Steve Stoltz's Knight & Hale Deer Call Gave Him the Edge in Deer Hunting

Like thousands of dedicated deer hunters, Knight & Hale pro staffer Steve Stoltz has discovered that there is no great secret to harvesting trophy bucks. He knows that to consistently take a trophy buck, you've got to do your deer hunting where they live. That means traveling to trophy buck states and deer hunting in areas that are managed for big bucks. One deer hunt filmed for the Knight & Hale Ultimate Hunting television show during the 2007 season illustrates Stoltz's point perfectly.

"I was thrilled about getting to hunt big Iowa bucks," Stoltz said. "Iowa is one of those states where at any moment the buck of a lifetime may step out. A friend of mine runs an outfitting business there that manages for big bucks and I really though it was going to be a slam dunk."

But it's not as easy as climbing into a treestand and having giant bucks surround you like mosquitoes. Stoltz started his 2007 hunt the first week of November, but it wasn't until the 10th that he got dialed in to the right place at the right time.

"I had countless encounters with some great-looking bucks," Stoltz said. "But other than killing a doe, I still didn't have a buck on the ground."

On the morning of Nov. 10, he elected to hunt a doe travel corridor near bedding areas, not more than 300 yards from a fresh-cut corn field.

"I had a hunch that the peak of the rut had arrived and that mature bucks would be cruising this doe travel corridor," he said. "I was right, and I saw plenty of big bucks that morning - two of them shooters."

But by 10 a.m. Stoltz still didn't have the opportunity to come to full draw on a buck. That's when he decided to get more aggressive.

"I started by producing some tending grunts (with his Knight & Hale Grunt Caller Deer Call), then followed up with a big fight from my rattle bag deer call," he said. "Just as I was finishing up the rattling sequence I saw a huge eight point coming toward me at a quick pace. There wasn't much time, but luckily it didn't take more than a glance to see that this was a great buck."

Stoltz quickly checked with his cameraman to ensure he had the buck in the viewfinder, then readied his bow. The cameraman gave him the "OK" and Stoltz came to full draw and settled his 30-yard pin on the buck's vitals. The arrow seemed to fly of its own accord and zipped through the buck's breadbasket. The buck scored 152.

A combination of the right place at the right time, plus aggressive use of deer calls and rattling deer calls, put this buck on the ground.

"I want to give the Iowa DNR special thanks for allowing us to film for the show," Stoltz said. "Anyone wanting to hunt this magical state for monster whitetails should start by going to their Web site. Even if you have to wait a year or two to build up preference points, it is well worth it once you draw a tag."