Hunter hunting along a marsh

Tommy Enslen

Information

  • Date Taken: 10/30/2024
  • Time Of Day: Midday
  • Method: Compound Bow
  • Number of Points: 9
  • County: Newaygo County
  • Property: Private

It was my first day of vacation. I didn’t hunt early that morning due to the weather, and I was going to go duck hunting that afternoon due to the temperature being over 70 degrees with 20 plus mph winds. More proof that when it’s on it’s on! After talking with my brother, I decided I might try to go into the bedding area. I got out there early, and after I felt the wind direction it was a no brainer that I had to try it. Snuck in super slow and bumped a decent buck with 2 does, but the buck had no clue what was going on. Wasn’t quite big enough so I let him go, but that’s when I knew the plan might work. So when he left and I couldn’t find a tree, I decided to sit on the ground right where he got up. Wasn’t 2 hours later and this buck came trotting through with his tongue hanging out looking for a doe. He almost ran me over at 7 steps, then literally stepped on my climber laying on the ground, and while he kept trotting away he finally gave me a shot at 30 yards in my very last small window! It all happened so fast! Made a perfect shot and the rest was history. Love it when a plan comes together! I actually saw and filmed this exact buck almost a mile away about 2 weeks prior.