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6 Deer Hunts To Watch Before Opening Day

By Justin ZarrSeptember 29, 2022

October 1st is only two sleeps away and we’ll be off to the races for another bowhunting season here in Illinois.  With anticipation building as we dive headlong toward opening day, let’s take a look at six action-packed deer hunting videos that are sure to get you fired up.  

The Hunting Public - Jake's Early Season North Dakota Buck

The guys at THP have been killing it in recent years, literally and figuratively.  Their YouTube channel is one of the fastest-growing hunting channels in the world, and for good reason.  Each fall, they produce a lot of action-packed deer hunts, and it was difficult to pick just one to watch.

For me, bowhunting is all about getting up close and personal with the animals we’re hunting, and few do it better than these guys.  This hunt features Jake Huebschman waiting out a huge velvet buck in North Dakota during the early season and making an epic close-range shot.

Whitetail Edge - Scissors

Ben Rising cut his teeth in the video industry shooting giant bucks for Drury Outdoors before eventually starting Whitetail Edge.   For those not familiar, Whitetail Edge follows Ben through his whitetail season, bouncing from state to state chasing mature whitetails.

After arrowing three mature bucks in 8 days across three different states, Ben got an invite to hunt a farm in Illinois where a giant buck had been eluding the landowner for three seasons.  In just a few days, Ben closes the distance on “Scissors” in one of the more exciting deer hunts I’ve seen recently.

Mark Drury's 216" Iowa Giant

It’s hard to talk about cool deer hunting videos without mentioning Mark Drury and Drury Outdoors.  This family and their team have been a staple in my hunting video library for decades, and they just keep on getting it done.

Last year Mark sealed the deal on a 216″ Iowa giant.  The best part of the hunt for me is hearing Mark talk about making a poor shot on a deer the previous year and working his butt off during the off-season to make sure it didn’t happen again.  When he laces this buck at 43 yards, it’s icing on the cake.

Chris Bee - Kansas Public Land Giant

If you’ve ever planned an out-of-state hunt on public land, you dream of it going down just the way this hunt does.  After driving out to Kansas, Chris Bee gets setup on a piece of ground he’s never hunted and has an encounter with the biggest buck of his life.  This is a great hunt from one of the industry’s fastest rising stars.

For anyone getting ready to venture into parts unknown to hunt the whitetail rut, this hunt’s for you!

Todd Graf's 192" Monster Buck

I would be remiss not to include one of our hunts in this list, and nothing gets me fired up for the season quite like this hunt from way back in the early days of Bowhunting.com.

After having trail camera pictures all summer and multiple sightings and encounters in mid-October, Todd finally seals the deal on what is some of the most iconic footage in our library and the hunt that put us on the map all those years ago.

Todd Pringnitz Epic Recovery of Walter Payton

Few whitetail hunters have been as passionate about big bucks as Todd Pringnitz.  After moving from Michigan to Iowa to chase giant deer, years of hard work and dedication finally pay off as Todd harvests the biggest deer of his life; a buck he nicknamed Walter Payton.

Aside from being a great hunt, Todd’s emotions during the recovery of his buck have become legendary online.  Unfortunately, he passed away not long after this, so he was never able to see how many people this hunt has touched.

If Todd’s raw emotion and personality don’t get you fired up for the impending deer season, nothing will!

Justin Zarr
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General Manager at Bowhunting.com
Justin has been bowhunting for more than 30 years and co-hosting the popular bowhunting show Bowhunt or Die since 2010.  He lives in the NW suburbs of Chicago with his wife, 3 children, and semi-smelly dog.
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