Plenty of trail cam pics. Dozens of ScentCone checks. Some very close encounters. Then it all comes together in New York’s bigwoods country.
Are you doing all you can to manage the deer on your hunting lands? New York’s Kurtis Slocum knows what that feels like, working hard on his bigwoods property to put in food plots, monitor trail cams, and pass younger bucks he knows his neighbors would likely shoot. But all that work does have its rewards. Just one of them is earning our latest Big Buck ALERT award. Congrats Kurtis; here’s how it happened in Slocum’s own words:
“I live in the southern tier of New York and hunt the state’s bigwoods bucks. The deer don’t get really huge here; a typical 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-year-old buck will average about 120 inches. Many of my neighbors have a ‘brown is down’ philosophy.
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“My own personal philosophy is more along the lines of, ‘dead scrub bucks don’t grow,’ Slocum continued. “I’ve been food-plotting and managing for at least 2.5-year-old bucks or better for 10-plus years. I’ve used the HuntStand app ever since I first heard about them. The ability to log and keep track of stands, and especially the winds, in my area has put many bucks down over the years.
“This year’s buck is a particularly good example of the effectiveness of HuntStand , with an exciting hunt that began soon after getting some trail cam pics of a large buck. Between getting more and more trail cam pics of him, and always choosing the best stands based on my ScentCone, I knew I was getting close.
“I ended up playing an intense game of cat-and-mouse with this buck for 70-plus hours this past fall, experiencing many close encounters, until finally, on November 16th, he came in chasing a doe on a half-acre turnip/clover field.
“I arrowed him with my Barnett Brotherhood crossbow at 10 yards; I truly credit HuntStand for being one of the tools that allowed me to harvest this 4 1/2-year-old NY monster. Bigwoods hunting is tough, but when you do finally connect on a big one with all the odds stacked against you, they mean that much more to you. What an awesome app. Happy hunting!”
For his Week Nine win, Slocum will receive a Team HuntStand-approved Bino Harness X from ALPS OutdoorZ , a $49.99 value. One of the first product extensions to the popular and successful Extreme line from ALPS OutdoorZ, the Bino Harness X (shown above and below) is
BUY NOW: ALPS OUTDOORZ BINO HARNESS X
the ideal companion for your hunting optics. Designed to keep the pocket close to your chest and reduce the amount of movement you’ll feel in your optics, the Bino Harness X is constructed using extra-tough 1680D ballistic nylon fabric, with an easy-to-use one-handed opening mechanism for quick access. A handy lens cloth is included.
Did you score big in 2017? You’re not too late to enter the HuntStand 2017 Big Buck ALERT contest! Simply send us a few clear, high-res. digital photos (three to five) of your 2017 buck, 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]
