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TOO Hall of Fame Inductee: Drake Krummrey's "Finally" Buck...

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia


That right there is a sight I will never forget!!!

2010 proved to be a great year, not only for hunting, but life in general. My wife and I married on September 4th, which was shortly after we moved in to our first house together; and my career was beginning to take off.

The summer proved to be busy and hectic with the pending wedding, but I managed to run cameras as much as I could throughout the off season. Nothing real promising showed up on cam, but I knew from neighbors and the farmers in the area that there were a few decent bucks around. I knew 2010 would be a much different year for me with work, wedding, honeymoon, etc.; I knew I would only have a limited number of days in the stand and only a couple vacation days to use compared to the week I usually take in the fall.

My plan would be to hunt from Nov.4th (Thursday) through the 8th (Monday). I had three spots picked out in two different woods adjacent to each other, all surrounded by standing corn. The majority of the corn in the area had been harvested, so I knew the standing corn would definitely hold deer. Thursday through Saturday turned out to provide much less action that I had hoped, not to mention missing a Saturday morning hunt because of a long night the night before, was not the way to kick of the weekend!

Saturday evening came and so did the full swing rut in my area. It sounded like a stampede coming through the corn all evening long. I tried everything I could think of to try and get those deer out of the corn, but nothing did the trick. At this point I had seen one or two scrub bucks and a few does, nothing even close to shooter size. I decided on Sunday that I would stop in after my morning hunt and scout a little thicket of woods about 400 yards from my main hunting area that I also had permission for. Walking back I had a pretty good feeling about what I was going to find, as this place was surrounded by standing corn on all four sides with a grass ravine for easy access.

When I arrived, the place was trashed with big deer sign. Tracks, scrapes, rubs you name it, it was absolutely slammed with sign! I found a nice tree not too far from a scrape and rub line and hung by Lone Wolf sticks and cleared some shooting lanes. I was pumped up during lunch to say the least! I ended up going back in about 1PM that day and sitting until dark. A 7 point that I probably would have put an arrow in came in about a half hour before dark, but lucky for him, he was on the opposite side of the tree leaving me with no shot opportunity. My thought process on the way home was: "Great! That's the deer making the sign…" A little bummed out, I decided to return in the morning anyway and give the spot another chance.

The Monday morning sit was the most eventful leading up to the harvest of my buck. I had 10-12 does in the woods with me, all in an area I would say is less than 30 acres in size. I could hear deer everywhere before sun up. I ended up seeing 3 or 4 different spikes and basket racks, as well as the 7 point I had the encounter with the evening before. At about 9:30, a nice big doe that had been feeding on the outside edge decided to come in the woods and straight to me. I made up my mind that it was time to put another doe in the freezer! I let her get to about 7 yards, draw, shoot, smack..... tree limb! The arrow went straight into the ground right in front of her. She didn't even flinch, just walked off like nothing ever happened.

After the miss and the lack of mature bucks, I didn't even want to head out for my last hunt of the vacation that evening. If it wasn't for my cousin Brent, who also happens to me my best friend/hunting partner/drinking partner telling me that I couldn't shoot them from the couch and that I needed to hunt that night, I honestly would not have even went truth be known. But I decided to give it a shot... I get in the stand later that afternoon and it was calm as can be with hardly any wind at all. I could hear movement in the corn all around me. The rut was still hot and the deer were on the move!

Here is the stand I was in:



The first few hours were dry as far as deer sightings went. I might have seen a few (honestly can't remember) before 5PM that night. With less than an hour before dark, I start doing some can calling in sequences, every 5 minutes or so. Typical no response for the first 15 minutes, but after what would have been my last session of calling; I hear movement to my back left. I was thinking either a small buck or the now famous 7-point, but once he got within 60 yards, I could see the right side of his rack moving through the brush. It was thick as could be, so I had trouble making him out; but I figured him to be a pretty decent 8 point. I knew the window of opportunity would be slim when it came to stopping him in my shooting lane, so I readied my bow and begin to quiver like crazy! I swear I could hear my heart pounding almost as fast as the tip of my boot on the stand!!! I took a few deep breaths; then after what seemed like forever, he stepped out into my shooting lane. I panicked! Then I mustered a mouth grunt only to realize he was facing directly toward me with no shot window at all. I thank God to this day that this buck somehow did not hear my stopping grunt, he ended up grazing up to me about another 5 or so yards (18-20 yards total shot I believe) and gave me a pretty hard quartering-to shot opportunity.

