Jake Gunter spent most of his life in Chicago and has lived in Wisconsin for 20 years. This season, he took up bowhunting for the first time. On Friday, October 30, in Eau Claire County, he tagged his first-ever bow buck.
Jake’s uncles and cousins are all avid hunters, and they finally talked him into trying it during last rifle season. After that, he says, he was hooked. This season has been a blast, with crazy stories and lots of close calls. He hunted every day this week, knowing big bucks were running around and the does were about to get hot.
After all those sits, Jake decided to take the weekend off and spend it with his wife and kids. That plan lasted until Friday afternoon. He and his wife were enjoying an appetizer in Fall Creek when his phone kept buzzing with trail camera notifications of deer and bucks. He told her, “Babe, I know you’re gonna kill me, but I think I need to get in the stand.” She jokingly brushed it off, pointing out that it was already 2:30 and he’d have to go right now. So they got the bill quickly and rushed home so Jake could get into the woods in time.
He hurried over to the shop and put on his gear, only to get a notification that one of their bigger bucks was at the farthest spot on the property. That changed his plans, so he sat a different stand instead.
There wasn’t much action at first, just a small fork that hung around for 20 to 30 minutes before leaving. Another 20 to 30 minutes later, Jake got another notification, this time a different buck at a stand about 300 yards away. He threw a few grunt calls in that direction, hoping to lure the buck over. Two minutes later, a very curious spike walked out. He trotted around for 5 to 10 minutes and then disappeared.
By about 5:00 to 5:30, Jake had a solid hour of hunting left. He noticed a solo doe walk behind him in the woods, about 40 yards away. Figuring there had to be more than one deer, he turned to his right and saw a buck just 15 yards away, heading right toward him.
Jake grabbed his bow as the buck walked right up next to his tree and stopped. The deer waited a minute, then took a few steps away, which gave Jake a clear shot, and then stopped again. Jake drew and made a perfect shot. The buck ran about 20 yards and slowly flopped over.
It was Jake’s first-ever bow buck, and the biggest deer he’s ever shot. He called it a crazy experience and a big sigh of relief. It wasn’t one of the big bucks running around their property, but he says it’s a perfect first bow buck to grow from next year.
Jake is a Plumbing Journeyman out of our Altoona location. Congrats, Jake, on a terrific first bow buck!
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