When faced with deep grief after the loss of his grandfather the week before, YouTuber Josh Kobelka of Clearwater Outfitters did what many hunters do: He went to the woods. Kobelka was targeting a big buck he named Shredder, which he had been watching on his trail cameras. It was a cold day at the end of the rut activity, and Kobelka was positioned ideally for the day's wind conditions.
"I'm hoping he'll be off a doe and scooting through here looking for another doe," Kobelka said.
He didn't have a lot of open lanes for shooting, but he thought he could make it happen if he was presented with the right opportunity.
It was an emotional morning. Days before his grandfather had passed away, he told Kobelka to go out and shoot a big buck. Riddled with grief, Kobelka didn't want to let his grandpa down, plus he wanted to honor his memory. So, he was waiting for Shredder, the biggest buck on his radar. After getting settled in a tree saddle for the day, Kobelka saw several bucks. He rattled his antlers, and about twenty minutes later, Shredder came in. He was headed across the field but Kobelka needed him to change directions, so he called him. Shredder moved into around to 15 yards and Kobelka made a perfect shot through the heart on this massive 18-pointer.
As Shredder stumbles and falls, tears well in Kobelka's eyes and he pumps his fist.
"That one's for grandpa," he whispers. "I just shot Shredder. That is unbelievable."
To add some icing on the cake of this memorable hunt, Shredder passed right over a deadhead on his death run, spewing blood all over the rack.
"Initially I didn't think much of it but then it finally hit me," Kobelka wrote on Instagram. "It was a buck for both grandpa and I and was his final sign that he was right there with me all along."
