Scott Swanson from Swanson Outdoors had invited Dan Perez, Tim McGehee and me on this hunt. Scott is a “bloodhound”. You put him in any particular area and he will find where the big boys live, eat, sleep, and breathe.

While we were all glassing that morning, we spotted two particular bucks that really stood out from the others. They were heading to their bedding area and didn’t seem to be too alarmed that they were being watched from a distance.

Later that day we looked at aerial photos and Scott pointed out an alfalfa field which was directly behind the area where we had spotted the two big bucks earlier.

That evening I kept the wind in my favor and went back to watch the feeding area. From the time that I got to the location until dark, I could not believe the number of white tail deer that were feeding in this field. If there had not been a river behind me that kept the deer from crossing to this field I don’t think I could have gotten out of there without being caught.

Just before dark, the 11th and 12th bucks that came into the field I believe were the two that we had spotted earlier in the morning. Even sitting in a spot where I was just observing the feeding area, I could have harvested several does and a couple of borderline P&Y bucks. The deer kept coming into the feeding area in small groups at different times.

The following morning I continued to watch the funnels between the feeding area and what I thought was their bedding area. I couldn’t believe the number of the deer that I was seeing!

Travis “TJ” Johnson was filming my hunt. TJ is a solid 265 pound man who enjoys the outdoors and is a lot of laughs. In the days to come, TJ and I were able to pattern the exact time as to when the deer would be feeding. The particular animal I was after was always the last one into the field.

Finally, on the third day, the wind had shifted in our favor. At 11:00 AM TJ and I went in and put our stands up into what I figured was going to be the “golden chair”. The anticipation alone was so exciting in my mind that I couldn’t wait to get on stand.

That afternoon the wind direction was staying true. We took a long about way around to get into the stand so as not to disturb the deer and got ready. Almost immediately there were does and yearlings filtering through into the field. They were coming across a back water slough that I didn’t know was there until we had put our stands up.

As the evening went on several good bucks were appearing in the field but to my disappointment the majority of the deer were crossing about 70 yards in front of us. From our observation point the night before, I wasn’t able to see the slough in the background and how the deer were maneuvering their way through the water until they got to the field.

On a couple of different occasions TJ was filming a 10-pointer and had mentioned to me how he wanted to “pinch” on that animal. On this particular afternoon, this animal entered the field early. At any given time from our stand, we could see several good bucks feeding along with numerous does and yearlings.
TJ and I figured that every day we were out, we could have harvested several does on stand along with quite a few good bucks even while we were observing. I’ve never hunted in an area that has had so many deer in it.

Finally during the last half hour of shooting light, a dandy 9-pointer came out and right behind him was the heavy, massive-antlered buck that I had been dreaming about. The buck was too far out for a comfortable shot. I was not confident in it and decided to pass. I turned to TJ and said, “our golden chair is turning bronze in a hurry”. The deer all continued to feed out in the field. Now--how do we get out of there without being caught! We waited until well after dark, climbed down out of the tree we were in and dropped down to the river bank below us and started on the long out-of-the-way hike away from the feeding area back to our vehicle. Luckily for us, not one deer let out a warning sound so we felt we had done everything right.

We hunted a different area the following morning and again passed up on several borderline bucks.
At 11:00 am we went back into the area we were in the night before and moved the stands to a new location right along the edge of the slough in a funnel where the deer were all coming through to the feeding area.

The normal early season routine for me is to get up early in the morning to hunt, come back and have a big lunch, take a nap, then get up and go out hunting. I knew we had our stands placed right where they needed to be. This time we were going to be in the “golden chair”! When it came time for lunch, I couldn’t eat. I didn’t care to take a nap either. All I could think about was getting into our stand. TJ and I were talking about our plans for later that day. We pulled out our bows and started doing a little practicing and I told TJ that he should bring his bow along with him this afternoon because we had those animals patterned so well that we could possibly get a “double pinch”. He looked at me in disbelief and said, “my job is to do the filming–not the hunting”. I told him that as far as I’m concerned, it’s just as much fun for me to be a part of someone else’s hunt as it is to hunt myself.

