Tennessee's Bjon Pankratz was certainly rewarded for the time he spent afield in the 2023 archery season. His first archery buck scored well over 180 inches.
July 12, 2024
By Clifford Neames
Most folks are plenty satisfied to take a small buck for their first archery kill, or even a doe for that matter. Tennessee's Bjon Pankratz was working on doing just that, but when a slammer of a whitetail came into his set, he was perfectly okay with starting at the top!
Bjon didn’t start hunting at a young age, but a chance meeting on a jobsite introduced him to Branden Glenn. Once they discovered they both attended the same church, the relationship grew. Kevin Weaver joined them after that and the real fun began.
Bjon owns a large family farm outside of Nashville, which was previously managed for hunting. Unfortunately, the previous owner had let the place get overgrown and it was more than one man could handle. The topic of hunting came up early on. Branden and Kevin were happy to help with the land and teach Bjon all they could about whitetail hunting. That mission has worked out well for all of them, and three years later they are a tight-knit unit.
While scouting, Kevin located an area he describes as "buck central”.
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“The place just reeks of big bucks,” he said. “And I knew we had to put a stand in there!”
To get it started, he made a mock scrape using his own urine. The bucks must have liked that, because they were in there just two days later and took over the scrape. One of the deer they caught on a cell cam was a real giant, so they set up a lock-on stand nearby for Bjon to begin hunting there. He had practiced enough to be proficient, but lacked any real hunting experience. That, however, was about to change in a big way!
Early in the 2023 bow season, a nice 12-point came in but a deflected arrow ruined that chance. He was hunting 2-3 times a week, but it was hot and no other deer were coming around. After awhile, Bjon was ready to move on, but Branden and Kevin convinced him to stay right there.
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Fast forward to Halloween — one of those special days for bowhunters each year. It usually arrives right as the rut is starting in many areas. This year, they were blessed with cooler weather on the 31st, so Bjon made the 25-minute walk into the stand and got set up before daylight. He had not seen another deer since the miss, so he was quite surprised when a big buck walked out into the field he was watching. The deer was too far away for a shot.
Pankratz took his buck on the morning of Halloween. After a deflected arrow caused a miss earlier in the season, this was certainly the kind of "treat" he was hoping for! “I kept telling myself there is no way he is coming over here," he said.
But the buck finished working a scrape and headed his way.
“I was not looking at his rack and trying to get ready for a shot”, he added. “Then he walked right behind me.”
Bjon eased around his stand, following the deer through the trees until it got in the clear. Then, he took a quick shot and watched the lighted nock hit right behind the shoulder.
“At that point, I was trying to stay calm and not be concerned with how big he was”, he continued. “He mule kicked twice, ran a few yards and fell in sight!”
A little later, Branden called and asked if I had seen anything, and I said, “I got one.”
When everyone arrived and saw which deer it was things got a little crazy!
The first scores put the rack well over 180 inches, and it could potentially even challenge the state record. An incredible first buck with a bow, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy!
