king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated - October/November 2007 - Index

Rob Engster was no stranger to hunting whitetails. Hunting
in his home state of Arkansas, Rob had taken many bucks
with his bow. The challenge of hunting with archery
equipment led Rob to pursue big bull elk out West as well.
Approximately six years ago, Rob had his first opportunity
to head north of the border and hunt mule deer in Alberta. The
challenge of spot and stalk led Rob on exciting hunts chasing
big mule deer. Rob's best buck was a nice 175-class deer that he
shot with his bow. The big-bodied bucks from up north dwarfed
the deer back home. A neighbor told Rob about possibly doing
a whitetail hunt in Alberta in November. The appeal of being
able to hunt a 160 to 170-class whitetail and top his recent best
was enough to get Rob to book a whitetail hunt for the first of
November, even though he would be hunting with a rifle instead
of his preferred bow setup.
Hooking up with his guide and outfitter, Rob's plan was
to sit in some stands and blinds and hope to get lucky enough to
have something come through. The bone-chilling temperatures
made for some long days. Outside of a few does, there was not
much deer activity and Rob was starting to get a little frustrated.
After a string of six uneventful days in the stand, the hunt ended
and Rob prepared to return home not only empty-handed,
but not even seeing a buck come into his stand. The outfitter,
after perceiving Rob's frustration but also appreciative of his
persistence and determination throughout the hunt, offered
Rob a return visit. Allowing Rob to return later in the month
would allow the rut to get into swing and hopefully provide Rob
with a better opportunity to fill his tag. Rob returned home and
checked his schedule. He decided he would be able to return
toward the end of the month and that he would also be able to
bring his fiancée with him.
With a fresh start, more snow on the ground, and continued
freezing temperatures, Rob set out to hunt whitetails again.
This time he tried some different stands and hoped to get lucky.
He longed for the spot and stalk excitement of chasing Alberta mule deer, but kept focused on the opportunity he felt
would give him the best shot at a whitetail. After another three days with no luck, Rob finally got his break. Another
hunter in camp had been hunting an area and seeing some great bucks. However, he was passing on these 170 and
even 180-inch bucks. Late that night by the campfire, Rob had the opportunity to see a trail cam photo. The one
photo showed a side shot of a spectacular whitetail. He had junk going all over. The guide estimated a rough score
of possibly 230-plus! The other hunter had been in this area holding out for this particular buck, passing on many
nice bucks, but was having no luck. However, he also had a mule deer tag and had spotted a monster muley that he
wanted to pursue instead. The outfitter offered Rob a chance to go into that area to see if he would have a chance
at the 170-class whitetails that the other hunter had been passing on. Rob jumped at the chance and was looking
forward to the following day.
Breathing through the chilled air, Rob had already made up his mind that he was going to shoot the first
decent buck he saw. Time was running out and he felt it was time to go with just about anything that stepped out.
Suddenly, Rob saw something slowly moving in the thick brush. Rob could see antlers, but had no idea how big the
rack was. Within the thick brush, there was an opening between two trees that the buck was going to pass through.
He knew this would be his only chance and he let a round go from his 7 Mag. The buck dropped like a sack of bricks.
Walking through the deep snow, Rob came up on the deer and the first thing he noticed was the right beam with a
big drop tine poking up. Wow, this buck was huge! It was a good thing that the antlers were partially hidden or he
would have missed for sure from buck fever! Grabbing the antlers and lifting them out of the snow, it was then that
Rob realized that he had just shot the monster buck from the trail cam photo. How could anyone not remember such
a unique antler configuration? Mass, points, and a huge Alberta body made this buck easily top in Rob's book and
an amazing conclusion to a hunt that, after days and days of no luck, turned on a dime. Roughed scored in camp at
219 gross, the massive whitetail was later officially scored after the sixty-day drying period at 207 3/8 gross and 199
3/8 net and carried 22 total points.
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