Justin Hager arrowed this great Ohio drop tine buck.
- Hunter: Justin Hager
- Buck: 153 inches
- Location of Harvest: Ohio
- Date of Harvest: January 11, 2025
- Weapon of Harvest: Mathews Triax
Justin Hager hails from Ohio, and last season, he shot a late-season drop-tine buck. On January 11, 2025, he carried the Mathews Triax to the snow-covered timber.
“I had three years of history with this buck,” Hager said. “In 2022, he showed up as a 3-year-old, main-frame 8-pointer. I had tons of pictures in the 2023-2024 season, and he blew up into a 140-class main-frame 8. This past season [2024-2025], he got even bigger and threw a crazy 6-inch drop tine.”
January 11, 2025, brought cloudy skies and cold temperatures. About 3-4 inches of snow covered the ground. His stand overlooked cut soybeans. A house stood about 100 yards away, so it gave the vibe of a suburban-rural hybrid hunt. Key topography features around him included a small thicket, open but marshy prairie, a wide creek, the cut soybean field, and more.
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Hager glassed and scouted this deer during the pre-season.
He settled in around 3:30 P.M., but the afternoon hunt started very slowly. Cars occasionally drove up and down the road. A few squirrels scampered in and out of view. With nearly an entire season dedicated to the buck, he hoped the deer would finally show up.
Sitting in the cold, he reflected on the many trail camera photos he had of the deer. His mind drifted to the summer scouting encounters, and the two times he’d seen the buck during prior hunts — sightings in mid-October and early November.
“Not seeing a single deer all evening, I decided to get down a couple minutes early,” Hager said. “I had a dinner party to go to that night and figured I’d better head out to that before some does came in at last light and I got stuck in the stand for a while.
“So, I took a good look around me to make sure there was no movement,” Hager continued. “I put the arrow back in my quiver and decide to lower my bow down. As I lowered my bow, I looked out in front of me in the open prairie and saw two deer at about 150 yards walking straight toward me.”
Holding his binoculars up with one hand, and his hanging bow with the other, Hager glassed the drop tine buck heading straight for him. He slowly pulled his bow back up, knocked an arrow, and got ready for a shot opportunity.
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He kept tabs on the deer with his cell cams.
“He finally got to the fence inside the field edge corner at 30 yards, and just stared into the field making sure it was safe to enter,” Hager said. “Facing straight toward me, all I could focus on was the huge drop tine hanging against the white, snowy background. It was unreal.”
Eventually, the buck jumped the fence and started toward him. Five minutes until the end of legal shooting light, he drew back, settled the pin, and loosed the arrow. The broadside, 20-yard shot connected. The deer mule kicked and ran out of sight.
About an hour later, his dad, mom, and brother Cody came to help track the deer. Blood blanketed the snow. They found him 40 yards from where Hager lost sight of the deer.
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With the buck finally down, it was a great conclusion to his 2024 deer season.
Studying tips, tactics, and other factors in the hunt, Hager points to several key concepts.
“I use HuntStand every day of hunting season,” Hager continued. “That’s the app I rely on for my wind direction. I’ve always used HuntStand, and will continue to use it, in the following seasons.”
“I heavily relied on wind direction to kill this buck,” he said. “The wind had to be perfect. I couldn’t hunt that stand other than a North or Northwest wind. Otherwise, my scent would blow into the small thicket in front of me where the majority of deer came from.
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Hager was all smiles and glad his family was able to enjoy the recovery with him.
HuntStand certainly helped bag this 5 ½-year-old Buckeye State whitetail. The buck scored 153 inches.
“I’m still in awe I was able to harvest this buck,” Hager said. “After three years of history, I couldn’t be happier to have tagged this deer.
“Since we all hunt, it brings the family together,” Hager continued. “We all go out and come back and tell the stories about what we all saw during our hunts. It’s awesome. My dad introduced hunting to me back when I was 9 years old. I shot my first buck when I was 10, and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
It’s likely a big, ol’ drop tine buck adds some fuel to that fire, too.
