to come up with the best plan. To him it seemed that now with time having passed and a second arrow sunk into the bear, the animal had to have expired. With the aid of his flashlight and only a wooden bow and arrow as protection he sat out again on the blood trail that he was able to locate some 50-yards from where the bear was last seen.
Wayne covered several hundred yards this time until his flashlight revealed that the bear had now traveled onto an adjoining property owners land, but he could see the bear and it was still moving around a bit.
Wayne was now presented with several more decisions. Without hesitation he retreated to where his stand was located, grabbed it and went back to his vehicle and drove the 8 miles to his current residence in Floyd County and discussed everything with his wife.
At approximately 9:20 pm he and Shelby drove to the landowner's home and Wayne went to the door, knocked and explained the situation. As fortune would have it the landowner was tremendously hospitable and was amazed by the story and even offered to help. Wayne told him he would prefer that they give it another few hours, and he would return and try yet again. The property owner gave the thumbs up and said just knock when you return and that he would help assist in the recovery.
Wayne returned home, grilled a steak and anxiously waited for several hours to pass. At 11 pm Wayne returned, and he and the property owner took a side by side 4-wheeler to the sight where the bear was last laying. Again, the bears will to survive allowed it to get to its feet and run into thick cover, the bear only made it a short distance before crashing hard once again.
They waited a short time and heard no more movement, so they went and got the property owners tractor and returned to find the bear expired in thick cover. It took some elbow grease, straps and the tractor bucket, but by 1 am the giant Virginia bear had been recovered.
To be able to relive and cover the stories I have alongside these Virginia hunters over the years is a tremendous blessing that God has bestowed upon me, and this amazing story might be the most thrilling to date!
I want to congratulate Wayne Dixon on a hunt of a lifetime from all aspects, and a story I will never forget😊!
His Floyd County bear has State record potential scoring 20 3/16 in both Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett, and its live weight was 450 lbs.
Some key notes:
*Bow used-Medora(made by Sauk Trail Archery) 56 AMO 50# @ 28”
*Arrows used- Gold Tip Traditional 400 spine, 125 gr Ozcut broadheads
*EFA Quiver
*Pocket knife
*Flashlight
*Windictaor odorless powder
*Grunt call, bleat
*Lone wolf climber
*Great desire
*The bear that Wayne had several close encounters with on his first 2 bow hunts was killed during rifle season and weighed 525 lbs.
Jeff Phillips
2/1/2020
It’s easy to get caught up in the “latest and greatest” hunting hype, whether it be the fastest bow, sharpest expandable broadhead, cutting edge camo pattern, newest HD hunting show, and even letting all the smaller bucks get a pass. These are things that have been introduced into today’s hunting scene, but can also serve as detractants from our pure love and enjoyment of the hunt itself.
That’s exactly what happened to Wayne Dixon of Carroll County Virginia. Wayne has hunted our Southwest Virginia Mountains for many decades, but after his 2018 season he was left unfulfilled chasing the biggest bucks and paying too much attention to the things that took away from what lead him to hunt in the first place.
Wayne made the decision to return to his roots and in his own words “Put the hunt back into hunting”.
His choice of weapon going forward would be a traditional bow and arrow like the ones he began his hunting passion with in the 70’s. This choice of weapon brings along many more variables than does our modern equipment. A traditional bow requires hours of practice to allow muscle memory to take hold, and an ethical harvest shot typically doesn’t reach a distance that exceeds 25 yards. That being said another lost art of today's hunting also plays a major role in traditional bow hunting, and that is “scouting”, in order to pinpoint stand placement.
Wayne began his daily regimen of arrow shooting with his longbow in March of 2019 which continued consistently up till bow season. He also began scouting 3 properties he had permission to hunt in Floyd County in the late summer. Typically, behind every good hunter you will find a supportive and involved wife. This is just the case here as Wayne’s wife Shelby would often target shoot and scout alongside him.
To their surprise these scouting trips turned up a ton of sign, just not the sign they would have expected. On each property they found a ton of bear sign, so much so that Wayne now decided to forego deer hunting and match his skills against the animal with the most robust sense of smell on the planet this upcoming fall. To add to this challenge, in all of his years in the woods he was yet to harvest a bear.
As I mentioned at the outset, Wayne wanted to rekindle his early hunting day experience and feelings. Not only was his weapon of the primitive type, he also made no use of trail camera’s, and his clothing consisted of an insulated flannel shirt, wrangler insulated camo pants from Walmart and a baseball cap. He used no artificial scent control, and a lone wolf climber strapped to his back to perch himself in a vantage point.
As the opening day of bow season quickly approached Wayne felt that he was very prepared and his prior scouting sessions determined that afternoon hunting was going to provide him a better chance at harvesting a bear. He believed the bear were traveling from a core bedding area to food in the evening and he would sneak in early and climb accordingly.
The morning of October 5, 2019 dawned and Wayne couldn’t wait to get into the woods, he shot his bow a bit in the morning then headed out mid-day to the property that held the most sign. Checking the wind just prior to entering the woods he slowly began to approach the place where he would climb with the wind in his favor.
The action on that first set was fairly uneventful other than a few squirrels mingling, but just as the sun began to descend behind the mountains the laurel thickets nearby began to come alive. Just like that, the biggest bear Wayne had ever seen appeared broadsided at 30 yards, but knowing that was beyond his ethical shot distance he passed the bear and simply sat in amazement. Darkness sat in and he climbed down and drove home to share the excitement with Shelby.
The next evening played out exactly the same. He chose the same property and tree and like clockwork the Floyd County bruin appeared, but again out of traditional bow range.
Like most of us part-time hunters, we work full time and that had Wayne’s days occupied until the following Saturday. Again, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to go to the same property, but this time he would move his stand closer to where the bear had crossed twice. As fate had it, the sun faded and the laurels lit up. This time the bear would indeed be within Wayne’s bow range but just as that hope sat in, the big bears since of mortality kicked in and he picked up the hunters' scent most likely and skirted the area leaving Wayne stunned but in appreciation.
