First Archery Buck-Monster Bucks of Kansas Style
by: Jason Gardner, Newburg, PA.

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            From the time I was a little kid growing up in Pennsylvania, I loved to hunt whitetail deer.  Growing up, I only hunted deer with a rifle, mainly because I hunted with my Dad and that is his weapon of choice .  My cousin and good buddy, Brad, is an avid archery hunter and has often told me to drop the rifle and pick up a bow.  My curiosity finally got the best of me, so in 2009, I started archery hunting.  I was hooked instantly as I was able to take a doe that first year, but I was not fortunate enough to take a buck.  I couldn’t wait for the 2010 season for another opportunity to take my first buck with a bow. 

            Brad asked me if I was interested in going on a archery trip with his Dad (Bob) and buddy John to Monster Bucks country in Kansas in 2010.  I did not hesitate to say “YES!”  Brad had hunted monster bucks at his uncle Rocky’s the past 6 years, had seen many world class bucks, had many close calls, but was never able to bring one home with him.  He was way overdue!  I had hunted deer at Monster Bucks of Kansas during the 2007 rifle season and saw several smashers, but did not harvest one.  I really wondered if I would be calm enough to take a Kansas smasher as my first archery buck kill? 

            Bob and John arrived one week prior to Brad and I, and Bob had his tagged filled by the time we arrived at Rocky and Brenda’s.  To hear Bob tell the story, his arrow was heading directly toward the vitals of a massive 7-point, when a gust of wind forced his arrow to make a left turn and hit the buck in the back end.  Luckily, the broadhead found an artery and he had a 128-inch buck on the ground!

            During our first evening hunt, John, who has hunted Kansas for 14 years and has killed several monster bucks, hit a buck that he thought was pretty nice.  We started to track him but the blood trail was sparse and the sunlight was fading, so we decided to pull back and give him a few hours.  Unfortunately, the weather forecast was calling for bad weather that evening and it started raining about 30 minutes after we pulled off the trail.  Not wanting to loose what blood we had, we decided to go back after him.  We started to find good blood shortly after where we left off - We were very excited to see the Kansas smasher on the ground and before long, our flashlights found John’s trophy in front of us.  When we finally got to him, all John could say was “I thought he was bigger than that.”  Ground shrinkage is real - John had taken a beautiful buck, he was just a young 8-point. 

            Heavy rain washed out the 2^nd day.  The 3rd day started off cold and windy, but that didn’t stop us from pursuing the Kansas giants.  It’s a good thing we went out as Brad finally scored his first monster buck in Kansas, an awesome 150-inch 8 point that had a unique 17-inch G2.  NICE!!!  At this point my tag was the only one left to fill.

            We felt like celebrating after Brad finally broke through and killed a monster buck, but since we were there to hunt, we took an afternoon hunt.  We were not thinking it would be a successful hunt, just a good opportunity to get our treestands set for the next day’s hunt.  Brad grabbed his video camera, just in case I got a crack at my first archery buck.  We felt like we were in the right spot, especially after jumping several deer when approaching the hunting area and within 10 minutes of getting set up in our treestands, we had a nice 8-point directly under Brad’s tree.  As darkness approached, I used my doe bleat call and shortly thereafter, we noticed a monster buck about 100 yards away coming right toward me.   My heart was jumping in my chest and I had to tell myself to calm down.  I knew he was a good one and when he was at about 40 yards, he stopped to make a scrap.  It was agonizing to wait, as I was at full draw the entire time he was making his scrap.  He eventually made his way toward me, and I was able to get a clear shot at him.  It turned out to be a perfect shot as he only ran about 50 yards and he started doing his best impression of Foster Brooks.  My first archery buck kill was on the ground, a beautiful 125-inch 8 point. In an instant, what started as a hunt to get prepared for the next day turned into a hunting memory that will not soon be forgotten.  Check out the video to see how the events transpired and just how much fun it is to hunt at Monster Bucks of Kansas!  Brad and I put the smack down on a Kansas smasher on the same day.  What a day, what a hunt, what a hunting trip!  4 hunters, 4 deer and stories to last a whole life through.  Thank you Rocky and Brenda!