On Nov. 8, 2005, Mike Whittaker of Salina, Kansas left work early to kick off a week's vacation. Something told him to go to the woods that afternoon, even though it was 77 degrees and the wind wasn't the best for the stand he wanted to hunt. Mike had bowhunted on this same farm for the previous four years but he had yeat to take a buck. Around 5 p.m., he decided to do a short rattling sequence.
"The sound I heard next sent chills up my spine," Mike said. "A buck was thrashing a small tree on the other side of a low-water concrete bridge across a creek. Because of the heavy cover around me, the only part of him I could see was his legs. I knew I had get him to cross the bridge, so I took my grunt tube and made several short tending grunts. I barely had time to grab my bow and hook on my release because he was coming in and he was mad!
"He jumped a fence and circled around downwind. I drew back my bow string and waited for him to clear the trees in front of me. At 10 yards he cleared the trees, and with his head down and ears back, he was looking for a fight. I grunted to stop him and he raised his head and looked straight at me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I quickly took my eyes off of his rack and concentrated on his shoulder. Then I released my arrow. I couldn't stand up any longer so I sat down because I was starting to shake. Then I heard the sound that every bowhunter wants to hear; my deer going down. Before that day, I'd never had much luck with calling and rattling, but I have no doubt that if I hadn't rattled and grunted that day, I never would have gotten a shot. My buck was a main-framed 6x5 with a sticker on the left side. He grossed 186 and netted 176 typical!"
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