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Matt Wood of Bassett Virginia is a big Carolina Panthers fan, and on Sunday 10/7 he was glued to the game against the New York Giants as Carolina won with one second on the clock by splitting the uprights with a 63 yard field goal. Not only was the the football action hot and intense, but so were the temperatures and humidity here in Virginia.
Matt is an avid bow-hunter and he wasn't able to get out on opening day so he was itching to get in the woods, but the heat had him reconsidering. His mind quickly went back to the trail cam pictures he gathered just a week prior of an overwhelming buck on one of his family properties in Patrick County just 30 minutes down the road, and he began to get ready for an evening hunt.
During my conversation with Matt he mentioned several different times that in order to harvest a big buck "you gotta have a big buck on your property". For this 23 year old Virginia hunter that was the exact case, in late August Matt placed trail camera's on his 2 main hunting properties in order to take some inventory. One of the properties produced a real nice 10 pointer in October of the 2017 season(pictured below), but the food plot that benefited that parcel was now grown over.
In late September he checked the camera's and discovered he had a true main frame 8 point giant on the other property which he was getting daylight pictures of. Matt feels that October is the best time to harvest a "target buck" if you can put a plan together. This particular property has a ridge full of white oaks which happened to be delivering heavily, so Matt placed a stand in a pinch point that led from a big thicket, which he considered the bucks bedding area to a well worn trail towards the white oak buffet.
Another critical element to this hunt was the wind direction, and that evening there was a light eastern wind which was perfect for this set.
So without anymore hesitation Matt was off to the property in hopes of getting a chance to see the biggest buck of his life and hopefully have an opportunity to harvest him!
Matt was in his ladder stand and settled by 5pm, and although the temperature didn't feel much like deer hunting he was content with his chances. Time was passing when at around 6:45 he noticed several does move into the edge of a nearby field and begin feeding. Within 5 minutes he noticed a small basket 8 pointer come out of the thicket which heightened Matt's awareness tremendously because this small buck was in each of the trail camera pictures with the giant 8.
Sometimes a great plan comes together, and as fate had it within moments the buck of a lifetime cautiously appeared from the thicket as well. Now the biggest issue on this nervous hunters mind was if the buck would come into bow range as he stood some 80 yards away. Like most mature bucks he stood silently checking out his surroundings before making his next move.
Even though it was only minutes it seemed like an eternity to Matt as he sat there motionless taking it all in. Lady luck now came into play as the buck noticed the does feeding and began moving in their direction which would lead him directly by his stand. Matt steadied his Carbon Express crossbow as the buck continued toward him at a brisk pace.
It was at this moment that Matt really began to understand just how massive this buck was and also that the moment of truth was upon him. When the buck came into an opening around 40 yards out Matt gave a self manufactured bleat call in order to slow the buck down for a shot.
After his second bleat the buck froze facing Matt slightly quartering to the right. With precision Matt released his toxic broadhead tipped bolt which struck the whitetail just left of it's brisket. The buck sunk his front legs into the leaves and turned and ran back in the direction he came from. Moments later, even though the buck ran out of Matt's sight he could hear the buck crash!
Matt waited 45 agonizing minutes before climbing down and covering approximately 120 yards to where the buck of a lifetime lay before him!
This big buck story serves to remind us all that it is not always the magical month of November when big bucks are harvested, but sometimes if you have a big buck on your property you can use the early bow season to find the bedding and feeding areas and set up somewhere in between and catch them in their normal patterns before the craziness of the rut begins. Also pay no mind to the naysayers that may advise you not to hunt in certain weather scenarios, " No one knows enough about hunting not to go hunting"!
Congratulations Matt on your very special Virginia buck and thanks for allowing me to relive it with you:)
Jeff Phillips
10/15/18
Matt Wood of Bassett Virginia is a big Carolina Panthers fan, and on Sunday 10/7 he was glued to the game against the New York Giants as Carolina won with one second on the clock by splitting the uprights with a 63 yard field goal. Not only was the the football action hot and intense, but so were the temperatures and humidity here in Virginia.
Matt is an avid bow-hunter and he wasn't able to get out on opening day so he was itching to get in the woods, but the heat had him reconsidering. His mind quickly went back to the trail cam pictures he gathered just a week prior of an overwhelming buck on one of his family properties in Patrick County just 30 minutes down the road, and he began to get ready for an evening hunt.
During my conversation with Matt he mentioned several different times that in order to harvest a big buck "you gotta have a big buck on your property". For this 23 year old Virginia hunter that was the exact case, in late August Matt placed trail camera's on his 2 main hunting properties in order to take some inventory. One of the properties produced a real nice 10 pointer in October of the 2017 season(pictured below), but the food plot that benefited that parcel was now grown over.
