LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015
The fifth episode of Bowhunt or Die was our best episode so far this season, hands down. Halloween Weekend was good to the Bowhunting.com team as 4 bucks hit the ground totaling over 540 inches of bone. Episode 5 is full of big buck action from Central Illinois and Wisconsin so read on and let’s recap Halloween Weekend on Bowhunt or Die!
Click this link to watch the footage from Episode 5 of Bowhunt or Die!
Josh Fletcher got things started off for us with an exciting hunt in Wisconsin. Josh was in the tree October 28th for the first day of what was a planned two week vacation to bowhunt the rut. Fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending how you look at it) Josh filled his buck tag on his first trip out. Josh had a nice buck chasing a doe right underneath his stand and, just as he was recapping what he saw with an interview, he hears the crunching of leaves, spots a shooter buck, quickly turns the camera around and prepares for the shot. With the buck in frame, Josh releases an arrow tipped with the NAP Bloodrunner towards the giant Wisconsin buck. All in a matter of seconds, Josh had successfully filmed himself shooting the biggest buck of his life! To top it off, the big bodied whitetail died within just 40 yards of his truck making for an easy drag. Well done, Josh!
Josh Fletcher posing happily with the biggest buck of his life, a monster Wisconsin 12 pointer.
We then climb up the tree with Richie Music on a suburban hunt in Northern Illinois. Despite the annoyances of hunting suburbia, Richie was determined and optimistic about seeing deer and shooting a good buck. Richie didn’t have to wait long, because around 4 o’clock a monster Illinois 11 pointer walked right into Richie’s shooting lane. Richie quietly drew his bow, released and let his NAP Bloodunner do its job. A perfect double lung shot resulted in a dead deer, a happy bowhunter and the biggest buck of Richie’s life on the ground. Richie’s reaction after he shot the buck is what deer hunting is all about. Just watching Richie’s excitement and enthusiasm is enough to make me get back in the woods right now! Kudos to Richie for self-filming the biggest buck harvest of his life with bow and arrow, good job Richie!
The monster 11 pointer just before Richie’s arrow strikes true. The bright red streak you see above and to the right of the buck’s rack is Richie’s arrow.
Richie with the biggest buck of his life. A mainframe 10 with a split left G2, long main beams and a super wide spread make Richie’s buck a buck of a lifetime.
Bowhunt or Die then makes the trip south to Central Illinois and Pike County as I continue my quest for not only my first Illinois buck, but my first buck with a bow period. After filming Justin Zarr for three days, I set out on my own and my first afternoon out I had some action. About 5:45 I catch movement out of my left eye and see a shooter buck making his towards me. I immediately take a deep breath, grab my bow, situate the camera and stand up to get ready for the shot. The buck cooperates beautifully and walks right in an opening just 20 yards from my stand and when he stops, I shoot. My arrow hit its mark as I watched my Thunderhead Edge pass quickly through the buck’s heart. I was pumped! I was able to film myself shooting my first Illinois buck as well as my first buck with a bow. There is no better feeling!
My first buck with a bow, my first Illinois buck and my biggest buck to date. I was able to self-film myself harvesting this buck and am extremely proud of him!
The big buck action continues as we follow Justin Zarr on the same piece of property as he looks for a big buck. If you have watched the previous episodes of Bowhunt or Die, you’ve watched Justin pass on several nice bucks looking for a mature, Illinois whitetail. Justin hunted hard for two straight days and despite numerous encounters with younger bucks and a couple close calls with two shooters, Justin headed into Halloween morning without a deer. Justin is living proof, however, that persistence pays because Halloween morning Justin’s patience was rewarded. An old, battle tested buck made the mistake of stopping in Justin’s shooting lane and Justin made a perfect shot on him. Justin’s NAP Nitron made a quick, clean kill on a bruiser Illinois buck. Justin’s buck actually had three tines broken off which adds character to his rack and proves this old buck was a warrior! Congrats Justin!
Justin’s reaction right after he shot his buck. This is what bowhunting is all about!
Justin proudly poses with his Halloween buck. The buck had three broken tines, but he was still a great trophy nonetheless.
Episode 5 was packed full of exciting buck action, and the hunts shared were similar and unique in several ways. Josh, Richie, and I all shot the biggest bucks of our lives. We were all able to successfully self-film the buck harvests featured in Episode 5 and we all relied on NAP broadheads to harvest our bucks. Combine this with the fact that Josh shot his buck on October 28th, Richie on the 29th, mine on the 30th and Justin’s on the 31st and it all adds up to make for a pretty cool show! While it may seem as if Episode 5 will be impossible to top, I would put nothing past the Bowhunting.com Pro Staff with the rut now in full swing. Tune in this Friday for a new episode of Bowhunt or Die to find out!
