Kentucky Whitetail: Southern Deer Hunting at Its Finest
Kentucky is home to some of the finest Whitetail deer hunting in the country. Hunter Scott E. Stamper had been hunting hard for a shooter buck during the 2010 Kentucky whitetail season. He’d started bowhunting on September 4th, but wasn’t very lucky with filling his buck tag. After about two months, it was the rifle opener in mid-November and the rut was going strong. Scott decided to investigate a region that he hadn’t hunted in the past six years, as logging operations resulted in an overgrowth that was just too thick for hunting. However, a brief scouting expedition showed that the area had, in fact, thinned out significantly, and was once again suitable for hunting, and Scott hung his stand near a scrape line, hoping for a chance to snag a prize whitetail! The Kentucky morning began with a bang; Scott witnessed a dozen whitetail deer – nine separate bucks and three does – all showing interest in the scrape line. His Primos can bleat call was quite efficient in sparking interest from some of the whitetail bucks, including a nice eight-pointer that even sniffed the steps to Scott’s stand, but then snorted loudly and, running away 50 yards, but the whitetail did not exit the area until it had its time with the scrape. Scott seemed positive the snort, piercing the Kentucky forest, would ruin his hunt, but he stayed with it, hoping for that perfect chance. As 9 a.m. rolled around, the hunter heard noise from the thicket to his right. “There were deer running right toward me!” says Scott of his extraordinary whitetail experience. “I got my gun ready and looked very hard, but couldn’t see anything. My heart began to race — anticipating a big buck chasing a doe through the brush — that once-in-a-lifetime moment we all hope and hunt for.” A doe was the first to run into the opening, followed by three love-crazed bucks breathing down her neck, including the buck that Scott recognized as the shooter. The issue was that all four deer were on a dead run, including the big buck. The hunter then yelled at the buck, hoping he’d stop for a shot. The tactic worked, and Stamper was able to get a shot off, dropping the buck in his tracks. “I couldn’t believe what had happened, I knew this buck was big, but I had no idea he was as big as he was when I walked up to him. This was the most amazing hunt I’d experience in 25 years of hunting and it will be a hunt that will linger in my memory for a long time to come,” said Scott. Who knew hunting whitetail deer in Kentucky would be such an adventure?