Deer & Buck Photos

The above are photos of  Mark Comstock's 2002 archery buck, which was his first buck he ever shot with bow or gun. Taken at 4:40 pm October 31, 2002 (8 points, 19 5/8" outside spread, 18 5/8" inside spread.) And a great story he submitted of the hunt.

Mark's Hunting Story

October 30, 2002
     While hunting a property in Clarion County that I had scouted some nice bucks on in late August and through September, I found myself finally in a position to know where the deer were traveling and how to get in without spooking everything. My set up that day was less than perfect as the wind was from the West and at my back as I looked down over the hollow. The ground was saturated and the damp October weather had me cold and wet through the afternoon hours. Finally, I noticed a repetitive noise behind me and turned to find a mature doe and a fawn within 25 yards of my position. Faster than I could get my bow off the hanger and turn, they had moved into the thicket and disappeared. After ten minutes and no reappearance, I hung my bow again and settled in to wait for another opportunity. I didn't wait long for in less than ten minutes I spotted a small buck heading in from the North towards me. Due to the new antler restrictions, I started trying to count if the buck was legal as I moved each time he passed behind a tree to get my bow to the ready position. As he reached 35 yards I was ready but wasn't able to determine 3 points on one antler until he reached 24 yards and was directly down wind of my position. He must have winded me because he stopped dead at 20 yards with his head hidden behind a tree. I began to draw back, but the buck did a quick turnabout and was now able to see me so I froze at half draw, which is a difficult position to be in. My arms started to quiver as his head panned towards me. He did not spot me, but grew agitated and began quick stepping back the way he had come as I finished my draw cycle. I tried stopping him at 25 yards with a mouth bleat, but he simply danced on back the trail and out of sight.

October 31, 2002
     With the experience of the day before and the previous 13 days hunting this property, I felt sure I had finally narrowed down the options and discovered the hot spot for deer travel. Not feeling that the spot had been busted on the 30th, I decided to hunt the same tree again. I snuck in early in the afternoon and set up in the same tree with a favorable wind from the South which had the added blessing of warming the day and driving off the rain of the previous days hunt. I stood silent watch over the hollow from my Summit Cobra XLS tree stand perched about 18 feet up a wide based oak. I hadn't seen any movement yet, but at 4:30 I decided to stand at the ready until dark to avoid getting surprised again. I removed my bow from the EZ Hanger, clipped on my Tru-Fire Bear Paw X-Caliper release and began to wait. Within 10 minutes, I heard slight movement to my right and slowly turned to see the largest buck I have ever seen slowly walking in from the South as it nosed the ground checking for scent. With the wind in my favor, my own nerves were the only obstacle between me, and harvesting this large bodied, wide racked buck. He was headed on a route past the base of my tree, which I did not want, but as fate would have it, he turned onto the same North South path that the little buck from the previous day had used. As he passed behind the first clump of trees I was still frozen with "buck fever" and did not move as he passed from behind them into a shooting lane. At this point I mentally kicked myself, because if I didn't move, then this buck would quickly travel out of my area of opportunity and into my downwind side. As he passed behind the next tree, which happened to be the very same one the little buck of the 30th had paused behind, I began my shot routine. My 69 pound Fred Bear Epic, came to full draw with a Gold Tip 55/75 gliding across the Teflon tape covered launchers of my Bodoodle Super Doodle arrow rest. I was in the no thought zone and working on full auto-pilot as I followed the buck's shoulder out from behind the tree and past some small branches which might deflect my shot. As he came into a clear area that I had ranged at 22 yards with my Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport, I made a clear bleat sound with my voice and he stopped in his tracks, facing away from me. With no conscious thought, I felt the bow recoil and watched as my white fletched shaft drove a Game Tracker First Cut EXP broad head tight behind the left shoulder of this tremendous buck as he stood broadside, slightly quartered away. As the weight of reality slammed down and time returned to normal speed I watched the buck throw a standing kick signaling a lethal hit before taking off like a freight train on a curling arc away from me. The sound of thundering hooves and crashing branches made it easy to keep my eyes glued to the buck as he drove headlong away. Just passing out of sight, I heard him crash like a tree falling and could make out the flashing white of his tail as his death came upon him.
     Having just passed the longest minute of my life, I sat down to breathe and give the buck time to expire. I quietly gathered my things and climbed down the tree. Moving to the spot that my arrow had struck, I was overjoyed to find it standing like a flag, driven deeply into the soft soil of the forest and coated in glistening, bubbly red. Trying to follow the blood trail was hopeless as I was able to see his white belly and my excitement was overwhelmingly drawing me straight to his final resting place. Ground shrinkage was not a problem on this, my first Whitetail Buck ever and in archery as well. Seeing his antler sticking up above his head was a joy, and his body size was just as daunting. Placing my hands upon his hide and antlers that first time, I was in complete awe of this majestic animal. Mouthing a prayer of thanks for the harvest and adding a thought of sorrow for life lost, I felt the elation come over me and the adrenaline coursing through me sent me into quivering as I began the task of field dressing.
     It was a long uphill drag out of that quiet hollow. I was bumping turkeys out of roost the first 200 yards. Over an hour of pulling and sweating, I finally made it back in to the road. I wouldn't trade the day for another.

Story and photos by Mark Comstock of Parker, PA.

Congratulations Mark!

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