Let's fast forward to the October 19, the 3rd Saturday of the bow season. Wayne decided during the prior week that he would try one of the additional properties that had plenty of good bear sign, as well as yielding oak and hickory trees. As with any traditional bow hunter the wind plays the most significant role, and he approached an oak/hickory flat bench on the side of the mountain that would allow him to hopefully utilize the thermals and wind direction and avoid detection of any animal seeking to feed in that area. His earlier scouting visits to this area turned up lots of bear scat and tracks.
By 1pm Wayne was perched 12ft above the forest floor. The falling mast around him filled him with excitement, in anticipation of what may come in the next few hours. On this hunt he carried along a doe bleat call to use intermittently in hopes of attracting a mature bear seeking easy prey. The consistent noise of falling acorns almost lulled Wayne to sleep when late in the afternoon a decent buck showed up.
Now his hunting instincts kicked in, and although his total focus had been on taking his first bear, Wayne was now considering the deployment of an arrow the buck's way if he came into his 20-yard air space. The buck continued feeding for a long period of time, but remained out of bow range. Then the buck turned its attention to the something other than feeding as it locked its line of sight back into the woods from which it had come.
Wayne turned his attention to that same arear and before long he saw what appeared to be a black cow moving through the woods. As the black object came to an opening about 70 yards away, he could tell now that it was a large bear.
Wayne told me “It looked like a Volkswagen with feet”........
The buck turned and bolted and the wobbly walking bruin started closing the distance between him and the hunter. Although there were lots of yielding oaks, the bear was b-lined for a hickory tree that Wayne was fortunately close to. Wayne was now fighting “bear fever” for the first time in his 40 plus years of hunting, and now the moment of truth was here as the bear was just 15-yards away. Wayne drew, anchored and instinctively released an arrow that appeared to hit perfectly behind the front shoulder. The massive animal turned and bound quickly into thicker cover out of sight and crashed, but never providing that death moan that so many successful bear hunter's report.
It was now 6:15pm and darkness was nearing. Wayne phoned his wife to report the events, then climbed down and immediately picked up a great blood trail. He nocked an arrow and followed the trail very slowly while watching ahead. After about 75-yards of traversing he came upon the bear laying in the leaves facing toward him. The bear sensed Wayne’s presence and raised its head slowly. Wayne released a second arrow into the bears exposed chest and it buried all the way to the feathers.
What took place next I don’t think any hunter could truly be prepared for.......
The huge bear let out a loud roar and lunged toward Wayne. Fight or flight took place and the amazed hunter turned and ran straight up the mountain till he couldn’t hear the injured bear following any longer. When he turned back, he could see the bear gingerly heading down the mountainside.
As I was listening to Wayne retell this insane chain of events, I had to stop him and ask him “what were his exact emotions?”
He told me “I was as nervous as a dog pooping a peach seed”, and as I laughed at this expression, I found it very applicable to what had just taken place.
He now sat in total darkness regaining his composure and trying to come up with the best plan. To him it seemed that now with time having passed and a second arrow sunk into the bear, the animal had to have expired. With the aid of his flashlight and only a wooden bow and arrow as protection he sat out again on the blood trail that he was able to locate some 50-yards from where the bear was last seen.
Wayne covered several hundred yards this time until his flashlight revealed that the bear had now traveled onto an adjoining property owners land, but he could see the bear and it was still moving around a bit.
Wayne was now presented with several more decisions. Without hesitation he retreated to where his stand was located, grabbed it and went back to his vehicle and drove the 8 miles to his current residence in Floyd County and discussed everything with his wife.
At approximately 9:20 pm he and Shelby drove to the landowner's home and Wayne went to the door, knocked and explained the situation. As fortune would have it the landowner was tremendously hospitable and was amazed by the story and even offered to help. Wayne told him he would prefer that they give it another few hours, and he would return and try yet again. The property owner gave the thumbs up and said just knock when you return and that he would help assist in the recovery.
Wayne returned home, grilled a steak and anxiously waited for several hours to pass. At 11 pm Wayne returned, and he and the property owner took a side by side 4-wheeler to the sight where the bear was last laying. Again, the bears will to survive allowed it to get to its feet and run into thick cover, the bear only made it a short distance before crashing hard once again.
They waited a short time and heard no more movement, so they went and got the property owners tractor and returned to find the bear expired in thick cover. It took some elbow grease, straps and the tractor bucket, but by 1 am the giant Virginia bear had been recovered.
To be able to relive and cover the stories I have alongside these Virginia hunters over the years is a tremendous blessing that God has bestowed upon me, and this amazing story might be the most thrilling to date!
I want to congratulate Wayne Dixon on a hunt of a lifetime from all aspects, and a story I will never forget😊!
His Floyd County bear has State record potential scoring 20 3/16 in both Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett, and its live weight was 450 lbs.
Some key notes:
*Bow used-Medora(made by Sauk Trail Archery) 56 AMO 50# @ 28”
*Arrows used- Gold Tip Traditional 400 spine, 125 gr Ozcut broadheads
*EFA Quiver
*Pocket knife
*Flashlight
*Windictaor odorless powder
*Grunt call, bleat
*Lone wolf climber
*Great desire
*The bear that Wayne had several close encounters with on his first 2 bow hunts was killed during rifle season and weighed 525 lbs.
Jeff Phillips
2/1/2020
It’s easy to get caught up in the “latest and greatest” hunting hype, whether it be the fastest bow, sharpest expandable broadhead, cutting edge camo pattern, newest HD hunting show, and even letting all the smaller bucks get a pass. These are things that have been introduced into today’s hunting scene, but can also serve as detractants from our pure love and enjoyment of the hunt itself.
