Bow Hunting · 2026 Season
Ten minutes of light. One earned buck.
A buck seen regularly on one trail camera sharpened the scouting and timing. After a mostly warm start to the season, cooler nights, the moon and full-swing prerut finally lined up—and he passed by with ten minutes of shooting light left.
The camera helped set the plan
This season started warm and mostly stayed that way, with only a few cool days mixed in. Seeing this mature buck show up regularly on one specific trail camera helped kick the scouting into gear and focus the timing.
Everything finally lined up
With prerut in full swing, cooler nights arriving and the moon timing adding another piece to the puzzle, the conditions finally came together. With just ten minutes of shooting light left, he moved past the stand.
The work did not stop at the shot
The blood trail led a few hundred yards through thick cover and swamp before we found him. That recovery was its own grind—and a reminder that the hunt is not over when the shot is taken.
A team effort
Thanks to Dave Huntington for helping lug this stud out of the timber, and to Joe Velez for lending the quad to lighten the load of this brute.
