HUNTING AT THE FORD RANCH

Jeff Stevens Takes His Biggest Buck Ever on His Third Ford Ranch Trip

Editor's Note: Outdoorsmen across the nation know the reputation of the Ford Ranch in Melvin, Texas, as the home of trophy-sized white-tailed bucks. Most hunters see the biggest deer of their lives there and often don't shoot these huge deer because by Ford Ranch standards, the racks aren't that nice. Jeff Stevens of Taylor, Michigan, had made two trips to the Ford Ranch before the 2003 deer season.

The 2003 deer season marked my third trip to the Ford Ranch just outside of Melvin, Texas. The first year I took a buck that scored 142 points on Boone & Crockett with my bow. The second year I hunted the Ford Ranch, I bagged a buck scoring 145 B&C points. During the 2003 deer season in Texas, I took the biggest buck I'd ever seen while bow hunting. He scored 155 B&C points. Here's what happened. On the second morning of the hunt the wind was blowing fairly hard, and I had put my two sons, Aaron 15 and Evan 13, in a ground blind about 150 yards from where I was bow hunting so they could watch the hunt with binoculars. Then I climbed in my tree and waited for daylight. Before the sun started coming up, bucks seemed to come from everywhere. I had nine bucks in front of me that would have scored from 120- to 140-points each on the B&C scale.

While I watched those bucks, a big 10-point ran into my hunting area. But before I could draw to take the shot, he ran back into the brush. I figured that buck would have scored 140 points or better, and his rack had a lot of character to it. So, I made the decision to take the shot, if I spotted him again. The 10-pointer ran back into my shooting area, and then just as quickly as he came in, he left again. The third time the 10-pointer came within my bow range, I was getting ready to make the shot when I spotted a huge buck 200-yards out from my stand site. Now I was caught in a dilemma. Should I take the 10-pointer that was close to me, or should I wait and hope and pray that the big buck would come in where I was so I could take a shot at him? I decided to wait for the big buck because it was the buck of my dreams.

When the big buck moved into the region where the other bucks were, there was no question that he ruled the roost. Anywhere he walked, the other bucks backed off or ran away. When the buck was at 20 yards, he turned, quartering to me. I felt I had to take the shot or else he'd be gone. So I drew, aimed just behind his shoulder and released the arrow driving the shaft from the front of his shoulder toward his hindquarters. I was shooting a Mathews LX with a 100-grain Thunderhead broadhead pushed by a carbon shaft. After 25 years of bow hunting, I knew quickly this was the biggest buck I'd ever seen, and more than likely, the biggest I would ever see.

To learn more about the Ford Ranch and its hunting services, call Forrest Armke, the ranch manager, at (325) 286-4572; e-mail him at fordranch@hotmail.com or, visit www.fordranchhunting.net. I don't believe I'd ever hunted in warmer weather for deer than this hunt at the Ford Ranch the beginning of November, 2003. Luckily for me, I'd rolled-up a lightweight suit of Mossy Oak Apparel's TrekLite and packed it along with wintertime clothing. I thought, "Well, this TrekLite doesn't take up any room at all, and who knows, I may need it." I lived in that TrekLite suit the entire four days I was at the Ford Ranch and stayed cool and comfortable in my tree stand in the high-80-degree weather. You can go to www.mossyoakapparel.com to learn more.

TOMORROW: MORE ON JEFF STEVENS' BIG BOW BUCK