May 10, 2023
By Joe Martino
Jack Coad knew his 2022 whitetail season was going to be a short one as soon as it began. A much-needed shoulder surgery saw to that. To add to it, a deer he wanted to target had only been seen during the summer months on his Ohio Property. That was until last year. For the first time in three years, they finally caught a glimpse of the buck in a food plot on the property.
Unfortunately, it was after shooting light.
They got one photo of the deer on Nov. 26, 2022. Two days later, on Nov. 28, the weather was right. So, Jack slipped into a blind that afternoon, hoping the buck might show up during daylight.
Although the buck had been elusive for three years, on Nov. 28, he stepped into a food plot and was only 60 yards from Jack. Photo courtesy of Jack Coad It didn’t take long for the field to begin filling up with does. After watching does filter in and out of the plot, the buck that Jack had never seen was standing 60 yards in front of him.
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The buck walked across the plot and stopped at 75 yards, offering Jack the shot he wanted. The buck never exited the plot.
“You know, being from Buffalo, New York, I never dreamed that I would ever have an opportunity in my lifetime at a buck that scores nearly 200 inches,” Jack says. “To me, he is the buck of 10 lifetimes.”
No doubt about that. Yet, he doesn’t give his hard work and dedication to deer hunting much credit. “When it comes to luck, Murphy and I are very good friends. I am just really glad that someone gave this buck the script,” says Jack.
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For Jack, this big, Ohio buck is the deer of 10 lifetimes. Photo courtesy of Jack Coad Jack also wonders if God put that buck in front of him for a reason. Aside from his shoulder surgery in December, he woke up on Christmas day blind in his right eye, which is his dominant eye. He had a detached retina. He has since had retina surgery and is healing up well. So, it seems like Jack has plenty of good years of hunting whitetails ahead of him!
