There seems to be this popular misconception that you cannot find a big buck on public land, especially a big non-typical. For whatever reason, there's a ton of hunters who simply believe it cannot be done. Sometimes seeing is believing, and that's the case with this video uploaded by Matthew of Hutson Outdoors. In this adventure, he heads out to some public land in Missouri where he's seen some nice bucks running around in the past. He keeps things simple, setting up in a tree saddle, and he's not even wearing any camo. The evening goes slowly for the most part until just before dark.
That's when a huge buck with double drop tines steps out into the clearing. He waits until the deer stops before taking the shot. The buck's reaction looks good, but he still backs out and waits an hour before making the recovery and finding his shot placement had been perfect.
The shot placement was a little forward, but it appears he still caught both lungs of this buck. That's exactly the type of blood trail you want to find in any hunting scenario. It looks like the buck didn't get much further past the last spot Matthew saw him. While he probably could have recovered that buck immediately, it never hurts to back out when in doubt.
This video also just goes to show that there are some truly giant bucks out there on public land. Many hunters simply don't put in the time and energy necessary to locate where they are hanging out. This would have been a great buck no matter where it was shot, but to get this done on public land is an extra feather in the cap for sure. Congrats on an awesome deer Matthew! You may have just inspired us to spend a little extra time on public land this season.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram For original videos, check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
