Kansas Bruiser Buck

Persistence pays off. Often the difference between success and failure is a never-surrender attitude.

Mark Hollingsworth had been on the blood trail all day and was about to raise the white flag and chalk it up as a marginal shot. He and his wife had found only a drop of blood when they were able to hear his buck wheezing for air. They wisely backed out and waited with their fingers crossed for the deer to expire.

Jeff Scarborough with his huge Kansas buck.

After a long anxiety-ridden wait, they headed back to find Mark’s buck. After many hours and too many miles to count, Mark was ready to throw in the towel. His wife suggested they give it one more try. Thank God for patient and persistent wives.

Mark drove down to a spot where they thought his buck had crossed the road. He was in a considerable amount of pain by now and stayed at the truck while Mrs. Hollingsworth put boots to the dirt and covered ground. Suddenly, Mark heard her shriek and left the truck posthaste.

Incredibly, his lovely wife had found his awesome Missouri buck and all was right in this world. To say Mark was grateful would be a huge understatement.

His kill call rang for miles through the cool Missouri air. There were high fives and hugs all around as the hunters celebrated their good fortune.

Mark went straight from the outhouse to the penthouse and could not wipe the smile off his face. He learned a valuable lesson he will never forget. Note to self: always invite Mrs. Hollingsworth on all deer hunting trips henceforth!

Jeff Scarborough recently put a well-placed shot on a huge Kansas buck with a bow and arrow. This giant scored 181 3/8 inches of horn on his massive frame.

Jeff was set up inside a wooded lot as a doe approached. A Kansas bruiser buck was pushing her and hot on the trail. The buck offered a quartering shot that Jeff was all over. He executed a textbook kill shot and waited.

On impact, the buck ran about 80 yards, stopped once and then disappeared into a draw. Jeff waited impatiently for five hours before resuming the search.

Jeff’s wingman, co-pilot Kerry Savant, had an idea to let a drone do the searching. He launched his drone, and lo and behold, it worked. There as plain as day was Jeff’s giant buck at the base of the hill. Jeff wanted to kiss Kerry, but Savant just smiled and vacated the area quickly.

It is not always just about quantity.  Most good hunts are more about quality.

There is nothing that compares to sharing some time in the duck blind with your favorite offspring. Aaron Peloquin and his son, Collin, were hunkered down in a rice field blind not far from home in Iowa.

There were not beaucoup ducks, but sometimes less is more. Dad and son watched a beautiful sunrise together and even managed to execute a few kill shots on incoming ducks.

They kept a wood duck drake and a hen they doubled-down on. Both will always appreciate having some success and those awesome wood ducks.