Although the Massachusetts archery season had been open for almost a week, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2005, proved to be Matthew Wheeler's "opening day." Being a senior at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Matthew could not get away to hunt until that Friday. Matthew was happy to be in the woods in Essex County, Massachusetts to see if all his pre-season scouting would pay off. "At about 7:15 a.m., I heard some noise to my left and I turned around to see a nice 8-pointer walking down the same trail I had used to get to my stand," Matthew recounts. "I take pride in always trying to be as scent-free as possible, and the deer did not wind me or catch my scent whatsoever. The buck was browsing along a ridge and he presented me with a nice quartering-away shot at about 15 yards. Having just purchased a Mathews Switchback bow, I was I very anxious to try it out. Wow! The bow performed beautifully!" The buck only went about 80 yards before going down. Matthew says his stand was located just outside a large group of conifer trees on the edge of a ridge, and he attributes his "one-hour" hunting success to good pre-season scouting and finding buck sanctuaries. "My father and I knew that several bucks were in there from the sign we had seen, so we set up just outside that area. Now, with the rest of the 2005 season still in front of me, I'm looking forward to filling my second buck tag!"
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