That’s exactly what happened to Wayne Dixon of Carroll County Virginia. Wayne has hunted our Southwest Virginia Mountains for many decades, but after his 2018 season he was left unfulfilled chasing the biggest bucks and paying too much attention to the things that took away from what lead him to hunt in the first place.
Wayne made the decision to return to his roots and in his own words “Put the hunt back into hunting”.
His choice of weapon going forward would be a traditional bow and arrow like the ones he began his hunting passion with in the 70’s. This choice of weapon brings along many more variables than does our modern equipment. A traditional bow requires hours of practice to allow muscle memory to take hold, and an ethical harvest shot typically doesn’t reach a distance that exceeds 25 yards. That being said another lost art of today's hunting also plays a major role in traditional bow hunting, and that is “scouting”, in order to pinpoint stand placement.
Wayne began his daily regimen of arrow shooting with his longbow in March of 2019 which continued consistently up till bow season. He also began scouting 3 properties he had permission to hunt in Floyd County in the late summer. Typically, behind every good hunter you will find a supportive and involved wife. This is just the case here as Wayne’s wife Shelby would often target shoot and scout alongside him.
To their surprise these scouting trips turned up a ton of sign, just not the sign they would have expected. On each property they found a ton of bear sign, so much so that Wayne now decided to forego deer hunting and match his skills against the animal with the most robust sense of smell on the planet this upcoming fall. To add to this challenge, in all of his years in the woods he was yet to harvest a bear.
As I mentioned at the outset, Wayne wanted to rekindle his early hunting day experience and feelings. Not only was his weapon of the primitive type, he also made no use of trail camera’s, and his clothing consisted of an insulated flannel shirt, wrangler insulated camo pants from Walmart and a baseball cap. He used no artificial scent control, and a lone wolf climber strapped to his back to perch himself in a vantage point.
As the opening day of bow season quickly approached Wayne felt that he was very prepared and his prior scouting sessions determined that afternoon hunting was going to provide him a better chance at harvesting a bear. He believed the bear were traveling from a core bedding area to food in the evening and he would sneak in early and climb accordingly.
The morning of October 5, 2019 dawned and Wayne couldn’t wait to get into the woods, he shot his bow a bit in the morning then headed out mid-day to the property that held the most sign. Checking the wind just prior to entering the woods he slowly began to approach the place where he would climb with the wind in his favor.
The action on that first set was fairly uneventful other than a few squirrels mingling, but just as the sun began to descend behind the mountains the laurel thickets nearby began to come alive. Just like that, the biggest bear Wayne had ever seen appeared broadsided at 30 yards, but knowing that was beyond his ethical shot distance he passed the bear and simply sat in amazement. Darkness sat in and he climbed down and drove home to share the excitement with Shelby.
The next evening played out exactly the same. He chose the same property and tree and like clockwork the Floyd County bruin appeared, but again out of traditional bow range.
Like most of us part-time hunters, we work full time and that had Wayne’s days occupied until the following Saturday. Again, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to go to the same property, but this time he would move his stand closer to where the bear had crossed twice. As fate had it, the sun faded and the laurels lit up. This time the bear would indeed be within Wayne’s bow range but just as that hope sat in, the big bears since of mortality kicked in and he picked up the hunters' scent most likely and skirted the area leaving Wayne stunned but in appreciation.
Let's fast forward to the October 19, the 3rd Saturday of the bow season. Wayne decided during the prior week that he would try one of the additional properties that had plenty of good bear sign, as well as yielding oak and hickory trees. As with any traditional bow hunter the wind plays the most significant role, and he approached an oak/hickory flat bench on the side of the mountain that would allow him to hopefully utilize the thermals and wind direction and avoid detection of any animal seeking to feed in that area. His earlier scouting visits to this area turned up lots of bear scat and tracks.
By 1pm Wayne was perched 12ft above the forest floor. The falling mast around him filled him with excitement, in anticipation of what may come in the next few hours. On this hunt he carried along a doe bleat call to use intermittently in hopes of attracting a mature bear seeking easy prey. The consistent noise of falling acorns almost lulled Wayne to sleep when late in the afternoon a decent buck showed up.
Now his hunting instincts kicked in, and although his total focus had been on taking his first bear, Wayne was now considering the deployment of an arrow the buck's way if he came into his 20-yard air space. The buck continued feeding for a long period of time, but remained out of bow range. Then the buck turned its attention to the something other than feeding as it locked its line of sight back into the woods from which it had come.
Wayne turned his attention to that same arear and before long he saw what appeared to be a black cow moving through the woods. As the black object came to an opening about 70 yards away, he could tell now that it was a large bear.
Wayne told me “It looked like a Volkswagen with feet”........
The buck turned and bolted and the wobbly walking bruin started closing the distance between him and the hunter. Although there were lots of yielding oaks, the bear was b-lined for a hickory tree that Wayne was fortunately close to. Wayne was now fighting “bear fever” for the first time in his 40 plus years of hunting, and now the moment of truth was here as the bear was just 15-yards away. Wayne drew, anchored and instinctively released an arrow that appeared to hit perfectly behind the front shoulder. The massive animal turned and bound quickly into thicker cover out of sight and crashed, but never providing that death moan that so many successful bear hunter's report.
It was now 6:15pm and darkness was nearing. Wayne phoned his wife to report the events, then climbed down and immediately picked up a great blood trail. He nocked an arrow and followed the trail very slowly while watching ahead. After about 75-yards of traversing he came upon the bear laying in the leaves facing toward him. The bear sensed Wayne’s presence and raised its head slowly. Wayne released a second arrow into the bears exposed chest and it buried all the way to the feathers.
What took place next I don’t think any hunter could truly be prepared for.......
The huge bear let out a loud roar and lunged toward Wayne. Fight or flight took place and the amazed hunter turned and ran straight up the mountain till he couldn’t hear the injured bear following any longer. When he turned back, he could see the bear gingerly heading down the mountainside.
As I was listening to Wayne retell this insane chain of events, I had to stop him and ask him “what were his exact emotions?”
