HUNTING AT THE FORD RANCH

More on Jeff Stevens' Big Bow Buck

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 and had taken a shot with his bow at his biggest bow buck ever during his 2003 hunt.

Because the arrow didn't come out of the buck, when the buck jumped and wheeled, he didn't leave a blood trail. As I sat in my tree stand, I got a huge rush of adrenaline and a tremendous shot of emotion. Since I thought I'd had a really good shot on the deer, I didn't want to do anything to push him out of the area by getting out of my tree stand too soon. When I sat back down on my tree stand, the combination of the adrenaline and emotion filled my stomach, and I had to vomit. But I didn't mind the upset stomach, considering I'd just placed the arrow in my buck of a lifetime. I sat in my tree stand for at least 30 minutes and tried to get myself together before I climbed out of it. once I finally came down from the tree, I walked over to the ground blind where my boys had been watching with their binoculars. I asked my oldest son, Aaron, what the shot looked like, and he answered excitedly, "I think you got a really good shot on the buck," Then I asked my youngest son, Evan, which way he thought the deer had run after the shot. Although I thought the deer had gone to the right side of my stand, Evan insisted that the deer had gone into the bush on the left side of my stand.

When the three of us went back to the place where I'd shot the great buck, we found blood on a cactus on the left side of the stand where Evan said the deer had gone. We decided to wait for the guides and let them help us track the deer. Our guide showed up, and we started looking for my buck. However, we didn't locate a blood trail. After an hour of searching, we still failed to find blood or tracks to guide us to the deer. The more we searched, the more upset and worried I became. I couldn't believe I wouldn't be able to recover my buck of a lifetime. I thought about the shot, replayed the hunt in my mind and agonized over what I could have done, what I should have done, what I wished I'd done, and what I did. Even though the search for my buck seemed to last for 10 or 12 hours, by the clock, we only looked for the deer for two hours. If you've ever had a big buck down, you know the mental anguish I went through every second we searched for my big buck. Finally after looking for about two hours, we discovered the trophy bow-killed buck. Because we hadn't found any blood, I was almost certain I was going to lose my buck. But, when we located the deer, we saw that the arrow was still in him. The entrance wound had closed up, and that was why we couldn't find a blood trail. I saw that my shot was a little further back on the buck than where I'd thought the arrow had hit. When I saw that buck and those antlers, I nearly broke down and cried. I did have tears in my eyes.

Forrest Armke, the manager of the Ford Ranch, screamed when he saw the deer. He was as excited for me as I was. Forrest and the rest of the guides at the Ford Ranch knew the pressure that was on me when we couldn't locate my buck. I could tell they were as relieved and as excited as I was once we found the buck. Finally, after 20 years of bow hunting, my dream of taking a really big buck with my bow had come true. Even better was that I had my boys with me. Bow hunting never would get any better than this hunt of a lifetime. I'd never seen so many big deer in one place at one time as at the Ford Ranch. Most bow hunters never would have the opportunity to take a 120-class buck. But in three years, I'd arrowed two 140-class bucks and a 150-class buck. Too, the morning of the hunt, I'd passed-up 10 other bucks that any bow hunter in America would have been proud to take. Although I've bow hunted in a lot of states, I've never seen a place like the Ford Ranch. You can bet I'll be back next year.

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: JOE PRAY AND BILL PRAY, JR. - FOURTH-GENERATION DEER HUNTERS