From Minnesota bowhunter Kevin Clouse, who for 3 years traveled down to Missouri to hunt for this awesome buck:
I named this deer the “Beer Can Buck” 3 years ago. When I first saw him, I thought his bases were as thick as a beer can. My hunting partner, Tom Vandehey, also saw him 2 days later and agreed…he’s a monster!
No other sightings of him during our first year hunting with Tombstone Creek Outfitters. The second year, no encounters with the Beer Can Buck, and just a couple trail cam pics at night.
This year, our third year there, the hunting was extremely slow. Just like last year, only a couple pics of him at night. With things slow, I decided to get aggressive and set up close to where I thought the deer were bedding.
My hunch was right, as one evening 2 does and 4 fawns came down the ridge and headed right to me. They all went under my stand and headed for the field behind me. Then a 140ish buck came down the ridge. As slow as the hunting was, if he gave me a shot I was going to take it.
A doe behind me saw me move and blew. The buck stopped at 40 yards and was at full alert. He took a couple steps and his head was behind a tree. I had a perfect shot at his vitals and took it. The arrow hit a twig and sailed; all the deer spooked and were gone.
Frustrated and thinking my evening was over, I nocked another arrow. I took out a little can and did some bleats. A few minutes later I heard a grunt coming from on top of the ridge. A doe came down the ridge with a big buck following her, grunting all the way.
She was headed right for me like the other does did earlier. But instead of jumping the gully like the others did, she jumped in it. The buck stopped on the side of the ridge straight across from me, straight on at 45 yards, watching her. A couple minutes later another doe started down the ridge and stopped when she saw the buck. He turned his head to look at the doe and that’s when I knew it was the Beer Can Buck! He continued to watch the doe in the gully, then slowly turned to go up after the other doe.
I drew my bow and shot at the quartering-away buck at 45 yards. I could not believe what just happened! I wasn’t 100% sure of the shot, because I had used my last Lumenok on my previous shot. I was shaking pretty badly as I climbed down and went over to where he had stood; I saw blood and immediately backed out.
After a sleepless night we tracked him the next morning and to my disbelief there he was, the Beer Can Buck! He went 150 yards. I just could not wrap my head around this buck! It would not sink in that I got him, and it might never. – Kevin Clouse
Wow! What a monster! Congratulations Kevin…once in a lifetime for only a few people buck! Not really sure Blackwolf where you get that the deer are bad after 10 hours but maybe it’s where you hunt. I know I have found quite a few deer after they layed a night in the woods and they were absolutely fine. Now it wasn’t 70 degrees, but nights in the low 50’s don’t seem to hurt the meat any as long as you get after it before the next day heats up. I do think that watching some fo the videos that they could follow up sooner on some of the deer, but for most of the cases where a questionable hit is made, I feel it is better to be safe than sorry. Bump a marginally lethal deer and the possibility of losing it climbs dramatically. Just my opinion for what it’s worth. Bones out.
First off, Congratulations on a fantastic buck. Now I have to let off a little steam, I’m getting tired of what seems to be an ever increasing and more acceptable term “backed out and returned in the morning”. What this really means is I have no intention of eating this deer but only want the horns. If that deer died 150 yards from where it was shot, it would indicate that it was dead for at least 10 hours. I have recovered ,unfortunately, more than a few deer the next morning as the tracker for our hunting party after losing the track the night before. This being in northern Minnesota where the nights are cold. Every deer but one was inedible. The one exception was a deer that probably expired shortly before we found it.