Buck: 192 5/8 inches
Date of Harvest: October 30, 2022
Location of Harvest: Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
Weapon of Harvest: Bow
Last fall, Mitch Stamm arrowed a 5 ½-year-old buck. He had three years of sheds from the deer, and two years of trail camera photos. Obviously, it was a lot of history full of hopes and dreams. He’s been going to the deer woods since before he could carry a weapon, but started bowhunting at the age of 12.
“Deer hunting means everything to me,” Stamm said. “It’s a sport that my whole family gets into and although there are a lot of sad stories about target bucks getting shot by neighbors, it makes it that much more special when it finally comes together. Me and my dad plan for deer hunting year round and it’s amazing to see the hard work pay off.”
The Big Stage
The Eau Claire County, Wisconsin area is rich with hunting heritage. Whitetails are kings here, and hunting is rooted in tradition. This lifestyle led to a long journey pursuing a deer Stamm called “Johnny’s Buck.”
“This was an area about 15 miles north of where I normally hunt,” Stamm said. “It was my dad’s friend’s land, and he let us shed hunt. Eventually, we bought it in the spring of 2022. This property is just north of Buffalo County, so there are a lot of bluffs and ridges, which make for great pinch points and funnels.”
While some don’t like hunting this type of terrain, others do. With the right access, hill country can be easier to hunt, especially given the advantages specific terrain features have to offer. That said, with poor directional access, hill country becomes exponentially more difficult to hunt. Fortunately, Stamm’s access is good.
Throughout the season, he had two preliminary encounters with the buck. One afternoon, the big deer came within 65 yards, but no closer. Another time, it made it to within 18 yards, but it was just after legal shooting hours ended. Fortunately, a third sighting was soon to come.
The Final Hunt
October 30, 2022, brought warmer temperatures. It was about 10 degrees over the annual average. Nonetheless, with overcast skies, and the rut quickly approaching, Stamm hoped for a good outing. It was the 14th hunt for this specific buck.
His afternoon stand location was in the fabled Wisconsin hills. A long ridge stretched out ahead of him. A water hole was about 20 yards ahead, too. Behind him, a row of pines sprawled out toward a large field full of corn, soybeans, and turnips.
After a while, deer started moving. First, a button buck appeared. Then, a doe. After that, a loud commotion commenced. “I remember hearing chasing way up on the ridge and thinking immediately that it was him,” Stamm said. “I got my binos up to see which deer they were, saw his giant rack, and instantly got excited.”
All three deer emerged over the hill at the same time, and once in view, they slowly descended and walked toward Stamm’s position. He readied the camera, grabbed his bow, and watched as the deer walked closer to the watering hole.
After a few tense moments, the deer breached bow range, and offered a quartering-away shot. Stamm came to full draw, settled the pin, and took the 40-yard opportunity. The arrow connected. The massive buck ran 30 yards and tipped over.
“The recovery was very easy,” Stamm said. “I got down from my stand and waited for my dad, brother, and Johnny (the guy living on the farm) to walk up on it for the first time. It meant even more to me to have my family with me when I finally got to recover the deer. They were equally excited for me and that meant the world because they know this is what I love to do. It was an incredible deer, and I was honored to even be chasing him. It was the biggest buck I’d ever gotten on camera, and I knew that it would be the type of deer you dedicate a season to after seeing what he had turned into in 2022.”
The Lessons Learned
Reflecting on the hunt, as well as the tips and tactics he used, Stamm contributes his success to hunting over a watering hole during the beginning stage of the rut. “Having a water source around during the rut when the deer are running all day long is a game changer, especially in our area where you can specifically put them on a ridge or close to a food source near bedding areas,” Stamm said.
Throughout the years, Stamm also used a hunting app to keep track of the sheds he found. And once he started hunting the buck, he made notes on where the buck frequented. This, paired with terrain factors, helped narrow down where to intercept this deer.
Furthermore, this was a team effort. Stamm and his father hung treestands and trail cameras. Their friend, Johnny Walker, planted the food plots. When you live away from your hunting land, and don’t have equipment on or near the property, consider asking a nearby farmer to help with land management practices that require implements. Either trade out services or pay them a reasonable fee. All of this, and more, led to the success on this buck.
“All my friends were ecstatic for me, because it was a deer that I talked about almost every day throughout the season,” Stamm said. “They knew all about the encounters that I’d had and how close I was to arrowing him multiple times. They were in awe to see the deer in person for the first time and couldn’t believe how big he was. This deer means a lot to me because of all the hours of hard work that I put into successfully harvesting an animal of this caliber.”
Stamm’s Wisconsin whitetail scored 192 5/8 inches. The full story and video of the entire journey can be seen on his YouTube video below.
