Season 2 - Episode 9
Mar 15, 2011 - Comments (0)

Nine Days and Counting
If I had ten days to fulfill my lifelong dream I would start to get a little nervous if it hadn’t happened by day 9 of said 10 days. To be completely honest I would probably be about ready to call it a day and start looking for a more attainable goal, I guess it’s not realistic to grow a Burt Reynolds mustache in ten days, but I digress. Neil Mattek’s goal of shooting a buck on TV was getting dangerously close to reaching its deadline on the 9th day of their 10 day hunt.
While getting settled in the stand and after checking the Battle of The Bow website on his phone (what every good hunter should do) Neil turned to put his mobile back into his pocket when he saw a monster eight that literally came out of nowhere a mere 10 yards away. Neil smoothly grabbed his bow turned and quite literally accomplished his dream.

Didn't you graduate with Jenny?
A young hen is called a Jenny. It’s a fact. I looked it up, because like Eric’s partner Jim I thought Eric was blowing smoke. How could I think he was serious right after he told America he was “large and in charge and checkin’ for chickies!” The boys from Buckfever Synthetics were all smiles and BS on their way up north to visit a newly placed food plot that they were hoping would bring in the opportunity for their first buck of the season; or a big doe or a big turkey or a big tom or a big hen or even a jenny.
While the boys were in their blind a turkey didn’t meander by but a huge doe walked out only five yards away putting Jim’s nap time in serious jeopardy. The duo played it cool and Eric let fly, putting down his first white tail of the season. Eric then proved his Jake and Jenny theory by showing everyone a few lines of text on his smart phone. That cell phones data plan is always worth every penny!
Season 2 - Episode 8
Mar 15, 2011 - Comments (0)

The Face of Danger
Journalistic fortitude is something to be proud of. To get the shot no matter what. To look danger in the eye and stare back with the lens of your camera just to get documentation. Nate Greeley of Ruevers’ Nursery was very brave when he filmed his brother Matt after missing what would have been the biggest buck of his life.
Matt had been keeping an eye on this monster for quite some time, even passing on other shooters saying “if you work hard enough you will get that one shot.” That one chance came when the beast showed himself to Matt, but refused to stop after two grunts. Matt stated, "When he didn’t stop I went into panic mode. It haunts me." It would have haunted me if Matt would have physically attacked Nate when he put the camera in his distraught brother's face and told him “that was that 12 pointer”.
Matt, thank you for not committing a felony in the heat of the moment. Nate, thank you for keeping your journalistic integrity in the face of danger.

Release of Pressure
There is something to be said about hunting free of the burdens of expectation. Competing on Battle of The Bow definitely puts an absurd amount of strain on each and every hunter, until you get one on the ground.
With no deer down since a doe in the opening weeks of the season Nate and Kevin of Team Bow Brothers where looking to take a bit of that pressure off and take down another whitetail when they went out on a morning hunt. Several doe had passed by but were too deep in the thicket for a shot, but just as Nate had predicted a doe walked up the corridor and he took it down with ease. Now with both members of Bow Brother recording a kill all the pressure is off!
Season 2- Episodes 6 & 7
Feb 21, 2011 - Comments (0)

Emotional Roller Coaster
If at first you don’t succeed, make sure your husband is there to record it. Danni Noel of Ptacek’s Meats zeroed in on her first doe of the season and missed by inches. As the doe ran for cover I think Brad wanted to get as much pent up raw emotion caught on film as possible. He fixed the camera on his distraught companion and waited for the water works, but it was not to be, even after he confirmed that she did indeed miss high.
Missing a doe on camera might send some novice hunters into a tailspin, but not Danni. She decided to play a little hooky from work with hopes of redeeming her recent shooting faux pas. Redemption might be a understatement. A beautiful buck walked into Danni’s range giving her another chance, and she did not disappoint. I have learned that Danni cries when she slays trophies, not when she misses doe, and when that trophy is tracked down a party of epic proportions will ensue!

I Can Smell You From Here.
A slow start can’t begin to describe what the boys from Cranky Pat’s have been going through and the team’s two outings in the most recent episode can only be characterized as nightmarish. With nor a buck or a doe to show for their efforts the duo thought they were going to get their first crack at a nice shooter. Just as Mark was ready for the beast to stick his head out a small breeze kicked up and gave the buck a whiff of his Brut 33. Much like the men’s fragrance has done to the opposite sex for years, the buck did an about face and headed in the other direction.
Mark decided to hit the stand after his 12 hour night shift with his daughter Abby maneuvering camera. After several hours they heard a monster trudging through the canary grass and at 22 yards Mark let fly. Again, it wasn’t meant to be as the shot missed low. Upon hearing the news Rob decided it was time to call it a day at work and meet his distressed confidant.
By the time the team regrouped they only had a couple hours to sit in the stand, but it didn’t take long to get busy. They passed on a 6 pointer, but Rob couldn’t pass on taking a jab at his partner while relaying the distance. “22 yards, should be a familiar distance for you.” With only 20 minutes of shooting time left before dark a doe approached being closely followed by a monster. With time ticking before the end of the day, as well as the season, the boys delivered and are on the board with a beauty.

The Big Jimmie
Some people might look at the news of being laid off from their respective employer as a bad thing; maybe even get a little down in the dumps. Not Eric and Jim of BuckFever Synthetics. Nope, these two were downright giddy when they learned of their hiatus from work because this meant one thing; more time in the stand.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had recognized the correlation between hair length and buck size. Eric presented himself on screen reiterating those exact thoughts all while donning what can only be described as an atrociously majestic hair style. If that wasn’t enough, they decided to pull all the stops and bring in the Big Jimmie, a shockingly realistic decoy. Jim is very luck he didn’t have an arrow flung at him whilst standing in his driveway. These new tactics unfortunately didn’t bring in any whitetails, but they did attract a stray cat; a ridiculously boisterous and friendly stray cat. After Eric took his feline friend for a nice stroll they boys were ready for some action. When I say action I mean 100 rambunctious turkeys decided to set up shop right in front of the two.
The wig might not have worked its magic, but I definitely wouldn’t give up on the Big Jimmie. I would also suggest trying a robust mustache.
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Reply #459672 on : Sun February 05, 2012, 10:17:27