Tom's 9x5 Whitetail Hunt

If you're a deer hunter in the northwest, you've got 2 choices. You can try to put a stalk on a skittish whitetail or you can take your chances in the higher country, trailing down a mule deer. Not every region throughout the northwest gives you the luxury to do both, but a friend of mine in Idaho was lucky enough to accomplish both this year. After much self-debate, Tom Schneider decided to start the year off in hot pursuit of a nice whitetail he had heard about in the area.

Tom "I got there and there was tons of road hunters and I was like well I need to get away from the people. So I started hiking a little bit in the woods and just started picking out some whitetail trails, just trying to figure out what the deer are doing, what the activity has been like. It was very benchy, that whitetail thicket brush. Stopped in the first spot there, I rattled and a 4x4 came running about my 3rd rattle looked at me and then took off running. So I moved up a little bit higher on a really nice bench, I stopped and rattled. My 2nd rattle I saw that really nice buck, he came down the hill stopped at about 80 yards and stared at me again, it was that whitetail thicket brush. Pulled the scope on him and he looked like a good buck but it was hard to tell and soon as he just slightly turned his head I knew he had to go. So I put him in the crosshairs and he rain about 75 yards and piled. He was just a really nice heavy 9x5."

Check out our Sportsman Spotlight page where you can check out Tom's whitetail buck.