It was blowing rain and getting dark in Otisco when R.J. Shaver, of Apulia Station, gave a few bleats on his doe call. With a great crashing sound, a big 8-pointer burst through the thick brush about 50 yards away. He put on quite a show, grunting, scraping, and shreddding a tree with his antlers.

“I never once saw that buck on my cameras,“ Shaver said. ”He was just passing through at the right time for me.”

Shaver waited until the buck was 35 yards away before letting his arrow fly. The buck disappeared in the brush. It was raining so hard Shaver worried it would wash away the blood trail. But when he shined a flashlight, the buck was just 40 yards from where Shaver had shot him. The buck dressed out at a hefty 220 pounds.

First thing Shaver did was call his dad, who doesn’t get out in

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