Archer bags trophy at 50 yards in a snow storm

MEDERVILLE - As darkness and heavy snow fell on the eve of the first shotgun deer season, bow hunter Henry Schwartz had just about resigned himself to a fruitless season when the buck of a lifetime materialized through densely falling flakes 120 yards from his tree stand.

Schwartz, 23, of rural Waverly, said he instantly recognized the monster buck as the one he and a friend had been ardently pursuing throughout the 2010 archery season.

They had first seen the buck two hunting seasons ago when he was a 140-class 10-pointer. Last year, he was still a 10 pointer, but his antlers had grown into the 165-inch class. This year, based on their analysis of about 30 trail cam photos, the buck had at least a 12-point rack that would measure over 190 inches.

Schwartz said he saw the deer in August when his antlers were still in velvet but had not seen him since. During the third weekend of October, his friend, Dave Raber of Strawberry Point, had the buck within 20 yards of his tree stand but thick brush prevented a shot.

“He was strictly nocturnal. All our trail cam photos were taken after dark,” Schwartz said.

With heavy snow falling on Dec. 3, darkness came early to Clayton County, and the buck came out of hiding about 4:30 p.m.

Of the four tree stands the hunters had posted in the 20-acre private timber, Schwartz had selected one mounted in a small tree in a fence row. Though a different buck had earlier spotted his exposed position, the big buck apparently did not.

With daylight fading and the buck 50 yards away as measured by Schwartz's range finder, it was show time.

“I had never shot a deer farther than 30 yards but I practice a lot at 50 yards and felt comfortable with the shot,” Schwartz said.

Though the archer lost sight of his arrow in the thick snowflakes, he said he heard the familiar thunk of an arrow striking a deer.

The next sound Schwartz heard, after the buck had trotted about 20 yards, was a hoarse exhalation. “I knew I'd lunged him then,” the archer said.

With snow piling up and nightfall nearly complete, Schwartz knew that recovering the buck could be even more challenging than shooting him.

After waiting only five minutes, Schwartz climbed down from the tree stand. “I wanted to get after him before snow covered everything up,” he said.

Finding no arrow and no blood, Schwartz said he began to think the situation was hopeless. Then he went to the general area from which the sound of the exhalation had come. “He was lying right there. I had double-lunged him,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz's fourth trophy bow kill in four years - he shot a 183-inch non-typical in the same area three years ago - should easily make the elite Boone and Crockett record book.

With a 12-point typical frame and three small sticker points, the rack's gross green score was 195 inches. After deducting the sticker points and side-to-side variations, the green net score was a conservative 180 inches, well above the 170-inch threshold for inclusion in the Boone and Crockett registry.

“Bow hunting is a huge deal to me. It's half my life,” said Schwartz.