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EIGHT SECONDS
Better not blink when prime time isn't so prime
by Lisa L. Price - Rack Magazine
October 2008 Issue
Better not blink when prime time isn't so prime
by Lisa L. Price - Rack Magazine
October 2008 Issue
Eight seconds in the whitetail world can become
eight days, eight months and even eight years of
self-criticism. Big bucks do that to people. Hunters
replay and regret missed chances for years.
About the only consolation is that the lessons of
missed chances are hard lessons, and those are the
best kind. It's the hard lessons that take the best of
us to the next level.
Indiana hunter Dennis Bontrager was more than
ready for his next chance, if it ever came, which
seemed more and more unlikely as the days of his
November 2001 hunting trip trickled past like sweat
pouting down between his shoulder blades.
"You plan a hunt for late October and early
November, and you figure it will be prime time." Dennis
said. "We thought the days would be getting colder,
right about the same time the deer started into the
rut."
Dennis and three of his friends, Christy Yoder,
Pete Gingrich and Lauren Miller, had booked an archery
hunt with Western Kentucky... (cont. below)
eight days, eight months and even eight years of
self-criticism. Big bucks do that to people. Hunters
replay and regret missed chances for years.
About the only consolation is that the lessons of
missed chances are hard lessons, and those are the
best kind. It's the hard lessons that take the best of
us to the next level.
Indiana hunter Dennis Bontrager was more than
ready for his next chance, if it ever came, which
seemed more and more unlikely as the days of his
November 2001 hunting trip trickled past like sweat
pouting down between his shoulder blades.
"You plan a hunt for late October and early
November, and you figure it will be prime time." Dennis
said. "We thought the days would be getting colder,
right about the same time the deer started into the
rut."
Dennis and three of his friends, Christy Yoder,
Pete Gingrich and Lauren Miller, had booked an archery
hunt with Western Kentucky... (cont. below)
...Bowhunting in Calloway County. The four men had
heard good reports from the archery hunting operation
and talked to outfitter Mark Smith by phone. Smith's
description of the hunt to come sounded promising,
and the friends looked forward to five days of chasing
big whitetails.
They arrived on a Sunday night, on a typically
crisp fall day. But overnight, temperatures swung 30
degrees the wrong way - up. Still, they tried, rising at
4:00 and getting in stands by 5 a.m. But deer sightings
were limited to a couple does here and there, as the
majority of the whitetails seemed to be moving only in
the comparative coolness of the night.
"I was getting to the point where I practically
pitied him," Dennis said of his guide. "He was doing
everything he could, constantly scouting and looking
for sign, thinking of strategies and trying to get us on
deer in about the worst possible conditions."
Yoder opted to pass on what he believed to be a
big buck, which had come by when it was too dark. On
the last day of the hunt, the four went to their stands
still hoping for a final chance.
Dennis's chance came that morning, just after 7
a.m., and after all his hours in the stand, it all boiled
down to about eight seconds.
"I caught a glimpse of a deer, coming at a fast
walk. I first thought it was a doe with maybe
something chasing her," he said. "Then I saw antlers."
It was hunting experience - hard lessons - and
instinct that made him draw his bow.
"In no time the deer was 10 yards away, going
up the ridge from me. But I had already drawn, so I
whistled at it," Dennis said. "It stopped, and I shot."
"The buck kept going up the ridge, but I saw it
stumble about 40 yards away," he added. "Then I saw
it go down."
"The deer fell behind a blown-down tree. As I
was walking up to it, all I could see was antlers
sticking up," he added. "I didn't realize how big it was
until I was actually standing over it."
Dennis had four hours to wait until his scheduled
pick-up time.
"I was kind of stunned, at first, because it all
happened so fast - from the time I saw the deer until
the time it fell was definitely less than a minute," he
said. "The total time from being up in my stand to
standing next to that deer was only a few minutes."
"I don't know how many times I counted those
points," he added.
"One of the nicest parts of the whole experience
was the response of the people in town when we went
to check-in the deer," Dennis said. "To be hunting out
of state and have strangers congratulating me and
admiring the deer, that's when I realized what I'd
accomplished."
"You never know how much can happen in only a
minute," he said.
heard good reports from the archery hunting operation
and talked to outfitter Mark Smith by phone. Smith's
description of the hunt to come sounded promising,
and the friends looked forward to five days of chasing
big whitetails.
They arrived on a Sunday night, on a typically
crisp fall day. But overnight, temperatures swung 30
degrees the wrong way - up. Still, they tried, rising at
4:00 and getting in stands by 5 a.m. But deer sightings
were limited to a couple does here and there, as the
majority of the whitetails seemed to be moving only in
the comparative coolness of the night.
"I was getting to the point where I practically
pitied him," Dennis said of his guide. "He was doing
everything he could, constantly scouting and looking
for sign, thinking of strategies and trying to get us on
deer in about the worst possible conditions."
Yoder opted to pass on what he believed to be a
big buck, which had come by when it was too dark. On
the last day of the hunt, the four went to their stands
still hoping for a final chance.
Dennis's chance came that morning, just after 7
a.m., and after all his hours in the stand, it all boiled
down to about eight seconds.
"I caught a glimpse of a deer, coming at a fast
walk. I first thought it was a doe with maybe
something chasing her," he said. "Then I saw antlers."
It was hunting experience - hard lessons - and
instinct that made him draw his bow.
"In no time the deer was 10 yards away, going
up the ridge from me. But I had already drawn, so I
whistled at it," Dennis said. "It stopped, and I shot."
"The buck kept going up the ridge, but I saw it
stumble about 40 yards away," he added. "Then I saw
it go down."
"The deer fell behind a blown-down tree. As I
was walking up to it, all I could see was antlers
sticking up," he added. "I didn't realize how big it was
until I was actually standing over it."
Dennis had four hours to wait until his scheduled
pick-up time.
"I was kind of stunned, at first, because it all
happened so fast - from the time I saw the deer until
the time it fell was definitely less than a minute," he
said. "The total time from being up in my stand to
standing next to that deer was only a few minutes."
"I don't know how many times I counted those
points," he added.
"One of the nicest parts of the whole experience
was the response of the people in town when we went
to check-in the deer," Dennis said. "To be hunting out
of state and have strangers congratulating me and
admiring the deer, that's when I realized what I'd
accomplished."
"You never know how much can happen in only a
minute," he said.
Dennis's buck scored 178 7/8