-
- Species
- Whitetails
- Rut Reporters
- Deer Camp
- Big Game
- Small Game
- Birds
- Special Methods
- Bow Hunting
- Conservation
- Heroes of Conservation
- Hero for a Day
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
- Land for Sale
-
- Species
- Bass
- Trout
- More Freshwater
- Saltwater
- Catchbook
- Special Methods
- Fly Fishing
- Hook Shots
- Conservation
- Heroes of Conservation
- Hero for a Day
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
- Land for Sale
-
- Health & Fitness
- F&S Adventurer
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
-
- Rifles
- Shotguns
- 2nd Amendment
- SHOT Show
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
Bestul: One Man's Booner
Recent Comments
- Miamijesse on Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Final Round (284)
- ifish95 on Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Final Round (284)
- rsoule22 on Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Final Round (284)
- jacks46 on Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Final Round (284)
- buckbagger01 on Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Final Round (284)
Categories
- Ammunition (4)
- Big Game Hunting (41)
- Bird Hunting (15)
- Bow Hunting (241)
- Cover Packages (9)
- Deer Hunting (574)
- DIY (1)
- Fishing (3)
- Fishing Gear (1)
- Fly Fishing (1)
- Gear (31)
- Great Plains (3)
- Guns (23)
- Hunting (495)
- Hunting Gear (30)
- Mid-South (2)
- North Central (18)
- Northeast (2)
- Optics (2)
- Optics (4)
- Rifles (18)
- Rut Report (23)
- Shooting Gear (7)
- Shotguns (4)
- Small Game (6)
- South (2)
- South Central (2)
- Survival (1)
- Trout Fishing (1)
- Venison: America's Meat (11)
- West (2)
Recent Posts
- A Deer Hunter May Be First to Tag a Minnesota Timber Wolf
- Call Better: Try These Two Turkey Yelps
- Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Final Round
- Looking For a New Line of Work? Think About Taxidermy
- Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Round 3
- Good Stuff: Gear Keeper Rangefinder Holster Lets You Stay on the Move
- Creators of Deer Antler Velvet Spray Sue MLB
- World Record Muley Divides Family for Decades
- Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Round 2
- Hang-and-Hunt: Hang a Treestand in 7 Minutes
Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- February 2005
Syndicate
Whitetail 365
in your Inbox
March 04, 2010
Bestul: One Man's Booner
By Scott Bestul
My friend Mitch Hagen (pictured) is a hard core deer hunter. I use this as an all-encompassing term than includes whitetail knowledge, hunting skill, shooting ability and a year-round fascination with deer. Mitch balances this passion with a full-time job as a contractor and a strong commitment to his family. I’ve known some hardcore hunters over the years who let their enthusiasm for hunting compromise their true responsibilities. Not Mitch.
This is all serves as preface to a hunting story that took five years to unfold. That is the history Mitch had with the deer in this picture, a buck that literally lived in his backyard. He first saw the deer as a 2-1/2 year old buck, feeding in a field behind his home. Mitch found the buck’s sheds the following spring. “That next fall I saw him one time, when a combine kicked him out of the standing corn and he ran through my front yard, then past one of my stands,” Mitch recalled, laughing. “I nicknamed him the Big 8; he had a huge body and nice frame, but wasn’t super-impressive. But he was under my skin. I wanted to kill him.”
The buck, of course, had other ideas. Over the next two years, Mitch saw him only occasionally. A velvet sighting here, a shed antler there. “When he was 5-1/2 I spotted him at midnight on a full-moon winter night, standing in my yard. He shed both antlers there that night and I found them in the morning.” When the buck was 6-1/2, a bowhunter on a neighboring property made a non-lethal hit on the deer. Mitch had seen him once that year.
Last fall, things changed in a big way. “Suddenly, I was seeing him all over,” Mitch says. “The last week of November and early December, I set up on him five times and saw him four. I had him at 10 or 12 steps one evening, and was just about to draw. He sensed something wasn’t right, looked up in the tree, and nailed me. But I wasn’t giving up. I think he was getting old; he’d lost his place in the pecking order, and was desperate to breed. Either that, or he was getting senile! How else do you explain a buck that was totally nocturnal suddenly running all over the place?”
Finally, one afternoon in early December, Mitch decided to sit a ground blind overlooking a field in the Big 8’s core area. “He stepped out in the field with a half-hour of shooting light and I just thought ‘This is it. I’m finally going to get him,’” Mitch told me. “He finally walked within bow range and I made a perfect shot. I was in auto-pilot then, but when I walked up on him I was overwhelmed. So much time and energy on one deer…It’s hard to explain. He scored 142” and hadn’t grown four inches of horn in four years. But I didn’t care. He was one I wanted badly, and I finally got him. I can’t describe that feeling. He is my Booner, and I don’t care what the record books say.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Today on Field & Stream
Loading...
Visit Our Sister Sites at Bonnier Corporation
| Enthusiast | Kiteboarding | QUAD | SKI | Skiing | Scuba Diving | Sport Diver | TransWorld Ride BMX | TransWorld Business | TransWorld Motocross | TransWorld SKATEboarding, | TransWorld SNOWboarding | TransWorld SURF | WakeBoarding | WaterSki | Warren Miller Entertainment | WindSurfing |
|---|---|
| Travel | Caribbean Travel & Life | Destination Weddings & Honeymoon | Islands | Meeting Traveler | Resorts & Great Hotels |
| Lifestyle & Shelter | Florida Travel & Life | Garden Design | Home Ft. Lauderdale | Home Miami |
| Luxury | SNOW | Spa |
| Marine | Boating Life | Cruising World | Fly Fishing in Salt Waters | Power Cruising | Marlin | Motor Boating | Sailing World | Salt Water Sportsman | Sport Fishing | Yachting | NewBoats.com | UsedBoats.com | YachtBroker.com |
| Outdoor | Field & Stream | Outdoor Life | SHOT Business |
| Parenting | Babytalk | Parenting |
| Science | Popular Science | Science Illustrated |
| Saveur | Saveur |
| Working Mother Media | Working Mother |
| Entertainment / Events | World Entertainment Services | World Sports & Marketing |
Fieldandstream.com is part of the Field & Stream Network, a division of Bonnier Corporation.
