Four long years. Dozens of nighttime game cam pics. When an Ohio giant finally chooses to show itself in daylight, faith in the HuntStand app helps deliver a world-class trophy.
Not many of us can say we’ve hunted the same mature buck for four separate years. Four! Ohio’s Doug Adams can, and even more exciting, the saga has a storybook ending. Adams’ quest began like many do, with a revealing game cam image captured overnight. In the years to follow Adams would capture many nighttime images of the monster buck, but not a single one in daylight. That is, until one fateful early November day, when one very excited bowhunter knew that it was smarter to check his HuntStand app rather than climb immediately into his treestand. But enough foreshadowing. We’ll let Adams tell his amazing HuntStand Success Story in his own words.
“I hunt in northwest Ohio on fairly flat ground, in an area loaded with crop fields, especially corn, soybeans and wheat,” Adams explained. “I had been after this giant for over four years with no success, until November 8, 2016.
“I knew what I had been doing in the past just wasn’t working, so I decided to hang a new set on the north side of the property. I have a ton of trail camera photos of this buck, but hadn’t captured a single one during daylight hours until the morning of November 6, 2016. After finding that photo I wanted to hunt him immediately, but after looking at my HuntStand app I knew the wind wasn’t right for the new stand.
“It is truly amazing how much HuntStand keeps you updated on accurate weather changes, and so I knew, looking at HuntStand again on November 7, that the wind would be right for the afternoon of November 8.
“At around 11 a.m. on November 8 I checked my Browning trail camera and it showed my dream buck had been there earlier in the a.m. I got in my stand around 2:15 p.m. that afternoon, and at 4:10 p.m. a doe appeared. Not far behind her was this guy; the doe was headed my way and soon she was at just 15 yards. Thankfully the buck continued to follow the doe and when he got to 22 yards I took the shot.
“Immediately, the shot looked good,” Adams recalled. “I waited 10 to 15 minutes, then got down and backed out of the area. About an hour and a half later I hiked back to the stand site, and instantly got on the blood trail. I found a great blood trail and after about 80 yards of tracking, I jumped him. I was stunned.
“Now sick to my stomach at the sight of the still-alive buck, I once again snuck out of there. I returned the next morning, this time with two buddies, and after getting back on the blood trail we found him—approximately 200 yards from where I jumped him the day before. What a feeling to find him, and finally make it happen. I definitely think HuntStand played a big part in my success, including being able to monitor the wind and weather so accurately. The green gross score of my buck ended up at 191 3/8; thanks HuntStand, and for letting me share my story.”
Congrats Doug on a true world-class buck, and thanks for sharing your experience that not only proves the deadly effectiveness of the HuntStand app, but also shows that when you hunt hard and smart, even the largest and most-reclusive of bucks can be tagged in the end.
For sharing his HuntStand app success story, Adams will receive a pair of Arctic Ice cooler packs: One Tundra Series X-Large cooler pack (complete Tundra Series set shown above) and one Chillin’ Brew X-Large cooler pack, a $60 total value.
VIDEO: Arctic Ice Improves Your Cooler’s Performance
Arctic Ice reusable cooler packs are tailor-made for sportsmen, both hunters and fishermen, who want to keep fish, game meat and food/provisions cold or frozen longer, while avoiding the hassle and expense of dry and standard ice. Arctic Ice Chillin’ Brew cooler packs (available in four sizes, Small to X-Large) have been shown to keep coolers under 32°F for days, and can also be used with ice to keep ice frozen up to 50 percent longer than an equal weight of ice would last alone. Tundra Series cooler packs have been shown to maintain frozen temperatures in coolers for days; they’re great for keeping frozen food or frozen game in perfect shape without the need for freezers or dry ice.
