Chase Strub

Harvest Story: I’ve been watching this deer for 3 years since he was just a 140” 3.5 year old 10 point. Last year as a 4.5 he blew up 30” bigger and was a mainframe 10 with a split brow, a kicker and a 5” flyer off one of his G2s. And with big brows that swayed to one side dubbed his name “sway.” I decided that even though he was most likely a booner that he would get the pass as he was only 4.5 years old and my personal rule is 5.5 years or older. Plus who knows what he could jump to at 5.5. I kept tabs on him all last year and through the winter. When he dropped his sheds I scored them. 171.625. Immediately I got excited for the 2025 season. I ran cameras all year long and got my first picture of him in late June. He lost his flyer but added a ton of mass, frame, a g5 and matching splits on his g2s. After watching him on camera and trying to keep tabs on him all summer/early fall it was time to hunt him. We were so busy at work that the first week of October I could barely hunt and he was under my stand twice in daylight. Frustrating. October 8th hit we got cold temps and I started hunting him. After a week of cat and mouse I finally got visual of him on the 14th at last light. The next afternoon I went in and hung a stand in the direction he came from. He came out but stayed 100 yards away up in the field bumping does. The final day, the 16th I was going to move one more time closer yet, but when I walked in I couldn’t find a good tree where I wanted to be and had a gut feeling that mature bucks rarely do the same thing 2 nights and a row and that I just needed to go back to where I was in the pinch point. I get up in the stand. Have a quiet first 2 hours when some does start to come out at 530. 5:55 pm All of the sudden they all come running towards me and I hear some grunting. I look up and see a small 8 point and don’t think much of it. I focus back on the does around me. A minute goes by and I hear some more grunting and look up to see “Sway” at 50 yards and coming. I grab my bow, draw and wait for him to hit my shooting lane. He hits the lane it’s 42 yards, he stops, takes a 1/2 step towards me, I settle my pin on his front shoulder, and release the 2.0 beast broadhead with a 430 grain arrow. SCHWACK, The arrow hits exactly where I was aiming and he takes off. 80 yards later and I watch him hit the dirt! After 3 years, hundreds of trail cam photos, scouting, moving stands, the Quest for Sway was over.