Clash of the Titans – broken beam, broken dream

Jon R. Remus the “Ultimate Authority on Hunting” author, opened his own playbook and set sights on a rarely appearing extra wide non-typical whitetail buck. Canadian swamp bucks endure winter freezing temperatures, deep snow, and constant pursuit by timber wolves. These struggles turn them into heavyweight contenders, reaching weights over 250 pounds with an attitude to match. By deciphering mother nature's code, Jon patterned whitetail deer’s mating rituals during the peak rut and found it was repetitive and predictable, turning it into a vulnerability.

The rut is the Achilles heel of all male trophy game animals, as their over abundance of caution is momentarily side-lined by the stronger urge to reproduce. The scripted strategy was attempting to manipulate the buck’s entire sensory system and have it step into the crosshairs on its own terms. Like putting on virtual reality glasses, it's a trifecta of illusions by simulating an easy mating opportunity. Creating the “real deal” requires a whitetail doe 3D archery target with a remote controlled game caller and electronic vaporizer, wafting a doe in heat smoke screen. These overlapping tactics double down on realism and build confidence in approaching suitors. It focuses the buck’s full attention on mating and thus ignoring any abnormalities in the setup. If it looks, sounds, and smells like a doe in estrus…the brain believes it must be.

First step was to create a secluded mini food plot adjacent to a stand of hardwoods and attract several of the resident deer to make daily visits and establish trails, for a “normal” familiar scent environment. Once that was accomplished, the ladder tree stand was placed and sterilized with a portable ozone generator, which renders human scent molecules completely undetectable. With the peak of the rut on the uptick, a quick weather check confirmed a clear frosty weekend ahead.

Several trail cameras documented the wide beamed buck and its eight-point, heavy racked travelling compadre. During the late afternoon the equipment was test run by remote control, confirming the audio bleats softly echoed, and the white vapor trail headed downwind. Wasting no time, Jon took to the stand with his proven weapon of choice, the Ravin R10 XK7 mounted with a 450 illuminated scope and quiver loaded up with carbon 400 arrows, all tipped with 416 steel mechanical broadheads. Having cranked it into position the arrow was snapped into place, and the bow laid across his lap. The sun’s fading glow basted the decoy in a fiery golden hue, turning it into a shadowy silhouette.

The eight point stealthily broke cover first, head down scenting the estrus perfume vapor trail. The excitement was building but that wasn’t the target buck. A branch snapped, exposing movement in the thickest underbrush, followed by soft grunts. Jon raised the R10 and turned the safety to the fire position. The double-wide 12 point circled its rival in hopes of gaining the “mock” doe’s attention. Something seemed different, as its head came fully around, a noticeable sharp break on its left beam had half its rack missing. During the night these two must have battled it out until the wide beam’s weakest point gave way under the immense torque.

Hopes of the ultimate trophy were quickly re-focused on the next best thing and the scope centered itself on the sparring champion’s vitals. The Ravin’s swift 400 fps speed made the arrow undetectable to the eye and the buck had no time to jump the string. It absorbed the full impact and pass through leaping high into the air, legs flailing. Following a forty-yard dash, it piled up within view of the elevated stand. Instead of the usual ground shrinkage as Jon approached, it kept appearing bigger. Its body mass could have been mistaken for a young moose. Christening the Ravin on its first sizable buck had Jon contemplating next year's setup for the 12 pointers newest replacement headgear and holding the next generation Ravin R50X with the Xero X1I scope, pitting the best against the best.