Wendy Heatley's 2009 OK Buck


I hope this finds everyone doing well and having enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. As most of you know, I have been on the road for the most part since late October. I was here in Oklahoma for twelve days building a deck for my friend Joe, getting stands ready for gun hunting clients, and getting some archery hunting in too.

While archery hunting I had two encounters with a very nice, wide buck. The first time was right at dark and I didn't get a good look at him, but I knew he was a shooter. The second time was my last day to bowhunt before heading home and I was at full draw and he was 30 yards away, broadside, but he turned before I could settle the 30 yard pin on his heart. I knew I was bringing Wendy back down here to rifle hunt and we could only hope that the wide buck was still around. We are the only ones with permission to hunt this property, but it is a small section of woods surrounded by vast fields, and Joe knows that people in the area will just shoot from the road if they get a chance. Not to mention that rifle season started 6 days before we could get back here to hunt.

Our rifle clients tagged out on the first day, before 10am with a 10 and an 8 point.
Wendy and I traveled all of Thanksgiving day and started our hunt on black Friday. The morning hunt produced several smaller bucks and does. In the afternoon we went to the "wide buck" property and upon checking my trail camera we had a nice picture of him from that morning! We were excited, he was still on his feet.

The next couple days we hunted one spot in the morning and the "wide buck" spot in the afternoon. On Saturday when we went to the "wide buck" property there laid a dead buck in the wheat field, about 50 yards off the road and not far from where we park. I went to check it out and sure enough it had been shot right there in the field. It was a one horned 4 point that I have video of from my archery hunt. We were relieved it wasn't one of the bigger deer, but disgusted that someone would be so wasteful, not to mention illegal. Joe notified the local game warden so he was aware of the potential poaching problem in the area.

We had not hunted the "wide buck" spot in the mornings yet and decided that on Monday (11/30/09) we would go and hunt it all day. It was a crisp 30 degrees when we left the truck for the ground blind. We didn't see a deer until 8:15 when two young spikes walked within ten yards of the blind. About 10:30 I just finished a rattling sequence and Wendy sits forward in her seat, looking at something. NO, it was not a buck, I had rattled in the neighbor who drove his pickup up and down the property line about 150 yards from our blind. We seem to have the darndest luck when it comes to stuff like that.

It was noon and we had just finished our lunch when I heard footsteps in the leaves behind us. We were sure it was a deer, but the footsteps just vanished and we didn't see a thing. I doe bleated, grunted, and a little while later, snort wheezed, and ratted some more........... Nothing.

About an hour later I hear footsteps again, this time off to our right. I could see movement, then I could tell it was a buck, and a few seconds later I knew it was a shooter, but I didn't know which buck it was. The buck was very skittish and couldn't decide if he wanted to come closer. He even turned around in a circle and I thought he was leaving, but he continued up the trail. Due to the setup, Wendy couldn't see any of this. He was only 10 yards away from the blind all this time!!
He walked out into the open where Wendy could finally see him. He stopped and was looking right at the ground blind when Wendy dropped the hammer on her 270WSM. When she shot the buck he was only 15 yards from the blind!! He made it about 50 yards before piling up, and the excited guide/husband/cameraman, managed to capture it all on film!!

Wendys patience and persistence had finally been rewarded. This was her second hunt in Oklahoma and her fourth midwest hunt for whitetails in the last 3 years.
He weighed 175 lbs, field dressed and has an inside spread of 18 3/4". I haven't measured him yet but I am sure he will go 140 or better.

Thanks to everyone for sharing in "Team Heatley" success this fall, we have truly been blessed. Wishing you all success as you go afield, and most importantly, may you and your friends and family be so blessed as we have been this fall.

Enjoy, Scott and Wendy

PS. Upon looking, the trail cam pic might be of a different "wide buck".......aaahhhh more for next year!!

Happy Hunting, HEAT