Mark Long's Long-Tined Iowa Trophy Buck

March 07, 2012 By North American Whitetail Online Staff

This buck's tines match the shooter's last name! Here's the story of Mark Long's long-tined Iowa trophy buck!

It was the first week of November in Southern Iowa and Mark Long was exactly where he wanted to be -- sitting 20-feet-high up in his Summit Bushmaster, hoping to shoot his first buck ever with a bow.

He was hunting a friend's property with his father, Gary, and the pair of bowhunters were hoping to put a tag on big ole' Hawkeye State trophy buck...the kind of deer you might see in a magazine or website.

It was the pre-rut and Long was camped in a patch of timber that had alfalfa on both sides of it. There were trails running east and west with a major north/south intersection cutting through the middle.

After being served up several hours of "nothing" and with an hour of shooting light left, Mark started to see movement around his stand.

A spike buck waddled through, safe from Long's two-blade mechanical Rage broadhead (at least for now), followed by a mature eight point that strolled right towards the alfalfa for an evening munch.

Five minutes later, another sound, and Long caught the sight of a doe trotting right towards his stand with a monster buck hot on her trail.

"My dad always told me to never look at the rack, so I decided right away he was an shooter and never looked back," shared Long.

The doe passed Long's stand and stopped 20 yards away. The buck was following!

Long carefully drew his Mathews Drenalin back when the buck stepped behind a tree and waited for the giant deer to come. At 18 yards he was broadside, slightly quartering away, with Long glaring through his peep sight above.

The bowhunter made a clicking sound, stopping the buck cold in its dead tracks, and Long released, hearing the tell-all "SMACK" as the broadhead found its mark.

"This is my first buck I have taken with my bow!" shared Long, "I had no idea how big he was until I saw him lying on the ground."

The 13-point buck had four tines that were more than a foot long and he grossed 183 7/8 inches!

"I'd like to thank my dad, Gary Long, for teaching me everything I know. I couldn't have done it without him," shared Mark.

Congrats on a fantastic buck!

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