John's Journal...
Entry 174,
Day 1
JIM CRUMLEY'S BIG DEER
Crumley Sets Up To Take The Big Deer
EDITOR'S
NOTE: Jim Crumley, founder of Trebark camouflage
in Roanoke, Virginia, talks about his hunt at Heartland Outfitters in
Illinois where he took a monster buck.
QUESTION: How many days did you hunt at Heartland Outfitters
near Quincy, Illinois, before you took your big buck?
CRUMLEY: I took my buck on the fourth morning of the hunt.
QUESTION: Had you seen any big deer on the previous days
of the hunt?
CRUMLEY: I'd spotted this deer chasing a doe up on a ridge on the first
morning of my hunt. I saw him broadside, and that picture was imprinted
in my mind.
QUESTION:
How far away from him were you when you first saw him?
CRUMLEY: I saw him probably 150-yards away in early light. I only got
fleeting glimpses of him a couple of times that morning. But on Tuesday
morning in that same stand, I saw him again running does on top of a ridge
above me. After that, my guide James Woodley said if I wanted to go up
on the ridge and put a tree stand up there, I could. I agreed to do that.
So Wednesday at lunchtime, we put a stand up there where I'd spotted that
deer. We left it alone Wednesday evening. Then Thursday morning, I sat
in that stand for the first time.
QUESTION: How did you decide where to put the stand?
CRUMLEY:
Once Woodley and I got up there and looked at the place where I had seen
the buck, I spotted a nice trail that the does used to come out to this
field. This buck waited back in the woods for the does to come out of
the clover field after feeding. I had to come up a steep hill to get to
the stand. The stand was right at the crest of this steep hill, and I
had to go in the back way to get in the stand. It was about 5:30 in the
morning.
QUESTION: James, had you seen this buck here before?
WOODLEY: I can't say for sure if it was one of the deer that had been
seen around the area. I know there are good-sized deer up here. We went
up there during the morning hunt and checked out the area. I was pretty
confident that if he got in there, and if the wind was right, Jim would
have a good chance at this deer.
QUESTION:
What kind of stand did you put up?
WOODLEY: I put up a Baby Gorilla with silver back made by Gorilla Tree
Stands.
To learn more about Trebark camouflage, call 1-800-843-2266
or visit www.trebark.com. For more
information about Heartland Lodge, write RR #1 Box 8A Nebo, IL 62355,
call 1-800-717-4868, or visit www.heartlandlodge.com.
TOMORROW: CRUMLEY TAKES A SHOT AT A MONSTER BUCK
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