He told me “I was as nervous as a dog pooping a peach seed”, and as I laughed at this expression, I found it very applicable to what had just taken place.
He now sat in total darkness regaining his composure and trying to come up with the best plan. To him it seemed that now with time having passed and a second arrow sunk into the bear, the animal had to have expired. With the aid of his flashlight and only a wooden bow and arrow as protection he sat out again on the blood trail that he was able to locate some 50-yards from where the bear was last seen.
Wayne covered several hundred yards this time until his flashlight revealed that the bear had now traveled onto an adjoining property owners land, but he could see the bear and it was still moving around a bit.
Wayne was now presented with several more decisions. Without hesitation he retreated to where his stand was located, grabbed it and went back to his vehicle and drove the 8 miles to his current residence in Floyd County and discussed everything with his wife.
At approximately 9:20 pm he and Shelby drove to the landowner's home and Wayne went to the door, knocked and explained the situation. As fortune would have it the landowner was tremendously hospitable and was amazed by the story and even offered to help. Wayne told him he would prefer that they give it another few hours, and he would return and try yet again. The property owner gave the thumbs up and said just knock when you return and that he would help assist in the recovery.
Wayne returned home, grilled a steak and anxiously waited for several hours to pass. At 11 pm Wayne returned, and he and the property owner took a side by side 4-wheeler to the sight where the bear was last laying. Again, the bears will to survive allowed it to get to its feet and run into thick cover, the bear only made it a short distance before crashing hard once again.
They waited a short time and heard no more movement, so they went and got the property owners tractor and returned to find the bear expired in thick cover. It took some elbow grease, straps and the tractor bucket, but by 1 am the giant Virginia bear had been recovered.
To be able to relive and cover the stories I have alongside these Virginia hunters over the years is a tremendous blessing that God has bestowed upon me, and this amazing story might be the most thrilling to date!
I want to congratulate Wayne Dixon on a hunt of a lifetime from all aspects, and a story I will never forget😊!
His Floyd County bear has State record potential scoring 20 3/16 in both Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett, and its live weight was 450 lbs.
Some key notes:
*Bow used-Medora(made by Sauk Trail Archery) 56 AMO 50# @ 28”
*Arrows used- Gold Tip Traditional 400 spine, 125 gr Ozcut broadheads
*EFA Quiver
*Pocket knife
*Flashlight
*Windictaor odorless powder
*Grunt call, bleat
*Lone wolf climber
*Great desire
*The bear that Wayne had several close encounters with on his first 2 bow hunts was killed during rifle season and weighed 525 lbs.
Jeff Phillips
2/1/2020
It’s easy to get caught up in the “latest and greatest” hunting hype, whether it be the fastest bow, sharpest expandable broadhead, cutting edge camo pattern, newest HD hunting show, and even letting all the smaller bucks get a pass. These are things that have been introduced into today’s hunting scene, but can also serve as detractants from our pure love and enjoyment of the hunt itself.
That’s exactly what happened to Wayne Dixon of Carroll County Virginia. Wayne has hunted our Southwest Virginia Mountains for many decades, but after his 2018 season he was left unfulfilled chasing the biggest bucks and paying too much attention to the things that took away from what lead him to hunt in the first place.
Wayne made the decision to return to his roots and in his own words “Put the hunt back into hunting”.
His choice of weapon going forward would be a traditional bow and arrow like the ones he began his hunting passion with in the 70’s. This choice of weapon brings along many more variables than does our modern equipment. A traditional bow requires hours of practice to allow muscle memory to take hold, and an ethical harvest shot typically doesn’t reach a distance that exceeds 25 yards. That being said another lost art of today's hunting also plays a major role in traditional bow hunting, and that is “scouting”, in order to pinpoint stand placement.
Wayne began his daily regimen of arrow shooting with his longbow in March of 2019 which continued consistently up till bow season. He also began scouting 3 properties he had permission to hunt in Floyd County in the late summer. Typically, behind every good hunter you will find a supportive and involved wife. This is just the case here as Wayne’s wife Shelby would often target shoot and scout alongside him.
To their surprise these scouting trips turned up a ton of sign, just not the sign they would have expected. On each property they found a ton of bear sign, so much so that Wayne now decided to forego deer hunting and match his skills against the animal with the most robust sense of smell on the planet this upcoming fall. To add to this challenge, in all of his years in the woods he was yet to harvest a bear.
As I mentioned at the outset, Wayne wanted to rekindle his early hunting day experience and feelings. Not only was his weapon of the primitive type, he also made no use of trail camera’s, and his clothing consisted of an insulated flannel shirt, wrangler insulated camo pants from Walmart and a baseball cap. He used no artificial scent control, and a lone wolf climber strapped to his back to perch himself in a vantage point.
As the opening day of bow season quickly approached Wayne felt that he was very prepared and his prior scouting sessions determined that afternoon hunting was going to provide him a better chance at harvesting a bear. He believed the bear were traveling from a core bedding area to food in the evening and he would sneak in early and climb accordingly.
The morning of October 5, 2019 dawned and Wayne couldn’t wait to get into the woods, he shot his bow a bit in the morning then headed out mid-day to the property that held the most sign. Checking the wind just prior to entering the woods he slowly began to approach the place where he would climb with the wind in his favor.
The action on that first set was fairly uneventful other than a few squirrels mingling, but just as the sun began to descend behind the mountains the laurel thickets nearby began to come alive. Just like that, the biggest bear Wayne had ever seen appeared broadsided at 30 yards, but knowing that was beyond his ethical shot distance he passed the bear and simply sat in amazement. Darkness sat in and he climbed down and drove home to share the excitement with Shelby.
The next evening played out exactly the same. He chose the same property and tree and like clockwork the Floyd County bruin appeared, but again out of traditional bow range.