In late September he checked the camera's and discovered he had a true main frame 8 point giant on the other property which he was getting daylight pictures of. Matt feels that October is the best time to harvest a "target buck" if you can put a plan together. This particular property has a ridge full of white oaks which happened to be delivering heavily, so Matt placed a stand in a pinch point that led from a big thicket, which he considered the bucks bedding area to a well worn trail towards the white oak buffet.
Another critical element to this hunt was the wind direction, and that evening there was a light eastern wind which was perfect for this set.
So without anymore hesitation Matt was off to the property in hopes of getting a chance to see the biggest buck of his life and hopefully have an opportunity to harvest him!
Matt was in his ladder stand and settled by 5pm, and although the temperature didn't feel much like deer hunting he was content with his chances. Time was passing when at around 6:45 he noticed several does move into the edge of a nearby field and begin feeding. Within 5 minutes he noticed a small basket 8 pointer come out of the thicket which heightened Matt's awareness tremendously because this small buck was in each of the trail camera pictures with the giant 8.
Sometimes a great plan comes together, and as fate had it within moments the buck of a lifetime cautiously appeared from the thicket as well. Now the biggest issue on this nervous hunters mind was if the buck would come into bow range as he stood some 80 yards away. Like most mature bucks he stood silently checking out his surroundings before making his next move.
Even though it was only minutes it seemed like an eternity to Matt as he sat there motionless taking it all in. Lady luck now came into play as the buck noticed the does feeding and began moving in their direction which would lead him directly by his stand. Matt steadied his Carbon Express crossbow as the buck continued toward him at a brisk pace.
It was at this moment that Matt really began to understand just how massive this buck was and also that the moment of truth was upon him. When the buck came into an opening around 40 yards out Matt gave a self manufactured bleat call in order to slow the buck down for a shot.
After his second bleat the buck froze facing Matt slightly quartering to the right. With precision Matt released his toxic broadhead tipped bolt which struck the whitetail just left of it's brisket. The buck sunk his front legs into the leaves and turned and ran back in the direction he came from. Moments later, even though the buck ran out of Matt's sight he could hear the buck crash!
Matt waited 45 agonizing minutes before climbing down and covering approximately 120 yards to where the buck of a lifetime lay before him!
This big buck story serves to remind us all that it is not always the magical month of November when big bucks are harvested, but sometimes if you have a big buck on your property you can use the early bow season to find the bedding and feeding areas and set up somewhere in between and catch them in their normal patterns before the craziness of the rut begins. Also pay no mind to the naysayers that may advise you not to hunt in certain weather scenarios, " No one knows enough about hunting not to go hunting"!
Congratulations Matt on your very special Virginia buck and thanks for allowing me to relive it with you:)
Jeff Phillips
10/15/18
Matt Wood of Bassett Virginia is a big Carolina Panthers fan, and on Sunday 10/7 he was glued to the game against the New York Giants as Carolina won with one second on the clock by splitting the uprights with a 63 yard field goal. Not only was the the football action hot and intense, but so were the temperatures and humidity here in Virginia.
Matt is an avid bow-hunter and he wasn't able to get out on opening day so he was itching to get in the woods, but the heat had him reconsidering. His mind quickly went back to the trail cam pictures he gathered just a week prior of an overwhelming buck on one of his family properties in Patrick County just 30 minutes down the road, and he began to get ready for an evening hunt.
During my conversation with Matt he mentioned several different times that in order to harvest a big buck "you gotta have a big buck on your property". For this 23 year old Virginia hunter that was the exact case, in late August Matt placed trail camera's on his 2 main hunting properties in order to take some inventory. One of the properties produced a real nice 10 pointer in October of the 2017 season(pictured below), but the food plot that benefited that parcel was now grown over.
In late September he checked the camera's and discovered he had a true main frame 8 point giant on the other property which he was getting daylight pictures of. Matt feels that October is the best time to harvest a "target buck" if you can put a plan together. This particular property has a ridge full of white oaks which happened to be delivering heavily, so Matt placed a stand in a pinch point that led from a big thicket, which he considered the bucks bedding area to a well worn trail towards the white oak buffet.
Another critical element to this hunt was the wind direction, and that evening there was a light eastern wind which was perfect for this set.
So without anymore hesitation Matt was off to the property in hopes of getting a chance to see the biggest buck of his life and hopefully have an opportunity to harvest him!
Matt was in his ladder stand and settled by 5pm, and although the temperature didn't feel much like deer hunting he was content with his chances. Time was passing when at around 6:45 he noticed several does move into the edge of a nearby field and begin feeding. Within 5 minutes he noticed a small basket 8 pointer come out of the thicket which heightened Matt's awareness tremendously because this small buck was in each of the trail camera pictures with the giant 8.
