Harvested 11/01/2024, Vernon, MO, Bow

There’s really nothing better than when a plan comes together in the woods. We spend all year formulating, plotting, and strategizing how to get one of our hitlisters on the ground. The majority of the time, failing to do so. When it all works out, though, the taste is sweeter than honey. That’s what happened to Quest Hunt Co. tournament participant and OG Pro Staffer, Brady Bradley, in his pursuit of a buck he called Big John. Read his Year 7 harvest story:

Brady’s Harvest Story

Big John was a buck that we had watched for two years. He was nothing special last year as a 4-year-old, and to be honest, we didn’t think he would do much this year. We put out cameras in July and knew that it was going to be a good year. We were getting quite a few solid mature bucks on camera and knew that if they stayed in the area we would have a good shot at catching up to them.

We had our eyes set on a buck that we called Smalls because he had short brow tines. He grew into a solid mid-150’s 10 and one that we would have been happy to wrap our tag around. In August, we got our first picture of Big John and knew immediately he would be at the top of our hit list. I instantly knew what deer it was because of the bladed g2’s and overall antler shape. I couldn’t believe what he had become as a 5-year-old, considering that as a 4-year-old he really wasn’t much to look at. 

The chess game started, and we deployed multiple cameras on that side of the farm to try and locate him. We knew where he was living from the year before and had a good feeling going into the season. He wasn’t living on the farm, but he spent much of his time there. The farm we hunt doesn’t have a lot of cover, but it has a lot of food, and is a great travel corridor. As the season opened and progressed, Big John became a regular on our cameras, and we knew it was just a matter of time before we caught up with him. The only issue was that all of the pictures we were getting of him were after dark. We expected this and knew that the best time to kill him was going to be early-rut and on a good front. 

Well, wouldn’t you know it, we had a big front pushing through on Halloween. I knew the conditions were right, but we hadn’t had pictures of him in a couple of days. It was late on Halloween night, and a picture came through– it was Big John. I instantly knew that I needed to get in the tree the next morning. My hope was that he would stay on the property and move back to bedding first thing in the morning. I made a last-minute decision to hunt one particular stand where we knew he was traveling based on cameras and previous years of history—but I didn’t realize just how good the hunt was going to be. It was a morning that we all dream of—bucks fighting, chasing, grunting, and plenty of action to keep me on my toes. I had a good 4-year-old eight-point come through, nudging some does and contemplated shooting him, but my gut kept telling me not to, so he got the pass. Luckily, he stayed just out of range and never offered me a shot. 

Two minutes later, I heard a buck grunt on the edge of the field a couple of hundred yards away. I pulled up my binos and knew immediately what deer it was, and that he was quickly headed my way. It seemed like it took him 20 minutes to close the distance but in reality it was probably just a couple of minutes. He looked like he was going to cut right in front of me on a trail that I had mowed earlier in the year to increase travel through the tree row. Wouldn’t you know it, just like all mature bucks, at the last minute, he veered to take another trail that I was not expecting. 

Luckily I had ranged this trail multiple times because there was a big scrape there. He started to trot, so I stopped him, drew my bow, and settled my pin. I let the arrow fly and watch it sink in, mid-body. At first, I thought the shot was back and high, and I did not have high hopes. After about 45 minutes, I got down to look for blood and found it within a couple of yards. I went home and picked up my kids and wife to go back and look for him. We searched for a while and finally found him a couple of hours into the search. Turns out the shot was not bad; he just had an extra will to live. Big John is my biggest buck to date and one that I am very proud of.

Banquet Weekend With Big John

Although Brady’s team, MO Backstrap Fever, didn’t place in the tournament, Brady took advantage of the opportunity to get Big John into the record books. He brought his rack and followed the same check-in steps as the other participants to get the antlers officially scored, and Big John settled in for the weekend on the Missouri tables for everyone to gawk at. Brady submitted his video for consideration at our Film Fest on Friday night and landed in the top 10 videos that would be aired and voted on. Everyone was able to see Brady’s Harvest Story through his lens, and relive the hunt with him. You can watch his video submission on Quest Hunt Co’s YouTube channel.

Keep Us In The Loop

We love hearing about your successes in the field. Like Brady did, don’t forget to recap your hunt for Quest when you submit your deer for the tournament! These harvest stories never get old. We love being able to read about how it all went down and see pics of you behind your deer when it’s all said and done. We look forward to seeing them roll in as the Quest Hunt Co. Tournament Year 8 rapidly approaches.