Like most of us part-time hunters, we work full time and that had Wayne’s days occupied until the following Saturday. Again, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to go to the same property, but this time he would move his stand closer to where the bear had crossed twice. As fate had it, the sun faded and the laurels lit up. This time the bear would indeed be within Wayne’s bow range but just as that hope sat in, the big bears since of mortality kicked in and he picked up the hunters' scent most likely and skirted the area leaving Wayne stunned but in appreciation.
Let's fast forward to the October 19, the 3rd Saturday of the bow season. Wayne decided during the prior week that he would try one of the additional properties that had plenty of good bear sign, as well as yielding oak and hickory trees. As with any traditional bow hunter the wind plays the most significant role, and he approached an oak/hickory flat bench on the side of the mountain that would allow him to hopefully utilize the thermals and wind direction and avoid detection of any animal seeking to feed in that area. His earlier scouting visits to this area turned up lots of bear scat and tracks.
By 1pm Wayne was perched 12ft above the forest floor. The falling mast around him filled him with excitement, in anticipation of what may come in the next few hours. On this hunt he carried along a doe bleat call to use intermittently in hopes of attracting a mature bear seeking easy prey. The consistent noise of falling acorns almost lulled Wayne to sleep when late in the afternoon a decent buck showed up.
Now his hunting instincts kicked in, and although his total focus had been on taking his first bear, Wayne was now considering the deployment of an arrow the buck's way if he came into his 20-yard air space. The buck continued feeding for a long period of time, but remained out of bow range. Then the buck turned its attention to the something other than feeding as it locked its line of sight back into the woods from which it had come.
Wayne turned his attention to that same arear and before long he saw what appeared to be a black cow moving through the woods. As the black object came to an opening about 70 yards away, he could tell now that it was a large bear.
Wayne told me “It looked like a Volkswagen with feet”........
The buck turned and bolted and the wobbly walking bruin started closing the distance between him and the hunter. Although there were lots of yielding oaks, the bear was b-lined for a hickory tree that Wayne was fortunately close to. Wayne was now fighting “bear fever” for the first time in his 40 plus years of hunting, and now the moment of truth was here as the bear was just 15-yards away. Wayne drew, anchored and instinctively released an arrow that appeared to hit perfectly behind the front shoulder. The massive animal turned and bound quickly into thicker cover out of sight and crashed, but never providing that death moan that so many successful bear hunter's report.
It was now 6:15pm and darkness was nearing. Wayne phoned his wife to report the events, then climbed down and immediately picked up a great blood trail. He nocked an arrow and followed the trail very slowly while watching ahead. After about 75-yards of traversing he came upon the bear laying in the leaves facing toward him. The bear sensed Wayne’s presence and raised its head slowly. Wayne released a second arrow into the bears exposed chest and it buried all the way to the feathers.
What took place next I don’t think any hunter could truly be prepared for.......
The huge bear let out a loud roar and lunged toward Wayne. Fight or flight took place and the amazed hunter turned and ran straight up the mountain till he couldn’t hear the injured bear following any longer. When he turned back, he could see the bear gingerly heading down the mountainside.
As I was listening to Wayne retell this insane chain of events, I had to stop him and ask him “what were his exact emotions?”
He told me “I was as nervous as a dog pooping a peach seed”, and as I laughed at this expression, I found it very applicable to what had just taken place.
He now sat in total darkness regaining his composure and trying to come up with the best plan. To him it seemed that now with time having passed and a second arrow sunk into the bear, the animal had to have expired. With the aid of his flashlight and only a wooden bow and arrow as protection he sat out again on the blood trail that he was able to locate some 50-yards from where the bear was last seen.
Wayne covered several hundred yards this time until his flashlight revealed that the bear had now traveled onto an adjoining property owners land, but he could see the bear and it was still moving around a bit.
Wayne was now presented with several more decisions. Without hesitation he retreated to where his stand was located, grabbed it and went back to his vehicle and drove the 8 miles to his current residence in Floyd County and discussed everything with his wife.
At approximately 9:20 pm he and Shelby drove to the landowner's home and Wayne went to the door, knocked and explained the situation. As fortune would have it the landowner was tremendously hospitable and was amazed by the story and even offered to help. Wayne told him he would prefer that they give it another few hours, and he would return and try yet again. The property owner gave the thumbs up and said just knock when you return and that he would help assist in the recovery.
Wayne returned home, grilled a steak and anxiously waited for several hours to pass. At 11 pm Wayne returned, and he and the property owner took a side by side 4-wheeler to the sight where the bear was last laying. Again, the bears will to survive allowed it to get to its feet and run into thick cover, the bear only made it a short distance before crashing hard once again.
They waited a short time and heard no more movement, so they went and got the property owners tractor and returned to find the bear expired in thick cover. It took some elbow grease, straps and the tractor bucket, but by 1 am the giant Virginia bear had been recovered.
To be able to relive and cover the stories I have alongside these Virginia hunters over the years is a tremendous blessing that God has bestowed upon me, and this amazing story might be the most thrilling to date!
I want to congratulate Wayne Dixon on a hunt of a lifetime from all aspects, and a story I will never forget😊!
His Floyd County bear has State record potential scoring 20 3/16 in both Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett, and its live weight was 450 lbs.
Some key notes:
*Bow used-Medora(made by Sauk Trail Archery) 56 AMO 50# @ 28”
*Arrows used- Gold Tip Traditional 400 spine, 125 gr Ozcut broadheads
*EFA Quiver
*Pocket knife
*Flashlight
*Windictaor odorless powder
*Grunt call, bleat
*Lone wolf climber
*Great desire
*The bear that Wayne had several close encounters with on his first 2 bow hunts was killed during rifle season and weighed 525 lbs.
Jeff Phillips
2/1/2020
It’s easy to get caught up in the “latest and greatest” hunting hype, whether it be the fastest bow, sharpest expandable broadhead, cutting edge camo pattern, newest HD hunting show, and even letting all the smaller bucks get a pass. These are things that have been introduced into today’s hunting scene, but can also serve as detractants from our pure love and enjoyment of the hunt itself.