Sometimes a great plan comes together, and as fate had it within moments the buck of a lifetime cautiously appeared from the thicket as well. Now the biggest issue on this nervous hunters mind was if the buck would come into bow range as he stood some 80 yards away. Like most mature bucks he stood silently checking out his surroundings before making his next move.
Even though it was only minutes it seemed like an eternity to Matt as he sat there motionless taking it all in. Lady luck now came into play as the buck noticed the does feeding and began moving in their direction which would lead him directly by his stand. Matt steadied his Carbon Express crossbow as the buck continued toward him at a brisk pace.
It was at this moment that Matt really began to understand just how massive this buck was and also that the moment of truth was upon him. When the buck came into an opening around 40 yards out Matt gave a self manufactured bleat call in order to slow the buck down for a shot.
After his second bleat the buck froze facing Matt slightly quartering to the right. With precision Matt released his toxic broadhead tipped bolt which struck the whitetail just left of it's brisket. The buck sunk his front legs into the leaves and turned and ran back in the direction he came from. Moments later, even though the buck ran out of Matt's sight he could hear the buck crash!
Matt waited 45 agonizing minutes before climbing down and covering approximately 120 yards to where the buck of a lifetime lay before him!
This big buck story serves to remind us all that it is not always the magical month of November when big bucks are harvested, but sometimes if you have a big buck on your property you can use the early bow season to find the bedding and feeding areas and set up somewhere in between and catch them in their normal patterns before the craziness of the rut begins. Also pay no mind to the naysayers that may advise you not to hunt in certain weather scenarios, " No one knows enough about hunting not to go hunting"!
Congratulations Matt on your very special Virginia buck and thanks for allowing me to relive it with you:)
Jeff Phillips
10/15/18
Matt Wood of Bassett Virginia is a big Carolina Panthers fan, and on Sunday 10/7 he was glued to the game against the New York Giants as Carolina won with one second on the clock by splitting the uprights with a 63 yard field goal. Not only was the the football action hot and intense, but so were the temperatures and humidity here in Virginia.
Matt is an avid bow-hunter and he wasn't able to get out on opening day so he was itching to get in the woods, but the heat had him reconsidering. His mind quickly went back to the trail cam pictures he gathered just a week prior of an overwhelming buck on one of his family properties in Patrick County just 30 minutes down the road, and he began to get ready for an evening hunt.
During my conversation with Matt he mentioned several different times that in order to harvest a big buck "you gotta have a big buck on your property". For this 23 year old Virginia hunter that was the exact case, in late August Matt placed trail camera's on his 2 main hunting properties in order to take some inventory. One of the properties produced a real nice 10 pointer in October of the 2017 season(pictured below), but the food plot that benefited that parcel was now grown over.
In late September he checked the camera's and discovered he had a true main frame 8 point giant on the other property which he was getting daylight pictures of. Matt feels that October is the best time to harvest a "target buck" if you can put a plan together. This particular property has a ridge full of white oaks which happened to be delivering heavily, so Matt placed a stand in a pinch point that led from a big thicket, which he considered the bucks bedding area to a well worn trail towards the white oak buffet.
Another critical element to this hunt was the wind direction, and that evening there was a light eastern wind which was perfect for this set.
So without anymore hesitation Matt was off to the property in hopes of getting a chance to see the biggest buck of his life and hopefully have an opportunity to harvest him!
Matt was in his ladder stand and settled by 5pm, and although the temperature didn't feel much like deer hunting he was content with his chances. Time was passing when at around 6:45 he noticed several does move into the edge of a nearby field and begin feeding. Within 5 minutes he noticed a small basket 8 pointer come out of the thicket which heightened Matt's awareness tremendously because this small buck was in each of the trail camera pictures with the giant 8.
Sometimes a great plan comes together, and as fate had it within moments the buck of a lifetime cautiously appeared from the thicket as well. Now the biggest issue on this nervous hunters mind was if the buck would come into bow range as he stood some 80 yards away. Like most mature bucks he stood silently checking out his surroundings before making his next move.
Even though it was only minutes it seemed like an eternity to Matt as he sat there motionless taking it all in. Lady luck now came into play as the buck noticed the does feeding and began moving in their direction which would lead him directly by his stand. Matt steadied his Carbon Express crossbow as the buck continued toward him at a brisk pace.
It was at this moment that Matt really began to understand just how massive this buck was and also that the moment of truth was upon him. When the buck came into an opening around 40 yards out Matt gave a self manufactured bleat call in order to slow the buck down for a shot.
