7. JASON STORMO ➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 11 State: South Dakota Score: 169 3⁄8" net B&C typical Stormo arrowed this great buck at 18 yards. The spread measurement was an impressive 24 inches. Jason Stormo
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Each fall we publish the Best Days of the Rut, which offers tips and tactics for must-hunt dates to be in the woods. These 15 readers not only took our advice and tagged out on one of our 2015 Best Days, but they also managed to fill the freezer with true wall-hangers.
1. DAN COFFMAN ➞2015 F&S Best Day: Oct. 26 State: Ohio Score: 287 5⁄8″ net B&C nontypical If its current score holds up to a routine final review, Coffman’s giant will be the No. 2 nontypical bow kill ever. Dan Coffman2. JALEN WEYKER ➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 6 State: Wisconsin Score: 196″ net B&C nontypical Bucks that gross over 200 inches are rare anywhere, but Weyker took this mammoth on public land. Jalen Weyker3. RANDY WAGNER➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 6 State: North Dakota Score: 195 1⁄8″ net B&C nontypical When this 16-pointer walked in for a shot, Wagner knew that the rumors of a giant lurking nearby were true. Randy Wagner4. AUSTIN IVES ➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 11 State: Iowa Score: 170 5⁄8″ net B&C typical This buck chased two does onto the 25-acre lot where Ives has hunted since he was a kid. He arrowed him at 30 yards. Austin Ives5. MICHAEL ELLIS➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 11 State: Michigan Score: 161 1⁄8″ net B&C The buck Ellis nicknamed Wide Clyde tallied an inside spread measurement of 21 4/8s. Michael Ellis6. KASEY ALEXANDER➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 11 State: Kentucky Score: 187 2/8″ net B&C Alexander’s heavy buck has 6-inch bases and carries at least 5 inches of mass all the way through to the last tine. Kasey Alexander7. JASON STORMO ➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 11 State: South Dakota Score: 169 3⁄8″ net B&C typical Stormo arrowed this great buck at 18 yards. The spread measurement was an impressive 24 inches. Jason Stormo8. DAVID FISCHER ➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 14 State: Indiana Score: 207 6⁄8″ net B&C nontypical Killed on opening day of shotgun season, Fischer’s giant is the biggest ever taken in Orange County, Ind. David Fischer9. STEVE KAYSER➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 14 State: South Dakota Score: 195″ net B&C nontypical Kayser’s huge 17-pointer tallied an amazing 454⁄8 inches in mass. We’re talking baseball-bat main beams. Steve Kayser10. ANGIE COLLINS ➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov.14 State: Indiana Score: 190 2⁄8″ net B&C nontypical Having missed this deer on opening day in 2014, Collins calls this 19-pointer her “redemption buck.” Angie Collins11. ANDY BLEDSOE ➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 14 State: Tennessee Score: 177 2⁄8″ net B&C typical Bledsoe’s 7×6 Booner is the sixth-largest typical whitetail ever taken, with gun or bow, in Tennessee. Andy Bledsoe12. MATT COFFARO ➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 21 State: Wisconsin Score: 178 3⁄8″ net B&C typical Taken in Wisconsin’s famed Buffalo County, this monster had 15 scorable points and grossed 205 5⁄8 inches. Matt Coffaro13. TOMMY SEARS ➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 21 State: Kentucky Score: 198 5⁄8″ net B&C nontypical Sears’s father grazed this buck with a bullet on Nov. 20. The next morning, Sears dropped him at 35 yards. Tommy Sears14. JODY SCHMIDT➞2015 F&S Best Day: Nov. 21 Province: Saskatchewan Score: 180 7/8 net B&C With a gross score of 185 even, this almost perfectly symmetrical Canadian monster had only 4 1/8 inches of deductions. Jody Schmidt15. JEFF HARRISON➞2015 F&S Best Day: Dec. 6 State: Minnesota Score: 196″ net B&C nontypical Harrison thought he’d shot “a solid 160” when he pulled the trigger. “He grew a little when I found him,” he says. Jeff Harrison
Trained as a high school English teacher and coach, Scott Bestul left that lucrative field to pursue another—as a full-time freelance writer in 1990. He sold his first story to Field & Stream a few years later and has been contributing to the brand ever since.
