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The Randy Harris Buck On October 19th 2002, Randy Harris, of Moberly Mo, most likely set a new archery record for Randolph County, MO. Randy arrowed a buck that has green scored 201 5/8 net Buckmaster points. Randy started his season on Sunday, October 12th, in somewhat of a disappointing fashion . The deer stand he picked to hunt from that day turned out to be in the same field that CRP ground was being sprayed with chemical. After deciding he wasn't going to have any luck hunting with the sprayer running so close, Randy decided to get down from his stand and rather than waste the day, do some scouting. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. After scouting the nearby wooded areas and fields, he was ready to call it a day. As he was headed back to his truck, he spotted some movement along the edge of the field. Stopping in his tracks, Randy soon focused a big antlered buck just a short distance away. It was then and there that he decided to relocate his stand on the edge of the field where he had seen this big buck. Out of daylight, Randy would have to wait until Tuesday the 14, before getting time to relocate his stand. He would not get a chance to hunt this new location until the weekend. That Saturday, the 19th, he finished work earlier than expected and was able to got away three hours early . Even though he hadn't planned on getting off work early enough to hunt that evening, he decided not to waste this extra hunting time. He then remembered that he didn't even have his hunting clothes with him. Rather than to loose precious daylight, he decided to head to his tree stand wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a Carhart jacket. As it turned out, he don't have to make a "fashion" statement to harvest this big buck. Randy arrived at his stand about 4:30 pm. All was quiet until about 6:30 pm. It was then that he heard deer "blowing" in the nearby timber. In an effort to try to calm the deer, Randy decided to grunt softly with his deer call. After his grunt, all was quiet again. There is no way to know for certain if that soft grunt Randy made on his deer call attracted the big buck or if he was already on his way, but at 6:40 the big buck walked out of the woods and onto the field's edge. It was then that Randy knew this buck was a good one. The buck looked around for a few moments and then proceeded to work a scrape and mark the over head tree branches. Having finished marking his territory, the buck proceeded to walk ever so slowly towards Randy's stand. 100 yards out, 90 yards, 80 yards. Randy held his breath, hoping the big boy would continue on his current path and not change directions like it seems they always do before getting into bow range. The sun was sinking farther into the West and daylight was slipping away. The big buck continues towards the stand. 75 yards, 60 yards. Randy knows his limits and has decided not to try a shot farther than 50 yards. Just a few more steps big boy. The buck starts walking again, right towards his fate. 55 yards, 50 yards. He stops and turns broadside. Randy then had the open shot he needed. He releases the arrow and watches it find it's mark. A good clean hit through the ribcage. Perfect. The buck turns and runs, barely making it inside the tree line before hitting the ground. Knowing that he had made a good hit, Randy lowered his gear to the ground, climbed out of his stand and headed for his pickup. A short time later he found himself walking up to the biggest deer he had ever harvested. It was not until that moment that he realized just how big this buck actually was. 23 countable points on a 10 point base rack and an inside spread of 19 2/8 inches. He had finally harvested a Monster Buck. Randy is an avid deer hunter and dedicated archer. He shoots his bow most of the year. He credits his ability to lots of 3D shooting and frequent target practice. He believes this is what made it possible for him to have the confidence to shoot that kind of shot at that range. Amazingly this is Randy's first big buck with the bow. He has bow hunted for eleven years and has harvested eleven deer. His biggest harvest having been a five point, 1 and 1/2 year old buck . Persistence does pay off....... When we asked Randy how a deer like this would affect his future hunting pursuits he said, "I honestly didn't know". "I'll just have to wait and see". Well Randy, that is a problem that most deer hunters would like to have. This is the kind of deer dreams are made of and you have proven that dreams can come true. Randy shoots a Hoyt Raptor bow and uses Easton 100 grain Thunderhead tipped, aluminum arrows. Oh, and don't forget, the blue jeans and a Carhart jacket. Congratulations to Randy from all of us at MissouriWhitetails.com Inc
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