After his second bleat the buck froze facing Matt slightly quartering to the right. With precision Matt released his toxic broadhead tipped bolt which struck the whitetail just left of it's brisket. The buck sunk his front legs into the leaves and turned and ran back in the direction he came from. Moments later, even though the buck ran out of Matt's sight he could hear the buck crash!
Matt waited 45 agonizing minutes before climbing down and covering approximately 120 yards to where the buck of a lifetime lay before him!
This big buck story serves to remind us all that it is not always the magical month of November when big bucks are harvested, but sometimes if you have a big buck on your property you can use the early bow season to find the bedding and feeding areas and set up somewhere in between and catch them in their normal patterns before the craziness of the rut begins. Also pay no mind to the naysayers that may advise you not to hunt in certain weather scenarios, " No one knows enough about hunting not to go hunting"!
Congratulations Matt on your very special Virginia buck and thanks for allowing me to relive it with you:)
Jeff Phillips
10/15/18
Matt Wood of Bassett Virginia is a big Carolina Panthers fan, and on Sunday 10/7 he was glued to the game against the New York Giants as Carolina won with one second on the clock by splitting the uprights with a 63 yard field goal. Not only was the the football action hot and intense, but so were the temperatures and humidity here in Virginia.
Matt is an avid bow-hunter and he wasn't able to get out on opening day so he was itching to get in the woods, but the heat had him reconsidering. His mind quickly went back to the trail cam pictures he gathered just a week prior of an overwhelming buck on one of his family properties in Patrick County just 30 minutes down the road, and he began to get ready for an evening hunt.
During my conversation with Matt he mentioned several different times that in order to harvest a big buck "you gotta have a big buck on your property". For this 23 year old Virginia hunter that was the exact case, in late August Matt placed trail camera's on his 2 main hunting properties in order to take some inventory. One of the properties produced a real nice 10 pointer in October of the 2017 season(pictured below), but the food plot that benefited that parcel was now grown over.
In late September he checked the camera's and discovered he had a true main frame 8 point giant on the other property which he was getting daylight pictures of. Matt feels that October is the best time to harvest a "target buck" if you can put a plan together. This particular property has a ridge full of white oaks which happened to be delivering heavily, so Matt placed a stand in a pinch point that led from a big thicket, which he considered the bucks bedding area to a well worn trail towards the white oak buffet.
Another critical element to this hunt was the wind direction, and that evening there was a light eastern wind which was perfect for this set.
So without anymore hesitation Matt was off to the property in hopes of getting a chance to see the biggest buck of his life and hopefully have an opportunity to harvest him!
Matt was in his ladder stand and settled by 5pm, and although the temperature didn't feel much like deer hunting he was content with his chances. Time was passing when at around 6:45 he noticed several does move into the edge of a nearby field and begin feeding. Within 5 minutes he noticed a small basket 8 pointer come out of the thicket which heightened Matt's awareness tremendously because this small buck was in each of the trail camera pictures with the giant 8.
Sometimes a great plan comes together, and as fate had it within moments the buck of a lifetime cautiously appeared from the thicket as well. Now the biggest issue on this nervous hunters mind was if the buck would come into bow range as he stood some 80 yards away. Like most mature bucks he stood silently checking out his surroundings before making his next move.
Even though it was only minutes it seemed like an eternity to Matt as he sat there motionless taking it all in. Lady luck now came into play as the buck noticed the does feeding and began moving in their direction which would lead him directly by his stand. Matt steadied his Carbon Express crossbow as the buck continued toward him at a brisk pace.
It was at this moment that Matt really began to understand just how massive this buck was and also that the moment of truth was upon him. When the buck came into an opening around 40 yards out Matt gave a self manufactured bleat call in order to slow the buck down for a shot.
After his second bleat the buck froze facing Matt slightly quartering to the right. With precision Matt released his toxic broadhead tipped bolt which struck the whitetail just left of it's brisket. The buck sunk his front legs into the leaves and turned and ran back in the direction he came from. Moments later, even though the buck ran out of Matt's sight he could hear the buck crash!
Matt waited 45 agonizing minutes before climbing down and covering approximately 120 yards to where the buck of a lifetime lay before him!
This big buck story serves to remind us all that it is not always the magical month of November when big bucks are harvested, but sometimes if you have a big buck on your property you can use the early bow season to find the bedding and feeding areas and set up somewhere in between and catch them in their normal patterns before the craziness of the rut begins. Also pay no mind to the naysayers that may advise you not to hunt in certain weather scenarios, " No one knows enough about hunting not to go hunting"!
Congratulations Matt on your very special Virginia buck and thanks for allowing me to relive it with you:)
Jeff Phillips
10/15/18