That’s exactly what happened to Wayne Dixon of Carroll County Virginia. Wayne has hunted our Southwest Virginia Mountains for many decades, but after his 2018 season he was left unfulfilled chasing the biggest bucks and paying too much attention to the things that took away from what lead him to hunt in the first place.
Wayne made the decision to return to his roots and in his own words “Put the hunt back into hunting”.
His choice of weapon going forward would be a traditional bow and arrow like the ones he began his hunting passion with in the 70’s. This choice of weapon brings along many more variables than does our modern equipment. A traditional bow requires hours of practice to allow muscle memory to take hold, and an ethical harvest shot typically doesn’t reach a distance that exceeds 25 yards. That being said another lost art of today's hunting also plays a major role in traditional bow hunting, and that is “scouting”, in order to pinpoint stand placement.
Wayne began his daily regimen of arrow shooting with his longbow in March of 2019 which continued consistently up till bow season. He also began scouting 3 properties he had permission to hunt in Floyd County in the late summer. Typically, behind every good hunter you will find a supportive and involved wife. This is just the case here as Wayne’s wife Shelby would often target shoot and scout alongside him.
To their surprise these scouting trips turned up a ton of sign, just not the sign they would have expected. On each property they found a ton of bear sign, so much so that Wayne now decided to forego deer hunting and match his skills against the animal with the most robust sense of smell on the planet this upcoming fall. To add to this challenge, in all of his years in the woods he was yet to harvest a bear.
As I mentioned at the outset, Wayne wanted to rekindle his early hunting day experience and feelings. Not only was his weapon of the primitive type, he also made no use of trail camera’s, and his clothing consisted of an insulated flannel shirt, wrangler insulated camo pants from Walmart and a baseball cap. He used no artificial scent control, and a lone wolf climber strapped to his back to perch himself in a vantage point.
As the opening day of bow season quickly approached Wayne felt that he was very prepared and his prior scouting sessions determined that afternoon hunting was going to provide him a better chance at harvesting a bear. He believed the bear were traveling from a core bedding area to food in the evening and he would sneak in early and climb accordingly.
The morning of October 5, 2019 dawned and Wayne couldn’t wait to get into the woods, he shot his bow a bit in the morning then headed out mid-day to the property that held the most sign. Checking the wind just prior to entering the woods he slowly began to approach the place where he would climb with the wind in his favor.
The action on that first set was fairly uneventful other than a few squirrels mingling, but just as the sun began to descend behind the mountains the laurel thickets nearby began to come alive. Just like that, the biggest bear Wayne had ever seen appeared broadsided at 30 yards, but knowing that was beyond his ethical shot distance he passed the bear and simply sat in amazement. Darkness sat in and he climbed down and drove home to share the excitement with Shelby.
The next evening played out exactly the same. He chose the same property and tree and like clockwork the Floyd County bruin appeared, but again out of traditional bow range.
Like most of us part-time hunters, we work full time and that had Wayne’s days occupied until the following Saturday. Again, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to go to the same property, but this time he would move his stand closer to where the bear had crossed twice. As fate had it, the sun faded and the laurels lit up. This time the bear would indeed be within Wayne’s bow range but just as that hope sat in, the big bears since of mortality kicked in and he picked up the hunters' scent most likely and skirted the area leaving Wayne stunned but in appreciation.
Let's fast forward to the October 19, the 3rd Saturday of the bow season. Wayne decided during the prior week that he would try one of the additional properties that had plenty of good bear sign, as well as yielding oak and hickory trees. As with any traditional bow hunter the wind plays the most significant role, and he approached an oak/hickory flat bench on the side of the mountain that would allow him to hopefully utilize the thermals and wind direction and avoid detection of any animal seeking to feed in that area. His earlier scouting visits to this area turned up lots of bear scat and tracks.
By 1pm Wayne was perched 12ft above the forest floor. The falling mast around him filled him with excitement, in anticipation of what may come in the next few hours. On this hunt he carried along a doe bleat call to use intermittently in hopes of attracting a mature bear seeking easy prey. The consistent noise of falling acorns almost lulled Wayne to sleep when late in the afternoon a decent buck showed up.
Now his hunting instincts kicked in, and although his total focus had been on taking his first bear, Wayne was now considering the deployment of an arrow the buck's way if he came into his 20-yard air space. The buck continued feeding for a long period of time, but remained out of bow range. Then the buck turned its attention to the something other than feeding as it locked its line of sight back into the woods from which it had come.
Wayne turned his attention to that same arear and before long he saw what appeared to be a black cow moving through the woods. As the black object came to an opening about 70 yards away, he could tell now that it was a large bear.
Wayne told me “It looked like a Volkswagen with feet”........
The buck turned and bolted and the wobbly walking bruin started closing the distance between him and the hunter. Although there were lots of yielding oaks, the bear was b-lined for a hickory tree that Wayne was fortunately close to. Wayne was now fighting “bear fever” for the first time in his 40 plus years of hunting, and now the moment of truth was here as the bear was just 15-yards away. Wayne drew, anchored and instinctively released an arrow that appeared to hit perfectly behind the front shoulder. The massive animal turned and bound quickly into thicker cover out of sight and crashed, but never providing that death moan that so many successful bear hunter's report.
It was now 6:15pm and darkness was nearing. Wayne phoned his wife to report the events, then climbed down and immediately picked up a great blood trail. He nocked an arrow and followed the trail very slowly while watching ahead. After about 75-yards of traversing he came upon the bear laying in the leaves facing toward him. The bear sensed Wayne’s presence and raised its head slowly. Wayne released a second arrow into the bears exposed chest and it buried all the way to the feathers.
What took place next I don’t think any hunter could truly be prepared for.......
