My wife had the idea of getting a booth at the local fair to promote Bullseye Outfitters and my fledgling business, Dillon Outdoors.  The week was long and hot with our booth located in a pavilion with no air conditioning.  We toughed it out and had the opportunity to meet lots of great people and promote the sport of hunting.  It was during this week that one of my partners happened to strike up a conversation with on older gentleman.  Of course the focus of the conversation was hunting but soon turned to casual conversation that lasted for quite some time.  As the conversation was wrapping up, the man mentioned that he had a five hundred acre farm about ten miles away.  I knew of the location and also that it was an area that frequently produced good sized whitetail bucks.  I immediately asked about the possibility of hunting and was excited to receive a warm welcome to hunt the property.  We exchanged business cards and I vowed to meet with the landowner for a tour of his property.  I was indeed happy to add another good sized parcel of land to my areas of hunting access. 

Weeks passed and several phone calls were exchanged with the landowner before we could finally get our schedules to agree.  I met John on a Sunday afternoon and was immediately impressed with the area.  The drive in proved eventful with several deer sightings and just the good “feel” you get when you recognize great whitetail territory.  We took a tour of the five hundred acres by traveling through the cow and horse pastures in my truck.  Property boundaries were pointed out and I also queried John on parking areas and places that would be deemed “off limits” to stay on good terms with the landowner.  I also asked about other people that might be hunting the property and was surprised to here that bowhunting pressure was light to almost nonexistent.  The bulk of the hunting activity came during Pennsylvania’s ever popular rifle season.  We spent some more time just having good conversation and headed back to his home to fill out a hunting permission card.  Having written permission is essential anymore for hunting a property.  With hunting being so popular, your chances of running into another person afield are very high.  It pays to have the permission card on your possession if asked by another party. 

I returned with hunting partner Mike Loughman a couple of weeks later to do some low impact scouting.  Due to the terrain, we could basically sit in one location with binoculars and watch the majority of the property.  We were very impressed with what we saw including dozens of deer and at least three shooter bucks.  Shooter bucks to us are a buck over sixteen inches wide and having eight of more points.  In southwestern PA, bagging a buck of this size or better with archery tackle can be regarded as quite the accomplishment.  During this scouting foray, I also jotted down wind directions that I would need to use to hunt certain areas of the farm.  I also noted the access areas and the wind directions needed to enter these places.  One area in particular stood out to me as a definite stand location.  The area was a located in a triple funnel in a finger of trees protruding into a field.  The area was in a valley that had two narrow strips of woods on both sides and another strip of woods between two fields behind the tree.  It screamed to be hunted.  The fact that I saw six bucks walk out of this location was just the icing on the cake.  I would be back. 

I returned the following day around noon to pick my exact tree for the triple funnel. I saw several doe feeding on the way in on the west facing hillside.  I smiled at how close I had walked past a mother doe and two yearlings and the fact that they just watched me walk past without ever reacting to my presence.  In the small finger of trees jutting into the field was a hickory that had my name all over it.  I quickly scaled the tree and made sure that all preparations, trimming, etc. were made so that the tree was “hunting ready”.  This stand stood double duty as a ready-to-hunt stand and also as a great observation stand.  The fallow field in front of me extended as far as I could see and was crisscrossed with deer trails and ditches.  The stream running through the bottom also was a great water source during the hottest part of the bowhunting season.  I walked away from this tree brimming with confidence as I once again confirmed the north wind that was needed for me to hunt this tree. 

The first week of the bowhunting season came quickly.  To say this week was uneventful would be an understatement.  I did pass on a smaller fifteen inch eight point but was plagued by hot weather and a full moon.  I spent the majority of the week hunting around the house.  We had seen and videotaped a monster (I do mean huge) whitetail in my area that looked more like he belonged in Saskatchewan rather than Pennsylvania.  This deer was the largest buck I had ever seen period the end.  The only problem was that the deer was well known and was being hunted very hard by several people.  I also hit another area that was holding a twenty four inch wide monster that had also advertised his whereabouts and was being pursued by several hunters.  I figured that with all the pressure, my best chances at these big bucks was during the rut and decided to head to my newly acquired hunting area on the first Saturday. 

That Saturday, the wind was right and as I expected when I arrived, no other hunters.  I was accompanied on this hunt by Pro Staffer Mike Loughman.  Since Mike had joined me on my scouting, he had a good area in mind as he strapped his climbing stand to his back for the long walk.  The weather was a balmy seventy-five degrees and the moon was still bright in the sky.  I only saw one doe the entire evening on stand as I fought the mosquito battle.  As I left my stand to our agreed meet point I came upon two bucks in the upper adjacent field.  A small eight and six point fed next to the old barn.  I snuck to within shooting range and then watched as the bucks walked towards Mike’s location in the swallowing darkness.  As I reached the barn I noticed three more deer silhouetted on the horizon.  My binos quickly showed my three more bucks including a dandy wallhanger.  Soon I was joined by Mike and he told me of the three bucks he had seen including a thick eight pointer that was just out of range.  We traveled home excited about the evening’s events and could not wait to return. 

Work brought me to within ten miles of my new hunting spot on the following

Wednesday so I packed all of my gear with the intention of heading into the triple funnel around five o’clock.  A cold front had passed through the night before and the wind was still gusting from the north.  I figured that since my tree was in a low spot the wind would be diminished and the deer congregating…I was right.  I no sooner got settled in my stand when three doe came towards me from across the fallow field.  They made their way closer and finally entered the woods to my west.  I saw several other does during the next hour and one small six point.  It was nearing seven o’clock when I heard deer coming from behind me.  I immediately got out the Primos Can and bleated four times.  I then grunted loud and long several times.  The deer ran closer to the edge of the field.  The first deer to break into the open sent my adrenaline into big buck overdrive.  He easily met the four point to one side restrictions in my area of Pennsylvania and also my personal standards as a definite shooter.  This buck came in sporting some serious attitude…ears laid back and fur bristled.  He walked stiff legged into the field followed by a smaller eight point and a six point.  My Mathews was already off the hanger and my Tri Loc tipped Vital Hunter eagerly awaited the incoming bruiser.  I had made a mock scrape five steps from my stand and vigorously doused the area with Kirschner’s Rutting Type lure.  The deer stopped at five paces and lowered his muscular neck to inhale the aroma.  My Truball release let go of my loop and I made a crushing shot that exited at the opposite knuckle.  The buck ran all of forty yards and piled up with a wallop in a ditch.  I had just shot the largest buck of my archery career and sat down to soak in the moment.  The other two bucks stood in wonder and had no urge to leave the area without their fallen comrade. 

As I grasped the thick antler of my eight point, I was overwhelmed with satisfaction.  This fine buck was a culmination of time and effort and I reveled in a good plan coming together.  I have sat in numerous stands in my twenty plus years of bowhunting but can remember only a handful of stands that stick in my mind as a lock for a good buck.  I had nothing but confidence in this stand and felt pride in knowing that I had picked one tree out of five hundred acres that was a winner.

On a side note, the landowner was gracious enough to offer his services in retrieving the deer.  He took time out of his night to dress, take out his quad, call his horses into the barn, open several gates, help me load and unload the deer and then offer his services in dressing the deer.  I could not thank him enough for his services and the opportunity to hunt his property.  I thanked him profusely for his much needed help (I would still be dragging that deer as I write this).