JOSHM2298
whatever it takes
Over the years I have been very fortunate to build a history with several whitetails in my area and I've been extremely blessed to have harvested a few of those bucks. I can’t tell you how I would have felt if someone else would have come in and shot my #1 hit list buck, but that’s just what I did to Chris Dunkin and the landowner this past December in Southern Iowa. Chris and the landowner had built an extensive three year relationship with a buck they called “Rookie”. They had 3 years of trailcam pics, video, personal sightings, and sheds off of this Iowa legend. Not only were Chris and the landowner gracious enough to let me hunt him but they both actually “saved” him for me. Rookie had become a frequent visitor to a four acre turnip plot that they had planted earlier in the summer. It would have been easy for either one of them to cash in on all of their hard work and go hunt this truly giant whitetail, but they didn’t;
Click image for larger version.
Rookie in the turnip plot
Rookie beginning to show up during shooting hours.
I feel very fortunate to have harvested Rookie on my second evening during Iowa’s late muzzleloader season. I feel extremely blessed and humbled to have had the chance to even set foot on the farm where I harvested Rookie. When a whitetail crazed guy like myself can hunt one of the best farms in the country and meet gentlemen like Chris Dunkin and the landowner how can one not say, “why do I deserve this?”
The hunt that evening was incredible, and I'll forever remember the sight of Rookie stepping out of the woods and into the plot before making his way to 30 yards in front of the ground blind;
Rookie's Last bite, a pic taken from the video
Rookie grossed 172 4/8, a true Iowa giant
The text I had been waiting for finally came through this weekend that “Rookie is ready to be picked up”. My good friend and taxidermist Jeremy Barker had my 2013 Iowa buck ready to come home. After several long phone calls about the condition of his hide and the position of the broken ear I had finally convinced him to mount my buck like he was when I had killed him. I had sent him a still shot of the video and told him I wanted it to look just like the pic, and I think he nailed it.
Rookie has now taken his place in my trophy room but I can not help but feel a little guilty. Rookie is just as much Chris' and the landowner’s buck as he is mine. Maybe we can set up some visitation rights for the both of them!
Below, is the video of the hunt for Rookie, "Rookie's Last Bite." Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story of "Rookie"
http://www.trophypursuit.com/season/20.html
Click image for larger version.
Rookie in the turnip plot
Rookie beginning to show up during shooting hours.
I feel very fortunate to have harvested Rookie on my second evening during Iowa’s late muzzleloader season. I feel extremely blessed and humbled to have had the chance to even set foot on the farm where I harvested Rookie. When a whitetail crazed guy like myself can hunt one of the best farms in the country and meet gentlemen like Chris Dunkin and the landowner how can one not say, “why do I deserve this?”
The hunt that evening was incredible, and I'll forever remember the sight of Rookie stepping out of the woods and into the plot before making his way to 30 yards in front of the ground blind;
Rookie's Last bite, a pic taken from the video
Rookie grossed 172 4/8, a true Iowa giant
The text I had been waiting for finally came through this weekend that “Rookie is ready to be picked up”. My good friend and taxidermist Jeremy Barker had my 2013 Iowa buck ready to come home. After several long phone calls about the condition of his hide and the position of the broken ear I had finally convinced him to mount my buck like he was when I had killed him. I had sent him a still shot of the video and told him I wanted it to look just like the pic, and I think he nailed it.
Rookie has now taken his place in my trophy room but I can not help but feel a little guilty. Rookie is just as much Chris' and the landowner’s buck as he is mine. Maybe we can set up some visitation rights for the both of them!
Below, is the video of the hunt for Rookie, "Rookie's Last Bite." Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story of "Rookie"
http://www.trophypursuit.com/season/20.html