The huge bear let out a loud roar and lunged toward Wayne. Fight or flight took place and the amazed hunter turned and ran straight up the mountain till he couldn’t hear the injured bear following any longer. When he turned back, he could see the bear gingerly heading down the mountainside.
As I was listening to Wayne retell this insane chain of events, I had to stop him and ask him “what were his exact emotions?”
He told me “I was as nervous as a dog pooping a peach seed”, and as I laughed at this expression, I found it very applicable to what had just taken place.
He now sat in total darkness regaining his composure and trying to come up with the best plan. To him it seemed that now with time having passed and a second arrow sunk into the bear, the animal had to have expired. With the aid of his flashlight and only a wooden bow and arrow as protection he sat out again on the blood trail that he was able to locate some 50-yards from where the bear was last seen.
Wayne covered several hundred yards this time until his flashlight revealed that the bear had now traveled onto an adjoining property owners land, but he could see the bear and it was still moving around a bit.
Wayne was now presented with several more decisions. Without hesitation he retreated to where his stand was located, grabbed it and went back to his vehicle and drove the 8 miles to his current residence in Floyd County and discussed everything with his wife.
At approximately 9:20 pm he and Shelby drove to the landowner's home and Wayne went to the door, knocked and explained the situation. As fortune would have it the landowner was tremendously hospitable and was amazed by the story and even offered to help. Wayne told him he would prefer that they give it another few hours, and he would return and try yet again. The property owner gave the thumbs up and said just knock when you return and that he would help assist in the recovery.
Wayne returned home, grilled a steak and anxiously waited for several hours to pass. At 11 pm Wayne returned, and he and the property owner took a side by side 4-wheeler to the sight where the bear was last laying. Again, the bears will to survive allowed it to get to its feet and run into thick cover, the bear only made it a short distance before crashing hard once again.
They waited a short time and heard no more movement, so they went and got the property owners tractor and returned to find the bear expired in thick cover. It took some elbow grease, straps and the tractor bucket, but by 1 am the giant Virginia bear had been recovered.
To be able to relive and cover the stories I have alongside these Virginia hunters over the years is a tremendous blessing that God has bestowed upon me, and this amazing story might be the most thrilling to date!
I want to congratulate Wayne Dixon on a hunt of a lifetime from all aspects, and a story I will never forget😊!
His Floyd County bear has State record potential scoring 20 3/16 in both Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett, and its live weight was 450 lbs.
Some key notes:
*Bow used-Medora(made by Sauk Trail Archery) 56 AMO 50# @ 28”
*Arrows used- Gold Tip Traditional 400 spine, 125 gr Ozcut broadheads
*EFA Quiver
*Pocket knife
*Flashlight
*Windictaor odorless powder
*Grunt call, bleat
*Lone wolf climber
*Great desire
*The bear that Wayne had several close encounters with on his first 2 bow hunts was killed during rifle season and weighed 525 lbs.
Jeff Phillips
2/1/2020
It’s easy to get caught up in the “latest and greatest” hunting hype, whether it be the fastest bow, sharpest expandable broadhead, cutting edge camo pattern, newest HD hunting show, and even letting all the smaller bucks get a pass. These are things that have been introduced into today’s hunting scene, but can also serve as detractants from our pure love and enjoyment of the hunt itself.
That’s exactly what happened to Wayne Dixon of Carroll County Virginia. Wayne has hunted our Southwest Virginia Mountains for many decades, but after his 2018 season he was left unfulfilled chasing the biggest bucks and paying too much attention to the things that took away from what lead him to hunt in the first place.
Wayne made the decision to return to his roots and in his own words “Put the hunt back into hunting”.
His choice of weapon going forward would be a traditional bow and arrow like the ones he began his hunting passion with in the 70’s. This choice of weapon brings along many more variables than does our modern equipment. A traditional bow requires hours of practice to allow muscle memory to take hold, and an ethical harvest shot typically doesn’t reach a distance that exceeds 25 yards. That being said another lost art of today's hunting also plays a major role in traditional bow hunting, and that is “scouting”, in order to pinpoint stand placement.
Wayne began his daily regimen of arrow shooting with his longbow in March of 2019 which continued consistently up till bow season. He also began scouting 3 properties he had permission to hunt in Floyd County in the late summer. Typically, behind every good hunter you will find a supportive and involved wife. This is just the case here as Wayne’s wife Shelby would often target shoot and scout alongside him.
To their surprise these scouting trips turned up a ton of sign, just not the sign they would have expected. On each property they found a ton of bear sign, so much so that Wayne now decided to forego deer hunting and match his skills against the animal with the most robust sense of smell on the planet this upcoming fall. To add to this challenge, in all of his years in the woods he was yet to harvest a bear.
As I mentioned at the outset, Wayne wanted to rekindle his early hunting day experience and feelings. Not only was his weapon of the primitive type, he also made no use of trail camera’s, and his clothing consisted of an insulated flannel shirt, wrangler insulated camo pants from Walmart and a baseball cap. He used no artificial scent control, and a lone wolf climber strapped to his back to perch himself in a vantage point.
As the opening day of bow season quickly approached Wayne felt that he was very prepared and his prior scouting sessions determined that afternoon hunting was going to provide him a better chance at harvesting a bear. He believed the bear were traveling from a core bedding area to food in the evening and he would sneak in early and climb accordingly.
The morning of October 5, 2019 dawned and Wayne couldn’t wait to get into the woods, he shot his bow a bit in the morning then headed out mid-day to the property that held the most sign. Checking the wind just prior to entering the woods he slowly began to approach the place where he would climb with the wind in his favor.
The action on that first set was fairly uneventful other than a few squirrels mingling, but just as the sun began to descend behind the mountains the laurel thickets nearby began to come alive. Just like that, the biggest bear Wayne had ever seen appeared broadsided at 30 yards, but knowing that was beyond his ethical shot distance he passed the bear and simply sat in amazement. Darkness sat in and he climbed down and drove home to share the excitement with Shelby.
