Ray Howell's Bowhunting Adventures

During my pre-season and in-season scouting I like to keep an eye on cornfields next to alfalfa and bean fields. A lot of times deer will make cornfields their "home" because they don't have to travel far for their food source, especially when acorns aren't abundant.

Such was the case two years ago when I had been observing several deer before and after the season started in an open area with strips of cornfields bordering alfalfa fields. I stayed away from the area completely, watching with only my pair of Swarovski binoculars, from a distant vantage point. The rut was just about in full swing when I caught two large bucks chasing a doe back and forth through the rows of corn and alfalfa fields.

One of the bucks continually followed the other buck at a safe distance. He may have learned a hard lesson earlier from the more dominant buck. The more aggressive animal was a large non-typical which would be a dream come true for me to harvest with a bow. In all the white tails I've encountered I've only seen a couple of good, non-typicals.

The next day I slipped into the cornfield in a round about way in order to keep the wind in my favor. I slowly moved through the rows, peeking into each new row before stepping into it until I was at the high point on the edge of the alfalfa field where I had seen the deer cross back and forth several times. This may seem like a "gutsy" move but this tactic has worked for me time and time again in cornfield situations. If the dominant wind stays in my favor and nothing alerts the animals I may get the opportunity of a lifetime.

Kneeling down in the cornfield I was well concealed by a couple of rows of corn adjoining the alfalfa field. I sat there for several hours and nothing happened. Suddenly I heard what sounded like a freight train coming through the corn. The sound was coming from about 80 yards to the left of me.

Then I heard a grunt. My attention was focused fully in the direction of all the noise. To my amazement the non-typical buck came through the corn alone and was now traveling parallel to the corn rows about 20 yards off in the alfalfa field in a "bird-dogging" type manner. He only had one thing on his mind as if nothing else mattered in the world.

Drawing my PSE bow, shortly before he got into my comfort zone, I waited for the large buck to pass in front of me. Each time he grunted, my heartbeat became faster and faster but I had to keep myself focused and not let the excitement overtake me. As the buck gave me the right angle I double checked my 20-yard pin and released the 2419 Easton arrow tipped with a 150 grain Thunderhead. It passed completely through him. He bolted sharply and ran across the alfalfa field into another row of corn and then all was dead silent.

I sat motionless thinking about the past events as they had unfolded. After about 20 minutes I couldn't wait any longer. I followed his trail through the alfalfa field into the first row of corn. I could see the large buck lying on his side. What a dandy - my first non-typical white tail in all the years I've been hunting!