I'm not a real big fan of the shot angle, but at that range I knew I could snug one right behind his shoulder, hopefully catching a lung and then running the arrow his full length. So I let one fly! “Smack!!!” I knew I made a good hit as it almost knocked him off his feet. I watched him bound away. Panic time again! "What did I do?" "Did I make a good shot?" "How long should I wait?" "Was that him I just heard in the corn?". At this point, I’m in full nervous break down mode! I decided that there was no way I could get down for at least a half hour, so I said a little “thank you” prayer and just sat there and took it all in. It was pure raw emotion right then boys! The weight of 8 years bowhunting, without one single respectable buck on the wall had finally been lifted from my shoulders. The countless mistakes, being winded, busted, bad shots, bad track jobs, etc.; I couldn't believe that it finally paid off! That moment right there gave me a newfound appreciation for the sport.

I ended up going to my cousin Brent’s house to get my bearings together, have a cold beer, and get some flashlights rounded up. I told him everything that had happened and he was pretty confident that we would recover the deer. I was nervous as could be, I didn't get down and look for blood or arrow or anything when I left; I just backed out. Being a guy that has been on the unsuccessful end of a few track jobs due to marginal shots, I was almost sick when we got to where I had shot and couldn't find any blood or my arrow. Sick turned into panic, panic turned into frustration, and ultimately ended up as anger! I was furious! Cussing myself, swearing I was quitting... selling my bow.... buying a fishing boat... you name it I said it all! Probably the closest I've ever been to a full breakdown in a long time.

My cousins that were with me though, were adamant that we would find my buck. After I concluded my whining session and stopped feeling sorry for myself, I decided that I would walk every row of that 100 acre corn field if it took me a week, so I started row after row. After about 45-50 rows I notice a single drop of blood… relief doesn't even describe how I felt at that moment! I yelled for the guys and Brent was first on the scene. After examining the blood, he said: "That's good blood!" We took one more step and he shined his light over a couple rows and said: "There he is!!!” I went crazy!!! Fist pumping and high fiving like a little kid at Christmas! Then we realized that he was a ten instead of an eight. I couldn't have been happier with him. He ended up going about 100 yards total and we back tracked where he came from only to find out that he never lost a drop of blood until the last 10 yards. My arrow had broken off inside with about 8 inches of arrow and the broadhead still inside. I think the steep angle combined with not getting a complete pass through made for the lack of blood. Regardless, it did the job!



This buck was a turning point in my bowhunting career. Going into the season, I had doubts if it was even possible for it to happen to me. It had been 8 years or turmoil; a thousand + hours; and nothing to show for all that effort. This deer gave me a new found love for the sport and a completely different appreciation for being a bowhunter. The hard work and dedication paid off, and then the realization set in that it was actually possible. It doesn't get any better than that in my book!

Here he is on the wall:

 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Congratulations Drake! Great story, great buck, great ending! I am very happy for you. You deserved that buck as much as anyone I can think of. Couldn't have happened to a better guy!
 

huntn2

Senior Member
6,090
157
Hudson, OH
Drake that is a hell of a buck! Congrats on a great season last year. This write up is a fantastic narrative of your year/season last year and here is to wishing you similar success this season!
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
Love that story buddy!! Nice job, and congrats again on a great buck. "Ya can't kill 'em on the couch" :smiley_cheers:
 

DJK Frank 16

Senior Member
Supporting Member
9,358
133
Hardin County
Thanks fellas, I sure appreciate the induction! :smiley_cheers:

I've came a long way as a bowhunter in the last few years, and I have the knowledge and resources shared by the guys on this site to thank for a lot of it.

Couldn't ask for a better crew!!