Ohio Man Finishes Rollercoaster Season with Big Archery Non-Typical

Oliver Parker’s 2020 Ohio archery season brought a whole new meaning to the word rollercoaster. After placing a non-lethal hit on his target buck on Nov. 2 (a large-bodied 10-point nicknamed Chubbs), all hope and optimism for the season had left.

I didn’t want to get off the couch for a few days, let alone go back out hunting,” Oliver recalls.

A few days after the shot Chubbs returned, prompting one last hunt for the buck on the morning of November 8th. However, while in his stand, Oliver received pictures from a cell camera placed on another permission farm of an unknown 160-class buck daylighting 20 yards from his stand. With the worry of over-pressuring Chubbs off the property and a new target buck on his radar, Oliver decided to switch his attention to a secondary permission farm he’d found success on in the past; it was a large cattle farm with all the ingredients to produce a whitetail haven. However, since it is a cattle farm, acquiring any serious intel proved to be difficult.

“I learned quickly that putting out any sort of mineral or bait would just get me thousands of pictures of cows,” Oliver explains. “Because of that, I really didn't focus a lot of time on that farm.”

He had a couple of cell cameras placed on mock scrapes and travel routes, but it wasn’t until Nov. 8 that he received pictures of a buck worth pursuing.

On the morning of Nov. 9, with the new target buck on his mind, Oliver made his way to a tree stand positioned on the edge of some hardwoods. The hardwoods opened onto a gas pipeline with ag fields and clear-cuts nearby, all connected by a large ridge system. His hope was to catch bucks cruising either down the pipeline or between bedding areas in search of does. Unfortunately, the hunt was slow, and by the afternoon a heat wave had rolled in. The high 70s temperatures initially made Oliver decide to not go back out for an evening hunt. However, he changed his mind.

“I'm like, it's November 9th, anything can happen. I need to go,” Oliver recalls.

Returning to the same stand he’d sat that morning, Oliver anticipated another slow sit. However, just a couple hours in, he heard the sound of a chase and turned just in time to see the 160-class buck running a doe behind his stand. The chase unfolded so fast that he was unable to grab his bow, only watching helplessly as they disappeared into thick cover and out of sight. It’s one thing to miss out on the rare opportunity at a mature buck, but to be greeted by misfortune twice in one week is hard for any hunter to handle.

As the sun began to set, Oliver assumed the hunt was over. However, out of the corner of his eye, he caught slight movement inside the timber.

“At first, all I could see was its feet. I didn’t know if it was a buck, but I grabbed my bow anyway,” Oliver recalls.

After seemingly forever, the deer popped out 30 yards away on the pipeline. Oliver let out a few soft grunts to lure the buck closer, and that’s when he realized just how big the buck was.

“He whipped his head around, and I thought, oh my gosh, what is that?” Oliver says.

After grunting, the buck stared in his direction for a moment before walking away and up the pipeline. But just as he thought the buck was walking out of his life forever, a doe came crashing down the pipeline, running by his tree stand at 10 yards and stopping at 20 yards in full view of the buck.

“He was watching her the whole time,” Oliver explains. “I thought, there's no way this buck isn't going to come check this doe out. It's November 9th!”

And he was right. The buck did a 180 and headed straight for his tree stand, giving him a better view of the giant rack as he came closer. Trying to remain composed with the mistakes of a week prior ringing louder and louder in his mind, Oliver focused only on the buck’s body and making the shot.

“I didn’t pay too much attention to the rack, because I didn't want to lose my mind,” Oliver remembers. “The only thing I was thinking was, stay off the shoulder.”

After stopping the buck perfectly broadside at 15 yards and taking one last deep breath, Oliver released his arrow and watched the massive buck take off for a nearby thicket. “I was fairly certain I smoked him, but I felt like I was going to pass out. I had no clue what deer it was, but I knew I had just shot the biggest deer of my life,” he says.

Once calling family and friends with the news, Oliver climbed down to check his arrow. After finding it not far from the impact site, he posted a picture to Facebook and immediately received a message from an unknown person asking what he’d just shot.

“I replied, ‘Giant.’ And he said, ‘I think you’re gonna break my heart.’”

After brief correspondence, Oliver discovered this to be the owner of a farm that neighbored his permission farm. He had pictures of and had been hunting the buck throughout October. However, after the letdown, the neighbor shared a few trail camera pictures of the deer, giving Oliver a sneak peek at his trophy.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Oliver says. “I was like, ‘this is not real life.’”

Two hours after the shot, a recovery party arrived and the search for the buck began. Only five yards into the thicket, flashlight beams landed on the expired buck, leaving Oliver stunned in a mixture of shock and relief. And once he put his hands on the giant buck, he knew he’d just done something special. Three main beams, 24 scorable points, and an unbelievable story to go with the incredible rack.

After a rollercoaster of a season, for Oliver, the ride stopped at the top. Just a week from wounding his only target buck, Oliver found redemption in a surprise 211-inch Ohio giant.

“The takeaway is, you've got to get back out there; you just never know what may happen,” Oliver says.

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