After watching this buck for several years, Luke Perzee managed to catch up to the Illinois bruiser this fall.
November 12, 2024
By Cam Coble
Illinois deer hunter Luke Perzee had been watching a big buck for several years, and during the 2024 season he finally caught up to the giant Prairie State whitetail.
“I saw him a few times throughout the summer while he was in velvet while out driving around,” Luke explained.
The open farmland Luke hunts in Illinois is devoid of many trees or big blocks of timber. Waterways and CRP patches dominate the seemingly open landscape.
Sunday, October 13th featured high winds, so Luke decided to spot and stalk the CRP and grass waterways that interspersed standing corn. Before setting out on his hunt, Luke phoned friend Alex Hubert to ask if he could use his crossbow for this particular hunt. Luke is normally a compound bowhunter, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
Advertisement
Luke, a volunteer firefighter, was about to set out hunting when he got a call that squashed his plans for the day.
The next day, he was back for a half day. Luke searched the CRP grass diligently, glassing every possible spot he thought the buck could be laying, but came up empty.
With winds swirling, a spot-and-stalk hunt through the CRP grass turned out to be the winning strategy. Two days later, Luke took the day off to continue hunting the giant he was confident was calling the CRP home. At daylight on the 16th, Luke glassed intently from the road, making several trips around the section to see if he could locate the big deer. Unsuccessful, Luke dove into the last spot he’d previously seen the buck — a fence row that extended out through the crop land — but came up with nothing again. Deciding to check another section of the ditch, Luke focused his attention there.
Advertisement
"A patch of corn was still standing," Luke said. "So, I got three rows in and began my stalk."
Ever so slowly working his way with the wind in his face, the hunter eased his way to a known patch of CRP grass.
At about 75 yards, Luke finally saw tips of the bucks antlers in the tall grass. The buck was bedded and looking away, so Luke slowly crept closer.
“I got to within what I thought was 30 yards, but every time I tried to range him my rangefinder kept picking up grass giving me inaccurate readings," Luke explained. "I sat there waiting for about 20 minutes deciding what to do and waiting for the buck to make the next move."
Perzee's buck gross-scored 195 3/8 inches. Not wanting to take any chances Luke closed the gap to a mere 20 yards with the buck still bedded and unaware of his presence.
With his crossbow up and ready to shoot, Luke tried grunting several times with his mouth in an attempt to get the giant to stand up. Finally after a few attempts, the buck swung its head back and stood up, giving Luke a perfect 20-yard broadside shot.
At the shot, the buck simply flinched, walked 40 feet and fell over.
"I couldn’t believe it," Luke said.
Soon after, there were calls made to his wife and cousin to tell them of the good news. Nephew CJ Perzee helped in getting Luke’s big buck out, which scored 195 3/8 gross inches.
