Two hours had passed since first light. No deer. No squirrels. Even the crows and blue jays were quite. It was November 5th and the temperature was 31 degrees. Surely I should have seen a deer by now. This is the time when most hunters would have started second guessing themselves. They would have given up on the stand and moved to another stand location, but I knew better. I believed in this stand. Deep down in my gut I knew this was where I was going to get a chance to kill a mature Illinois buck. “Your not climbing down until dark. You know this is the spot. Be patient,” I told myself. I no sooner sat back down in my stand, when I caught movement in the CRP on the hill in front of me.

My name is DJ Hoshauer, I’m a guide and prostaff member for True Country Whitetails. Even though 95% of my hunting is done in the northeast, I take a week or two each season to hunt other states. This story actually starts in November 2010. I traveled to Illinois on a do-it-yourself hunt. A friend of mine was leasing land, but told me that there was good state land across the street from where he was hunting. It sounded like a challenge to me and I wasn’t about to pass up the oppurtunity. Before I left for the trip, I did most of my scouting by looking at Bing Maps or Google Earth. I was only going to be there for four and half days. Most of that trip I spent scouting the area. One day I knocked on the door of a small farm. To my surprise the farmer gave me permission to hunt. He said he owned 64 acres, but only 7acres of it was wooded. I thanked him and immediatley started scouting the property. I found some sign and set up. I didnt see a deer that night, but I know I heard one making a scrape close by in a thicket. The temperatures were in the high 70′s and the deer movement was minimal. I ended up hunting the state land the next day and saw some decent bucks. The last morning of the hunt I decided to go back to the farm. This time I sat closer to where I heard the buck making a scrape two days earlier. I only had three hours to hunt and then we were headed home. Just before my time was up, a huge eight point came cruising by just out of range. It was the biggest eight point I ever saw in my life. I got out of my stand and did some more scouting. I found one of the best hunting stands I have ever seen. It was located in a creek bottom where six different draws fed down to one pinch point. At the top of the draws are fields. There were scrapes and big rubs everywhere. This was a cruising spot. Any bucks that wanted to search for doe had to use this pinch sooner or later. I would have given anything to stay and hunt, but it was time to head home. On the way back to Pennsylvania I told my buddy, “I’m going to kill a good one in there next year”.

For the last year I have been thinking of this spot. I spoke to the farmer and he granted me permission to come back and hunt again. However, this year I would be making the trip alone. I arrived on Thursday afternoon, It was windy and rainy. Perfect conditions to hang a stand and quickly back out of there. I knew the rain would wash away most of the scent that I would leave while hanging my stands. There wasn’t nearly the buck sign that I saw the year before. But I hung two stands for two different winds. I just knew this was going to be the spot. Two days later I climbed into the stand that I hung for a southeast wind.

I caught movement in the CRP on the hill in front of me. A big bodied deer was cruising down the draw. I could tell he had a big frame and immediately grabbed my bow. This buck was cruising and he was headed right at me! His swollen neck and huge body told me he was mature. I could see his breath in the cold morning air, and my heart was pounding. I kept telling myself, “settle down, focus.” The buck stopped at 15 yards behind a bunch of branches, no chance for a shot. He glanced at me in the tree and my heart stopped. But as quickly as he looked at me, he looked the other way. Still the huge buck just stood there. I believe deer have a 6th sense, and this buck was using his. He knew something wasn’t right, but he couldnt figure it out. After about two or three minutes the buck made a wide turn to leave, this was his mistake. He gave me just enough space to unleash a rage right through his boiler room!!! As the arrow struck him in the ribs, he bolted back on the same trail that he had come in on. I knew he was hit hard, but I was still going to give him some time. A short time later I heard all kinds of crashing again. Another buck was chasing doe all around me! The buck looked like he was at least a ten point that would score around 135-140 inches. Less than 30 minutes later another big eight point traveled 20 yards from my stand. I knew this stand was going to be good, but on this morning it was unreal. All of the deer I had seen were moving middle to late morning. I climbed down from my stand and took up the trail of my buck. He hadn’t gone 125 yards when I saw him piled up in the CRP. His body was huge and his rack was impressive! A big main frame 8 point with a kicker that made him a 9 point. I couldn’t have been more happy!

Without a doubt, I credit this successful hunt to me believing in my stand. I know that through the years I have gotten out of stands early, only to have missed several chances at big bucks. The reason I chose to get down early, was because I didn’t believe in my stand. In the last couple of years I have been fortunate enough to kill some really good bucks in PA, Ohio, and Maryland. All of those kills were because I believed in my stand and simply did not give up on them. If you find a stand location and deep down inside you feel like this is the place you will kill a buck, stick with it, committ to it. Believing in your stand will help you stay on stand longer, stay focused, and be prepared to shoot when that big buck finally gives you and opportunity!!

DJ “5.0″ Hoshauer
TCW Pro Staff
True Country Whitetails, LLC.
DJ.Hoshauer@truecountrywhitetails.com