The next evening played out exactly the same. He chose the same property and tree and like clockwork the Floyd County bruin appeared, but again out of traditional bow range.
Like most of us part-time hunters, we work full time and that had Wayne’s days occupied until the following Saturday. Again, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to go to the same property, but this time he would move his stand closer to where the bear had crossed twice. As fate had it, the sun faded and the laurels lit up. This time the bear would indeed be within Wayne’s bow range but just as that hope sat in, the big bears since of mortality kicked in and he picked up the hunters' scent most likely and skirted the area leaving Wayne stunned but in appreciation.
Let's fast forward to the October 19, the 3rd Saturday of the bow season. Wayne decided during the prior week that he would try one of the additional properties that had plenty of good bear sign, as well as yielding oak and hickory trees. As with any traditional bow hunter the wind plays the most significant role, and he approached an oak/hickory flat bench on the side of the mountain that would allow him to hopefully utilize the thermals and wind direction and avoid detection of any animal seeking to feed in that area. His earlier scouting visits to this area turned up lots of bear scat and tracks.
By 1pm Wayne was perched 12ft above the forest floor. The falling mast around him filled him with excitement, in anticipation of what may come in the next few hours. On this hunt he carried along a doe bleat call to use intermittently in hopes of attracting a mature bear seeking easy prey. The consistent noise of falling acorns almost lulled Wayne to sleep when late in the afternoon a decent buck showed up.
Now his hunting instincts kicked in, and although his total focus had been on taking his first bear, Wayne was now considering the deployment of an arrow the buck's way if he came into his 20-yard air space. The buck continued feeding for a long period of time, but remained out of bow range. Then the buck turned its attention to the something other than feeding as it locked its line of sight back into the woods from which it had come.
Wayne turned his attention to that same arear and before long he saw what appeared to be a black cow moving through the woods. As the black object came to an opening about 70 yards away, he could tell now that it was a large bear.
Wayne told me “It looked like a Volkswagen with feet”........
The buck turned and bolted and the wobbly walking bruin started closing the distance between him and the hunter. Although there were lots of yielding oaks, the bear was b-lined for a hickory tree that Wayne was fortunately close to. Wayne was now fighting “bear fever” for the first time in his 40 plus years of hunting, and now the moment of truth was here as the bear was just 15-yards away. Wayne drew, anchored and instinctively released an arrow that appeared to hit perfectly behind the front shoulder. The massive animal turned and bound quickly into thicker cover out of sight and crashed, but never providing that death moan that so many successful bear hunter's report.
It was now 6:15pm and darkness was nearing. Wayne phoned his wife to report the events, then climbed down and immediately picked up a great blood trail. He nocked an arrow and followed the trail very slowly while watching ahead. After about 75-yards of traversing he came upon the bear laying in the leaves facing toward him. The bear sensed Wayne’s presence and raised its head slowly. Wayne released a second arrow into the bears exposed chest and it buried all the way to the feathers.
What took place next I don’t think any hunter could truly be prepared for.......
The huge bear let out a loud roar and lunged toward Wayne. Fight or flight took place and the amazed hunter turned and ran straight up the mountain till he couldn’t hear the injured bear following any longer. When he turned back, he could see the bear gingerly heading down the mountainside.
As I was listening to Wayne retell this insane chain of events, I had to stop him and ask him “what were his exact emotions?”
He told me “I was as nervous as a dog pooping a peach seed”, and as I laughed at this expression, I found it very applicable to what had just taken place.
He now sat in total darkness regaining his composure and trying to come up with the best plan. To him it seemed that now with time having passed and a second arrow sunk into the bear, the animal had to have expired. With the aid of his flashlight and only a wooden bow and arrow as protection he sat out again on the blood trail that he was able to locate some 50-yards from where the bear was last seen.
Wayne covered several hundred yards this time until his flashlight revealed that the bear had now traveled onto an adjoining property owners land, but he could see the bear and it was still moving around a bit.
Wayne was now presented with several more decisions. Without hesitation he retreated to where his stand was located, grabbed it and went back to his vehicle and drove the 8 miles to his current residence in Floyd County and discussed everything with his wife.
At approximately 9:20 pm he and Shelby drove to the landowner's home and Wayne went to the door, knocked and explained the situation. As fortune would have it the landowner was tremendously hospitable and was amazed by the story and even offered to help. Wayne told him he would prefer that they give it another few hours, and he would return and try yet again. The property owner gave the thumbs up and said just knock when you return and that he would help assist in the recovery.
Wayne returned home, grilled a steak and anxiously waited for several hours to pass. At 11 pm Wayne returned, and he and the property owner took a side by side 4-wheeler to the sight where the bear was last laying. Again, the bears will to survive allowed it to get to its feet and run into thick cover, the bear only made it a short distance before crashing hard once again.
They waited a short time and heard no more movement, so they went and got the property owners tractor and returned to find the bear expired in thick cover. It took some elbow grease, straps and the tractor bucket, but by 1 am the giant Virginia bear had been recovered.
To be able to relive and cover the stories I have alongside these Virginia hunters over the years is a tremendous blessing that God has bestowed upon me, and this amazing story might be the most thrilling to date!
I want to congratulate Wayne Dixon on a hunt of a lifetime from all aspects, and a story I will never forget😊!
His Floyd County bear has State record potential scoring 20 3/16 in both Pope & Young and Boone & Crockett, and its live weight was 450 lbs.
Some key notes:
*Bow used-Medora(made by Sauk Trail Archery) 56 AMO 50# @ 28”
*Arrows used- Gold Tip Traditional 400 spine, 125 gr Ozcut broadheads
*EFA Quiver
*Pocket knife
*Flashlight
*Windictaor odorless powder
*Grunt call, bleat
*Lone wolf climber
*Great desire
*The bear that Wayne had several close encounters with on his first 2 bow hunts was killed during rifle season and weighed 525 lbs.
Jeff Phillips
2/1/2020
