Zooming In 11 (Season 2)
Show 11 – Flashback of Greg in Iowa
My hunt for that giant Iowa 9-pointer took place in the far western part of the state. As this satellite view shows, the environment here actually is a blend of the two main types of terrain found across much of Iowa. There’s a lot of flat and open prairie type terrain, as well as a fair amount of heavy timber, consisting of steep ridges and deep draws. And as is also the case across much of Iowa, corn, soybeans and alfalfa are the three main crops grown in this area.
The encounter I had with the buck the previous season occurred in this small field here. Cameraman Pat Reeve and I were set up in a ground blind located right here, when the buck walked out of the timber in this corner of the field. The big deer made his way along this edge and ended up working a licking branch here, only about 100 yards away. But just as I was getting ready to take the shot, a vehicle went by on a distant driveway and promptly cleared the field of deer. That was the last we saw of the buck on that hunt.
The first day of my hunt the next year found Pat and I sitting in a ground blind located right here, along the edge of this picked cornfield. According to Joe, most of the bucks that were feeding in the cornfield were bedding in a tangle of thick cedars located here. The bucks would then approach the field along this route, which put them on the backside of a fairly high hill. Once they reached the edge of the field, however, the bucks usually would make a right turn and walk to the top of this hill–and into our view.
As you saw, that’s exactly the pattern we witnessed the first evening. Though we didn’t see the big buck, we did see enough deer activity to definitely justify returning to the blind the second evening. Like the previous day, we started seeing deer almost immediately. And then finally, the big 9-pointer appeared right here. I waited for him to turn broadside before taking the shot. The distance was just slightly over 130 yards.
I’m not going to lie, I was devastated when the buck got away from us the year before. But as was clearly evident, his escape turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The big whitetail blew up from a mid-140′s 8-pointer to a mid-160′s 9-pointer. The deer remains one of my best ever muzzleloader trophies.
Hey, make sure you tune in again next week. I don’t know where on earth we’ll be zooming in, but I do know that you’ll find it informative. We’ll see you here!