Copyright © 2012 Bonnier Corp. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Comments (24)
Congrats to Mitch, that is what hunting is all about, taking a mature animal through persistance and hunting abilities. Some deer just don't score well but that doesn't make them any less of a trophy.
These are the kind of stories I love to read. It doesn't have to be a booner to be a trophy. It's all in the chase.
great story, an amazing trophy. congrats to mitch.
What a story and what a buck! Congrat and thanks for the story!
i wouldn't turn that buck down any day!
Truly a great ending with all of the elements of a great hunter, that requires patience and perseverance when pursuing a particular buck.
Great story, thanks for sharing!
great buck, great story
Ya who cares if its a booner, as long as you had fun its just as rewarding.
Great story! A trophy is in the eye of the beholder. I'm sure that 142 incher means a helluva lot more to you than a 170 some guy pays thousands to pop from a 'ranch'. Congrats!
Great story. Although I did have to read the title twice. I thought it was a little too personal after the first read.
That is a good story. I am a fan of the Hunters Specialties Primetime videos and have really enjoyed the hunts that involve Mitch. It is nice to hear a little background on one of the hunts - makes it much more interesting. I remember a HUGE 8pt he shot on video that he made a less than desireable hit on. He was completely honest about the entire situation and found the deer after backing out. Those are the ones you remember.
Amazing story with a great trophy to match
great store & nice buck congrats
Truely great bucks have to have a story behind them,I enjoyed yours alot. Congrats
The true meaning of a "trophy" reguardless of what the buck scored. Way to go Mitch. Your success story on this buck is amazing and couldn't have been scripted any better for you. Great buck.
Way to go Bestul! Good to see you back in the groove!!!
A beautiful trophy and a great "fair chase" story to go with it. It will make a very impressive mount.
These type of stories are what deer hunting should be about. Congrats. A real hunter and a real trophy.
Jim
Beautiful buck!
Congratulations. After so much time chasing it success is its own reward, no matter what points the buck gets.
Amen, it's not the size or the points, but the HUNT. Congratulations on a great deer.
Thats a nice trophy buck, no matter what the score is!
just giving my input on the score for the 4 bucks just letting everyone know i am not very good at this and had to check a few sites to actually see how to score LOL but i think the total is 572 5/8
Great Buck!
Good job Mitch! I recently found some sheds to a buck i found sheds lat year and he wasn't quit what i wanted this year but i think next year he will be big enough and definitely mature enough. im guessing he's about 5 and a half right now.
Post a Comment
Congrats to Mitch, that is what hunting is all about, taking a mature animal through persistance and hunting abilities. Some deer just don't score well but that doesn't make them any less of a trophy.
Ya who cares if its a booner, as long as you had fun its just as rewarding.
These are the kind of stories I love to read. It doesn't have to be a booner to be a trophy. It's all in the chase.
great story, an amazing trophy. congrats to mitch.
What a story and what a buck! Congrat and thanks for the story!
i wouldn't turn that buck down any day!
Truly a great ending with all of the elements of a great hunter, that requires patience and perseverance when pursuing a particular buck.
Great story, thanks for sharing!
great buck, great story
Great story! A trophy is in the eye of the beholder. I'm sure that 142 incher means a helluva lot more to you than a 170 some guy pays thousands to pop from a 'ranch'. Congrats!
Great story. Although I did have to read the title twice. I thought it was a little too personal after the first read.
That is a good story. I am a fan of the Hunters Specialties Primetime videos and have really enjoyed the hunts that involve Mitch. It is nice to hear a little background on one of the hunts - makes it much more interesting. I remember a HUGE 8pt he shot on video that he made a less than desireable hit on. He was completely honest about the entire situation and found the deer after backing out. Those are the ones you remember.
just giving my input on the score for the 4 bucks just letting everyone know i am not very good at this and had to check a few sites to actually see how to score LOL but i think the total is 572 5/8
Good job Mitch! I recently found some sheds to a buck i found sheds lat year and he wasn't quit what i wanted this year but i think next year he will be big enough and definitely mature enough. im guessing he's about 5 and a half right now.
Amazing story with a great trophy to match
great store & nice buck congrats
Truely great bucks have to have a story behind them,I enjoyed yours alot. Congrats
The true meaning of a "trophy" reguardless of what the buck scored. Way to go Mitch. Your success story on this buck is amazing and couldn't have been scripted any better for you. Great buck.
Way to go Bestul! Good to see you back in the groove!!!
A beautiful trophy and a great "fair chase" story to go with it. It will make a very impressive mount.
These type of stories are what deer hunting should be about. Congrats. A real hunter and a real trophy.
Jim
Beautiful buck!
Congratulations. After so much time chasing it success is its own reward, no matter what points the buck gets.
Amen, it's not the size or the points, but the HUNT. Congratulations on a great deer.
Thats a nice trophy buck, no matter what the score is!
Great Buck!
Post a Comment