Congratulations to Trevor Elliott of Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia – his photo and story bagged the most votes in our March Facebook Luck of the Hunt photo contest. Trevor won a $50 Bass Pro Shops gift card and a RedHead® Jerry Martin Signature Series box call.
Trevor took the deer pictured, his first bow buck, during the 2013 bow season with a RedHead Kronik compound bow. Trevor also wanted us to know that he was wearing a Bass Pro camo RedHead hoodie and boots when he took his shot.
Learn more about his lucky hunt in the Q&A below:
1Source: How long have you been hunting?
Elliott: I have been hunting for 22 years. I started when I was 18 and have hunted every year since.
1Source: How did you first get into hunting?
Elliott: My father hunted when I was younger, but when I hit my teen years, it was my older brother Geoff that was the avid hunter in the family. Just hearing his stories and seeing photos of the hunts made me want to get out in the woods.
1Source: What's the story behind your lucky hunt?
Elliott: The 2013 archery season started off slow, with only a few sightings of bucks and having bears showing up at my stands. My brother suggested that I try a new area that had not been hunted in a few years.
My 10-year-old daughter Taylor and I set out one afternoon to try and find this area. We scouted for the afternoon and came to an area that looked like there was a lot on sign. I was looking around for the best setup for my portable stand when Taylor commented on a tree she saw. She told me it looked like a perfect spot for the stand. I took her advice and we set up the stand that afternoon.
Two days later, I started to hunt this stand, and there was lots of action. The rut seemed to be in full swing!
I was busted one night by a nice 6-point buck while trying to reach for my bow.
The next morning, I had two large does walk by my stand. I watched as they walked off and decided to give a rattle and a grunt call before sitting back down. As I turned around to hang my call back up, I heard a grunt sound off in the distance. Something caught my eye … coming from the crest of the hill about 100 yards was a nice-size buck.
I quickly reached for my bow and drew (didn't want to get caught like the night before). I held my draw for what seemed like 10 minutes and, at one point, almost let the draw down because I was holding it for so long.
The buck walked broadside of me 25 yards and stopped to smell the “doe in heat” spray that I put out days before. I let the arrow fly, hitting the buck in the vitals and watching it drop about 80 yards away.
I was so excited to have taken my first buck with my bow, and I had no idea how big it was until I went over to retrieve it.
Thanks to my brother Geoff for showing me the new area and to my daughter Taylor for choosing the lucky tree, I was able to shoot the buck of a lifetime!
1Source: What were the measurements of your buck?
Elliott: 12-point buck and was field dressed at 210 pounds.
1Source: How did you prepare for this hunt?
Elliott: I prepared for this hunt by shooting my bow every chance I had. I put game cams up in the areas that I hunted to see what was around. Using scents like doe in heat and mock scrape spray. And pre-scouting the area that I was looking to hunt.
1Source: What future hunting plans do you have lined up?
Elliott: Looking forward to hunting the same area next year or maybe even a new spot. Fishing season is around the corner, so that helps to get me through until next fall.
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