We left for our stand an hour earlier than what we normally do and as TJ and I arrived at our stand I went up first then TJ started tying the bows and all the camera equipment to the rope and one at a time, I pulled them up and hung them up. Between TJ and I and all the equipment we had, it’s a good thing we were in a tree that could support that amount of weight!

Almost immediately again after we got set up, we could see deer filtering through and heading toward the feeding area. There was a huge staging area just on the other side of the slough where the deer were taking their time coming through into the field. We were now three hours into this afternoon’s hunt, and several deer including some young bucks had come through and entered the field. It was about then when TJ spotted two bucks in the staging area and both of them were “shooters”. The bucks were taking their time just milling around. That’s when TJ said to me, “that’s the 10-pointer”–“that’s the one!” I told TJ that as soon as the bucks started moving our way to hand me the camera and grab his bow. He looked at me like I was goofy and said that he was doing the filming. I didn’t know if he was kidding or not. I said, “TJ–we are going to get a double ‘pinch’ tonight”. By this time, both bucks had laid down.

After about a half hour or so the smaller of the two started coming our way and that’s when I asked TJ for the camera. The look he gave me made me think that I was in for the wrestling match of my life. But finally, with a big grin on his face, he handed over the camera and I began filming his hunt. Both bucks had come across the slough and the first buck passed underneath us within 10 yards. The second buck turned broadside at 20 yards and as he was passing behind some brush, that’s when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw TJ draw his bow. My heart was pounding as if I were the shooter! To me, it is as much of a thrill to video tape a hunt as it is to be the hunter. I heard TJ’s bow go off and watched the white blur as his arrow fletching passed through the buck. It sounded as though it had been hit with a baseball bat. The hit was a little high in the shoulder area and the buck dropped like a sack of flour. There we were, like a couple of little kids, grinning and laughing and telling each other that we got “pinch #1" out of the way.

As the evening went on, several more deer had passed underneath us. It was almost like a dream sitting in the golden chair knowing you’re going to have the opportunity and hoping that you don’t mess it up. Just like clockwork, there was the large 9-pointer standing on the other side of the slough looking our way. I started thinking to myself–I hope his “big” brother is with him. Just then he stepped out of the brush right behind the 9-pointer. He looked like a cow standing there. He was an older buck with a huge body. As I was looking at him, I had to remind myself that this was really happening. All the patience and work that TJ and I put in the previous days was now paying off in even a bigger way than I had imagined.

The first buck came across the slough just as TJ’s deer did and mine was about 10 yards behind him.
The buck was following the same path that TJ’s P&Y buck had followed. The second buck was now within my comfortable shooting range but was facing me chest on. The first buck seemed startled about something and at first I thought it was because of TJ’s deer lying there. The animal I was seeking was watching this deer’s body language and I thought to myself that if the first buck bolts, then I’m going to put the shot down through the front of his chest. Then just like that–both bucks settled down and the first one started to pass under our tree. I double checked my range finder and the buck I was seeking was at 27 yards. As soon as he passed behind one of the trees, I drew my bow. When the shot was clear, I brought my pin up the back of his front leg, held a hair high of center and released. The bright yellow fletch passed through the buck in the blink of an eye. He jumped straight into the air and kicked his hind legs out and ran down one of the heavily traveled trails and expired within 50 yards of the shot. Even though we had planned to have this happen I still could not believe that it did! TJ and I were hooting and hollering like a couple of kids on a playground. What an unbelievable hunt! We got the “double pinch”!

It is one thing to be able to harvest a magnificent white tail with a bow and be able to share it with a friend, but this was one of the most unbelievable hunting experiences I’ve ever had--to successfully take two P&Y bucks out of the same tree during the same hunt. I cannot even begin to tell you how good the backstraps taste from those two deer as we sat around the camp the following evening telling our “double pinch” story.

TJ filmed over 50 different bucks during our four-day hunt. Incredible!

For more information on hunting North Dakota call Scott Swanson at 612-865-6012.