LTWL Hunter Online April 2014 | Page 5

I’ve hunted whitetails for over 20 years throughout North America, from a tree, on the ground and in all types of conditions. All that experience aside, nothing can truly prepare you to handle that moment when you see the largest buck of your life coming your way. Ohio had been hit or miss for me, this would be my 5th trip, with one nice buck to my credit. I left prime conditions in New York, crisp cool mornings and temperatures in the 30’s to make the drive to Ohio. When I got there, the www.livethewildlifetv.com temperatures were in the high 40’s and it looked like rain was moving in. I spent my first uneventful afternoon on stand planning to return and hunt it the next morning. About an hour after light I saw my first sign of rutting as a young buck was chasing four or five doe. This raised my spirits as maybe the rut was kicking in. Some time passed as I was sitting in the steady rain, and then I saw him. He was moving about 200 yards away, following a doe. I watched them both enter a thicket bedding 5