December 13, 2011
By North American Whitetail Online Staff
Paul Hein spent five days a week over the course of six weeks hunting for the "one." His dedication would eventually pay off with an Iowa trophy buck of a lifetime.
"Persistence" and "luck" are two terms that are often used to describe what it took for a hunter to put a trophy buck on the ground.
We've all heard a similar story about a lucky guy who spent a single day in the woods during deer season and kicked up a booner after smoking a cigarette on the way back to the truck.
And then there are guys like Paul Hein, whose deer hunting practices are that of an avid marathoner - a guy that puts in the time to find that special buck that's worth pulling back on.
Hein kicked off his quest for a monster on opening day of Iowa's archery season and over the next six weeks would hunt five days a week, looking for a wall hanger.
A school teacher, Hein got to his stand around 3:25 p.m. the afternoon of November 16, hopeful that this would be the day he'd tag out. The wind was out of the northwest around 10-15 mph and it was a steady but brisk 40 degrees.
Hein was set up near an unharvested corn field that was also near some prime bedding areas. With the rut in full swing, the dedicated hunter conducted several rattling and grunt sequences every 30 minutes, hopeful to pull in a big boy.
After another sequence of calling around 4:50 p.m., Hein noticed a small buck headed his way, acting like a nervous teenager, constantly looking over his shoulder. Knowing that there might be a bruiser in pursuit, Hein stood up and spotted the one€¦the type of buck he'd been hoping to shoot€¦that anyone would shoot!
The buck was ready to fight, but made the mistake of standing broadside exactly 20 yards from Paul Hein who'd rehearsed this shot a million times.
The double lunger struck home and Hein heard the crash not 40-50 yards from his stand! The buck of his dreams was on the ground!
After a short and easy track, Hein saw the fruits of his labor -- a massive buck-of-a-lifetime that green grossed 233 1/8 inches and featured 25 scoreable points!
Congrats Paul on a fantastic buck!
