No Ground Shrinkage! Man Surprised by Staggering Iowa Buck

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Logan Marum had trail camera photos of a big deer in 2022. In 2023, the buck returned. Based on the history, he believed the deer was now 5 1/2 years old. He and his father even had some photos of the deer back when it was just 3 1/2 years old. The hunt for the deer they called “Oscar” was now on.

Logan’s father, Ted Marum, started Buffalo County Outfitters when Logan was young. “It’s been a privilege to be raised in the part of the country that everyone knew as the mecca of deer hunting, but also to be raised by one of the best to ever guide,” Logan says.

The big deer Logan was after summered on the property. Then, the buck disappeared for about a month. Fortunately, an early October cold front pushed the deer to return and daylight.

“We have a handful of farms leased in southern Iowa that we manage and run trail cameras on; these are for when we or our friends tags for Iowa,” Logan says. “This particular piece has continuously had the best genetics of anywhere we have permission or leased down there. As long as our food plots take off and the deer have access to a good food source, we’re confident we can harvest a couple of mature, high-scoring deer.”

On Oct. 8, 2023, Logan decided to hunt Oscar. His stand location was perched up above three draws that meet at an old cattle gate. Deer funnel through it traveling to and from some oak flats, two CRP fields and a green plot. His stand faced the green plot.

“At 4:00 p.m., the owner’s son and a couple friends rode their horses up to me,” Logan says. “They weren’t aware I was hunting at the time, as I had accessed from the other side of the farm. After they saw me they apologized and turned around. I settled in and realized the wind was switching to east, which is the opposite of what I wanted.”

Eventually, deer began moving. It was clear the moderate drop in temperatures urged deer to feed. The action started early. A doe and two fawns walked in. Unfortunately, they winded him and ran into the plot. Then a yearling buck and two more does entered the field. Later in the afternoon, the same doe as before winded Logan again.

“She blew and stomped repeatedly,” Logan says. “I eventually turned to my east and faced the CRP, thinking it was the only place I might see a deer. But after hearing a few grunts, I turned my head around and he was walking directly at me 55 yards away and closing through the green plot.”

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The buck headed for the open gate and a few scrapes beyond it. The deer made it to 22 yards, and after Logan reached full draw, the buck was at 18 yards. Logan settled the pin and took the shot.

“I touched off the shot, heard the pop and he took off down into the closest draw,” Logan says. “Once he got down into the woods he stopped, and I could hear him walking slowly. After a short while, I thought I had heard a crash but wasn’t 100 percent sure. I left my stuff in the tree and decided to wait until the morning to go look for him.”

The next morning Logan and several friends headed back into the woods to find the deer. The search didn’t take long. Upon recovering the buck, it was clear the deer was bigger than they had thought. What they thought was a high 170s deer ended up scoring 185 7/8 inches gross.

“The deer means a lot to me, but the time spent preparing for the season together, the jokes that were made and the recovering of the deer is what I’ll remember every time I look at him,” Logan says. “This deer goes way further than a score sheet or shoulder mount. I’m so grateful to have the friends I do, the family I do and the connections I’ve made in deer hunting. This deer is really the pinnacle of those things, hard work and enjoying the process of deer hunting all combined. I’m the man that I am today because of deer hunting. I was raised in it, I’ve learned important life lessons while hunting and I’ve made and strengthened friendships through deer hunting. Most importantly, it’s a passion that I have the chance to share with my dad year in and year out, and I will forever be grateful for these experiences with him.”