BY KEVIN SLAUGHTER OF
ANTLERS AND ANGLERS WORLDWIDE, LLC
(205) 969-2065
www.antlersandanglers.com

Four of us settled into the blind in early November for my first big Michigan whitetail rut hunt. My wife, Corinna, the video guide, Dan, my guide, Randy and myself sneaked into the blind the first afternoon of my five day hunt. We were a little late because of flight delays from Texas. Within 30 minutes the action started! Bucks started coming out of the brush from what seemed like every direction. They were all interested in the same two does that had decided to have an early dinner at our blind.

The two dominant bucks, one a wide nine point and the other a wide main frame eight with 5 cool looking kickers off it’s G2’s, decided they were in charge and the does would be theirs! The battle ensued as the two, at first off in the brush, began banging their horns together like nothing I had ever heard. We had only had a glimpse of them earlier, but then they decided to make their battle public and out they came with a vengeance, racing around, breathing hard and hitting each other with all their might.

As soon as they broke out of the brush, both guides started breathing hard, and saying “those are really good bucks”. As they continue to video and talk, Dan said “you will not be disappointed if you shoot that buck”, speaking of the big eight with kickers. The guides continue to get more and more excited and talk about what good bucks both are but especially the eight. Over and over they say “you will not be disappointed if you shoot that buck!”

My mind is racing and I have the big dilemma, do I want to shoot the first big buck I see on the first afternoon when I have waited all of my life to be on a property like this with huge northern whitetails? After all, I just met these two guides and I haven’t even had the opportunity to tell them what I am looking for. Maybe they just want an easy week and to get a big harvest on video. I have shot plenty of eights in my life, why do I want another one now, and he doesn’t look THAT big to me.

Rewind, how did this trip come about? My wife, Corinna, loves hunting almost as much as I do. She knew that my dream trip would be to hunt The Legends Ranch in Michigan with legend Skipper Bettis. For my 40th birthday, she called Skipper to set up a surprise trip to the Legends. Skipper suggested an eight-point hunt instead of a rut hunt because the bodies of Texas deer are substantially smaller than those of Michigan deer.

A typical Texas deer might weigh 100-175 pounds but a typical Michigan deer would weigh 195-275 pounds! Skipper thought I might have difficulty discerning just how big the horns really were on such a large animal. Corinna thought I would be disappointed if her surprise turned out to be for a management buck. So, she told Skipper not to worry because Kevin “ALWAYS LISTENS TO HIS GUIDE”, and if the guide told him it was big he would shoot! So a rut hunt was booked.
Back to the big decision: Do I shoot this really good deer or do I wait. I told Corinna that I didn’t want to shoot the first day because I wanted to see what the bucks looked like to know what I wanted to shoot. I decided to stick with my game plan and let the big eight with kickers walk. As darkness settled in, I felt good about my decision and the guides wished “HE” had come out later in the week because “HE” was a really good deer and later in the week I would have known how good “HE” really was.

That night, back at the lodge, our video was played for all the hunters and guides to see! As it played they all, including Skipper, sat in amazement as they watched me pass up the buck of a lifetime. The same buck in Texas with the small body and horns in proportion would have probably scored around 130-140, but in Michigan with the big body, he ended up scoring around 175. How do I know what it ended up scoring? Yes, you guessed it, “HE” was shot late in the season by a hunter who listened to his guide.

The next day, a similar situation happened as another big, heavy nine point spent 30 minutes in front of my blind. Again the guide, Randy, said it was a good deer and we wouldn’t see another with horns with that much mass. I let it walk and again felt good about my decision. The big 9 point even walked back out to give me a second chance and again I let it walk. As it left the second time, Randy said “Let’s keep this buck in mind for later in the week”.

Not 10 minutes passed and “BAM”. Randy turned to me and said “We’ll see him back at the lodge in a little while”. As the hunter pulled up in the truck, I looked in amazement as the biggest bodied buck I had ever seen touched from end to end in the bed of the pickup truck. The horns were the most massive I had ever seen! I realized then that I had really messed up and I would listen next time. Next time didn’t come because another mature buck didn’t show himself for a shot the rest of the trip! Next time, I’ll listen to my guide!

Today, I own a booking company called Antlers and Anglers Worldwide and I book hunts for The Legends Ranch. The first story I tell my hunters is this one!