A couple years later,
Coleman started hearing stories from his father and cousin, Joker, about
big-buck sightings. Although Coleman knew his food plot was working
well, he was still a bit skeptical about the stories.
“My father and my cousin
kept telling me about seeing several big bucks, but I was thinking,
‘Yeah right, same old story and exaggeration’,” Coleman said. Three
trophy bucks later Coleman was eating his words. He shot an 8-point buck
that scored 140 1/8. His friend, Mickey Lehman, shot a monster 11-point
that scored 160 3/8. And Joker scored on a 120-inch buck.
“Well, they were right
(about the big buck sightings),” Coleman said. “I was glad I took the
time to read about Whitetail Institute products. I tried Alfa-Rack with
high hopes of attracting bigger bucks on my dad’s farm because most of
the deer we have seen in the past were small. My father has been there
for 10 years since his retirement and I have been hunting there the
entire time. What a year we had!”
Coleman explained he had
seen some small bucks early in the season, but things didn’t pick up
until muzzleloader season. “I saw a huge buck while hunting on a Monday
evening,” he said. “Although I was excited and wanted to shoot, there
was danger shooting toward someone’s house, so, of course, I did not
shoot. “Well, the next evening, about one hour before dark, deer were
everywhere. I kept seeing small bucks chasing does.
There had to be 25 deer
next to my food plot. Just as the light was about gone, I saw a deer
dart right in front of me about 70 yards. I was ready to shoot, but when
I pulled the trigger, nothing. I pulled it again, nothing. I pulled it
again and again and again. I thought, ‘What the heck is going on.’ Upon
further inspection, I had not pushed the safety off.” Coleman quickly
composed himself and flipped the safety off.
“All I had was a neck
shot, so I took it,” he said. “The big buck dropped in his tracks. I sat
there for a few minutes in shock.” The 8-point bruiser had 22-inch main
beams, a 22 1/4-inside spread, 9-inch G2s, and 8-inch G3s. Lehman had
seen his incredible deer during bow season, but kept that information to
himself.
Coleman said he saw
Lehman’s deer standing right next to the Alfa-Rack food plot one week
prior to Lehman bagging the animal. “I didn’t shoot him because all I
could see was his rack, so I didn’t take a shot,” Coleman said. “Mickey
shot his big buck one week later about 200 yards from where I was
hunting when I shot my nice deer.”
Lehman’s deer grossed 160
2/8 with both G2s and G3s measuring more than 10 inches. The G4s
measured an impressive 8 1/8 and 7 1/8 respectively. Not only is Coleman
and his hunting partners bagging quality bucks, they are seeing more
deer. “Instead of seeing four or five, now we see 20 at a time,” he
said. Coleman added that he intends to plant more Alfa-Rack this year.
With results like his, who could blame him.
