The 22-23 deer season is winding down across the country, and ScentLok would like to take a moment to reflect on a successful season for many of our partners and ambassadors.
In the past year, many of our partners have walked away with memories that will last a lifetime. For some, the past season involved harvesting the largest bucks of their lives. Others experienced their first deer and shared those moments with special people. Though we can not share the success of all of our friends and fellow hunters, we want to recap three of our favorite memorable hunts from the past year.
Headhunters TV Nate Hosie and his son Cruze
Randy Birdsong and Nate Hosie of Headhunters TV have been partners with ScentLok since day one of their popular show. ScentLok and Headhunters TV have been proven deadly together for over thirteen years.
The past season for Birdsong and Hosie was not disappointing. Both had a tremendous year, harvesting multiple mature bucks along the way. After sitting down with Hosie to hear some of his highlights from the past season, he shared that he was able to take his largest buck to date with a bow in Kansas; a 177” brute of a deer. Even after taking his massive main frame nine-pointer, Hosie went on to experience the most memorable hunt of his life when his son Cruze harvested his first buck in their home state of Pennsylvania.
“Of any hunt I have ever been a part of, to watch my five-year-old take his first buck was something that I have never experienced and was the most memorable hunt I have ever been a part of,” says Hosie.
On a beautiful afternoon with a high-pressure system, Hosie explained how he decided to take his son out of school and try to get him his first buck. With Hosies dad (Cruze’s grandpa) along for the ride, they witnessed two bucks coming out of the bedding area after an hour in the stand. “One of the bucks was a buck Cruze had named the fighting four,” says Hosie. After asking Cruze if he wanted to shoot, Cruze answered by saying he thought he could make the shot. After Hosie and his grandpa got him ready, five-year-old Cruze made a successful shot at 125 yards by dropping the buck in his tracks. “My wife Tiffany and my younger son Nash all got to share how proud we were of Cruze,” Hosie recalls, going on to explain that those were the moments they lived for, making Cruze’s first buck one of the most memorable hunts of the year.
The Game TV’s Matt Jennings Biggest Buck To Date
If there is anyone who is still floating from the success of the past deer season, it has to be Matt Jennings of The Game TV.
When Jennings traveled into a new piece of property in Oklahoma to bow hunt whitetails, he didn’t know what he was about to experience. “The day we stepped onto the property was the first day a game camera was hung,” said Jennings. He then explained that he looked on his Moultrie app at the lay of the land, found a great area for deer movement, then hurried and hung two lock on stands. “After seeing a few small bucks on a warm seventy-degree first day, a cold front blew in the following day, and at 11:00 a.m., we got a trail camera picture of the buck we later named Macho Man.” After the temperatures dropped from seventy to ten degrees on the following morning sit, Jennings grunted up a mature buck at 10:00 a.m. Unable to get a shot, they sat for the rest of the day. With two hours left of daylight, Jennings had multiple buck encounters, one being the Macho Man buck a second time which still resulted in no harvest. Jennings buck later made a third appearance at twenty-five yards, then came within a few steps, yet no shot was possible. As Macho Man stayed in the area, he moved and pushed the bigger buck from earlier that morning out of the field. Jennings grunted and rattled two different times, which made Macho Man come back to fifteen yards, where he then made a successful shot on the 176” Oklahoma giant.
The past season for Jennings was what he defines as the best year he has ever had. Jennings took nine different bucks, harvesting a buck on every trip that he had planned. To top off his incredible season, Jenning’s Oklahoma buck was his largest buck to date.
Drury Outdoors Mark Drury Takes 185” Buck On 48-Acre Farm
When discussing the topic of hunting and taking giant deer, the name Drury Outdoors is most likely going to be mentioned. Drury Outdoors has been widely known for taking incredible bucks each fall. The past season featured multiple big bucks again for the Drury Outdoors team. One hunt that made our most memorable list was Mark’s 185” nine-pointer that he harvested on a small fifty-acre farm in Iowa.
Most hunters have experienced a mature buck on their game camera, only to have them disappear, leaving the hunter wondering what happened and if the buck is still alive. That happened to Mark Drury this year.
In the spring of 2020, Drury went to his small fifty-acre farm and made improvements that he thought would help hold mature bucks, such as making a lush green food plot. In October 2020, Mark and his cameraman hunted the green field only to realize they needed to move the blind for a better wind direction. After moving the blind and re-positioning the green field, Mark succeeded with a harvest in the fall of 2021. In 2022, a more permanent stand was placed, and Mark was welcomed with game camera pictures of a nine-pointer who had exploded from previous years. After summer pictures, the massive nine disappeared until he showed up on another camera. In late November, he became more routine, allowing Drury to move in for the hunt.
On an evening hunt, Drury’s buck entered the bean field at last light, giving him no time to make the shot. On November 28th, Drury returned to hunt the big buck. Mark’s big nine returned, this time with enough light left. After slowly making his way closer, the bucked checked a scrape tree at twenty yards, where Drury made a perfect shot with his bow. The buck scored an incredible 185”.