Mark Wilkins Buck A Year In The Making

Mark Wilkins, of Buckhead, killed his 129 6/8-inch cover buck last Sept. 12, 2010.

Ever wonder how folks end up on the GON cover?

Mark Wilkins, of Buckhead, will tell you all it takes is a phone call. But first you have to kill a cover buck.

Mark hunted his 129 6/8-inch Pope & Young buck for more than a year before arrowing it the second afternoon of bow season last year.

Mark first took notice of the buck in 2009, when a broken left antler marred what would have been a pretty good rack. After finding the buck’s shed that spring, Mark watched on trail-camera through the summer as the buck put on an impressive new 12-point set of headgear.

When bow season arrived, Mark was ready. He had the buck patterned and knew it visited a particular food plot in the evenings.

The plan went down like clockwork. With the wind in his favor, Mark went to the soybean plot in 90-degree heat the afternoon of Sept. 12. The buck eased in about 7:30 p.m., and Mark released the arrow that would land him on this month’s cover.

If you kill a buck you think is cover-quality, don’t expect GON to just hear about it. Before you skin it out, call (800) 438-4663. There’s a chance we’ll come out, take some good photos and put you on the cover of GON.