A 400-acre tract holding multiple stand sites. An impressive newcomer buck. When HuntStand points the way to a successful ambush, our Week 3 winner emerges.
Many of us use and depend on the multi-featured HuntStand app regularly, but it’s always special when someone new to the community sees the app’s power almost instantly. For a great example, consider Georgia’s Andrew Ford, a new HuntStand user in 2020. For sending in photos and the HuntStand success story of a stunning South Carolina 10-point taken with his 7mm rifle on Aug. 21, Ford is the Week 3 winner in the 2020 HuntStand Big Buck ALERT contest that earns him a sweet pack from ALPS OutdoorZ: The Quickdraw 2.0 Sling Pack (see below). The weekly win also makes Ford eligible for our Grand Prize drawing in late November (more on that below). We’re still looking for seven more weekly winners so enter today!
“HuntStand works very well! This is my first year using the HuntStand app, and, hands down, it helped me take my biggest whitetail buck to date,” Ford wrote. “This Hardeeville, South Carolina 10-point stepped out in daylight the evening of Friday, August 21, and I took him with my 7mm rifle. “The season had opened the previous Saturday; I first found this deer on trail camera on Monday, Aug. 17, four days before shooting him. He was coming to a feeder I had recently put out, located in a green field near a large palmetto swamp.
“Watching the wind on the Huntstand app allowed me to plan what day I could hunt this stand without my scent blowing back into the swamp, where I figured he was bedding. With 400 acres, the wind seems like it is different at each stand; without HuntStand it is hard to tell where you should hunt. The wind that entire week was blowing due east, which was terrible for the Greenfield Stand. The buck was hanging out near the stand all night long most every night, with a few sunset/sunrise appearances. On Thursday, I noticed the wind would be changing on Friday to blowing due west, the perfect wind.
“After finishing work in Savannah, GA on Friday, I made the 20-minute drive to the property I am hunting in South Carolina. The wind was perfect as predicted by the HuntStand app. For the first hour of the hunt, there was a doe and a spike feeding in the field for over an hour. Right at dark, with only a few minutes of shooting light left, this beautiful wide 10-point walked cautiously out of the swamp, with me directly downwind of him and the two other deer in the field. He gave me a perfect broadside shot at 125 yards, and things worked perfectly from there.
“As you can imagine I’m a huge fan of HuntStand, and have turned several hunting friends on to it!”
To enter the HuntStand 2020 Big Buck ALERT contest, simply send us a few clear, high-res. digital photos (three to five) of your 2020 buck bagged after Aug. 20 (Entries accepted NOW THROUGH NOV. 26) along with a brief story of your hunt that explains how the HuntStand app played a part. Be sure to tell us if your buck was known to you or a newcomer, then describe the area where your stand sits, or where the encounter took place, as well as the fateful day’s wind and weather conditions, and of course, the blow-by-blow account of the exciting action as it unfolded. Include your full name, age, successful hunt date and state, weapon used, and also be sure to include your mailing address. Your e-mail subject line should read: Big Buck Alert! Send your photo(s) and requested info to: [email protected]
Team HuntStand will choose 10 weekly winners that we began sharing with the extensive HuntStand community Sept. 25; EACH weekly winner will receive the Quickdraw 2.0 Sling Pack (valued at $79.99) from ALPS OutdoorZ (see above). This unique single-sling daypack offers quick and easy swing-around access to gear compartments. Unlike traditional shoulder straps, the single sling allows free range of motion. You’ll also find a drop-down pocket that securely carries a bow or gun, MOLLE webbing with bungee system for toting a quiver or extra gear, and a 2L water reservoir to keep you hydrated.
In addition, at the end of the 10 weeks, all weekly winners will be placed in a drawing for our Grand Prize: an ALPS OutdoorZ Contender X pack (valued at $229.99; image above). Pack specialist ALPS is calling this feature-packed design the ultimate whitetail day pack; the coolness of the Contender X begins with its innovative self-standing L-shape frame, which allows you to set your pack on any flat surface. The unique U-shaped zipper provides extra-large, flip-down top access to the main compartment—ideal for easy gear access while hanging in your stand or sitting on the ground, without losing precious pack contents. The Lycra covered molded foam suspension ensures carrying comfort even when fully loaded with hunting necessities.
Good luck out there this fall from all of us here at Team HuntStand and let us know when (and how) you score with HuntStand!
