Going Bow-Only Pays Off At Year No. 6

After roughly six years of only deer hunting with a bow that included close encounters and a lot of frustrating moments, Jonathan Riordan, of Griffin, was able to take down a record-class Coweta County buck the morning of Nov. 14.

On Nov. 6, Jonathan saw a big main-frame 8-point on his camera for the first time. For the week following, he had the buck on camera off and on, but only at night.

A great main-frame 8-point from Coweta County for Jonathan Riordan.

Jonathan hunted all day Saturday on a 10-acre tract near his parents’ house without much luck.

“It was pretty windy, cold, I didn’t see many deer at all,” said Jonathan. “It was a disappointing day.”

After getting out of his climbing stand and taking it down with the intention of hunting a different piece of property on Sunday, Jonathan decided to check his trail camera before leaving.

Much to his surprise, he had several pictures of the buck in daylight.

“I was excited about Sunday then. I knew it was going to be much colder that morning with a perfect wind, so I decided I would go back to the same spot,” said Jonathan.

After waking up late and having to put his climber back up, Jonathan just barely made it back in his stand, nestled on a hardwood ridge, just before daylight.

Right off the bat he saw multiple deer—several does and a small buck.

“Then there was a nice 8-point chasing a doe, but I decided to pass on him,” said Jonathan, “There was a lot of movement all morning.”

Another hour and a half passed. Jonathan continued to watch eight does eating acorns, and they started to become anxious.

“At 9:22, I suddenly saw a big body about 150 yards out,” said Jonathan. “I checked through my binoculars and immediately knew it was him.”

The buck nonchalantly made its way toward Jonathan to about 65 yards, steadily eating acorns, not paying much attention to the does.

“I waited for what seemed like an eternity. All the other deer were looking at him like they knew he was the man of the woods,” said Jonathan. “He eventually kept getting closer, just coming straight to me, without any calling or anything.”

Once he was about 35 yards away, Jonathan raised his Obsession Defcon M2 6 and prepared to take a shot.

“It was like a dream, he was broadside, slightly quartered away,” said Jonathan. “I took my shot, and he dropped immediately, dead within about a minute and a half.”

Jonathan was unbelievably excited and mind-blown that he dropped a deer of that size in his tracks with a bow and arrow.

“I was screaming, I lost my mind for a few seconds,” said Jonathan. “I couldn’t get down the tree fast enough!”

Jonathan immediately called his best friends, Seth and Jarred, to celebrate his big bow-killed buck.

“I just thanked God for blessing me with the ability and the freedom of our great country to allow me to hunt incredible animals like whitetail deer,” said Jonathan. “It’s a pretty sweet feeling for sure.”

The buck was rough scored as a typical, main-frame 8-point at 134 inches. Jonathan plans to have him shoulder mounted and officially scored after the drying period has passed. 

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