Mike Stayed Invisible with EliminX and Nabbed a 176" Buck!

On November 11, 2010, I decided to hunt a spot that has proven itself many times for me and is one of my favorite places to hunt. I had actually not been able to get into a tree all year so this was my first afternoon in a tree stand and I was pretty excited.

I got to the farm at about 2 PM and realized that the wind was not steady at all; it was changing directions as I was standing there. I decided I would not let that discourage me and I sprayed down with Code Blue& new EliminX 360;. The new aerosol really made it nice for me as a bigger guy to get great coverage and it must have worked.

As I got close to the stand, four deer ran out of the buffer strips that surround the timber that my stand is in. This was a little disheartening. I got to my Summit Single Shot ladder stands and climbed up, securing my Seat of the Pants harness as soon as I got to the platform. Not five minutes later, a small 8-pointer walked down the ridge behind me to the southeast. The wind was out of the northwest so he really should have winded me, but he never seemed to. He came down off the ridge and crossed the creek directly behind me. He fed on acorns for about ten minutes and then worked his way back the way he had come.

A doe walked across the same ridge shortly thereafter. Again, she never seemed to wind me at all. Then a pretty nice 8-pointer came from the east, walking just inside the timber heading right at me. He passed behind me at 15 yards. I drew my bow and really struggled with whether or not to shoot, but I let down on him. He seemed a little young and it was my first day in the stand. He, too, was directly down wind and seemed to never detect my presence. I let him walk out of sight to the south and I struggled with my decision to pass on him.

A small 8 walked straight to me from the north over the open bean field and entered the buffer strip and followed it around the timber. I was amazed at the number of bucks I was seeing and the lack of does I was seeing. Just as he got out of sight to the south, I heard leaves rustling again to the east on the edge of the timber and figured it was squirrels. Boy was I wrong! I saw a flash of white and then I realized it was a real nice 10-pointer walking right on the edge of the timber. I saw how tall he was and realized how tall his brow tines were and I started to shake pretty bad. I knew that to get a good shot, he would have to get straight out in front of me. To my right I had no shooting lanes, and if he moved straight in front of me he would be less than 15 yards away and wide open. He kept coming and as his head got behind a small tree, I came to full draw. He never lifted his head. I was shocked! My arrow found its spot behind his shoulder and he bound off back to the east. I never saw him go down but he piled up less then 60 yards away, never making it back to the timber.

Once I got up to him, I realized how tall his brow tines really were. They are 11in long! He scores 176!

I feel very blessed.

Mike K.