Another Year: Patience Pays Off with Big Nebraska 8-Point

When a giant Nebraska 8-point showed up on his trail camera in 2023, Kaden Koch decided he was going after him.

“But I knew he needed one more year to show his full potential,” he began. “I saw him chasing does and got a good look at him in gun season, confirming he was a 4 ½-year-old, so I let him walk for another year.”

Kaden looked for sheds the following spring, but they were never located. Then, the buck was AWOL until July of 2024 when the cameras caught him once again.

As the summer passed, the mega 8-point put on a bonus droptine, and by the bow opener in September Kaden was ready to hunt him again. His efforts were for naught then, as he only got one glimpse as the buck passed on the other side of a field.

“I was getting pics every night,” he remembered. “I hunted hard, but it just wasn’t happening.”

As the rut approached, the big buck finally began to daylight and Kaden honed in on him.

“I had made about 25 sits and thought it was just a matter of time,” he added. “But I really wanted to get an arrow in him!”

On November 9th, Kaden climbed his ladder and set up for the last time.

“I sat there for about two hours, then heard something rubbing in the cover behind me,” he smiled. “I had rattled a few minutes before and that must have got his attention.”

Kaden threw a grunt in that direction and the oversized 8 rolled out of the brush just 30 yards from his stand. His broadhead smacked him right in the vitals and the buck darted back into cover. It was too late to avoid the bloodshed, however, and he crashed just 60 yards behind the stand.

There is no good way to describe the rack without saying massive and tall. Even on the 270-pound body the antlers look outsized. The beams and all of the tines curve in making one big basket!

The tape says 167, including the 5-inch droptine — a huge 8-point frame!

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