A Pair of Canadian Studs

On Nov. 1, 2006, Shane Good rattled a big buck to about 100 yards, only to have the deer's nose draw him away. I don't know what happened; he just didn't like the smell of something, he said. Shane went back the next morning, hoping the buck wasn't too spooked. I guess not because he came in a little after sunup and ripped a scrape about 30 yards in front of my stand. Shane watched the big deer dig, and then he worked closer. I touched off an arrow when he was 25 yards away. To my horror it sailed right over his back!

He grabbed another arrow, nocked it and drew. The buck was confused -- he took a few quick steps closer as he stared at the spot where the first arrow had hit. Shane's second shot from 18 yards was spot-on. The 10-pointer had an inside spread of 22 5/8 and main beams that stretched to 26 4/8. The rack grossed 170 0/8 and netted 165 3/8 Pope and Young. I know I was unbelievably lucky to get a second shot at that buck, Shane said. From that day on, I had prepared myself for the possibility of never seeing another giant, let alone shooting one. I hunt strictly with a bow and only on the same two small farms here in Ontario, so I'm sort of limited.

Which brings us to one day last October. Shane set out some wicks juiced with dominant buck urine and then ran his climbing stand up the same tree from which he had shot his biggest deer ever back in 2006. The afternoon faded and Shane saw a tall rack gliding through the trees—a shooter checking a doe! He grunted a few times. The buck looked, raised his nose, whiffed the tarsal wicks—and started coming! The deer moved hard and fast. Shane didn't have time to think, he just reacted. He drew his bow, mouth grunted, settled the 20-yard pin on the buck when he stopped and let fly. The 3-blade Rage buried behind the shoulder as the deer spun away.

I was calm until after the shot, I guess because I didn't have time to think about it, Shane said. But I came unglued when I heard him fall.

Shane's second buck of a lifetime was another main-frame 10-point with three kickers. The rack officially grossed 176 6/8 non-typical and netted 171 1/8.

Not long ago, I e-mailed Shane to see how things were looking up in the Ontario deer woods. He wrote back: Looking great, I am trying to pattern a buck I saw last year and got on trail camera a couple of times after I killed my monster. I found both sides of his rack this spring, and they measured 145 without the spread. He's gonna be a nice one, maybe another 170. It's possible I could shoot him out of the same tree again, I'll let you know how it goes.

Three 170s from the same tree with a bow? That would have to be some kind of record, but I would not put it past this guy. Good luck, Shane, we're rooting for ya!

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