Kansas has emerged as one of the nation's top producers of record-sized whitetails and that's just what Chuck and his hunting partners Rick and Zach Harris were after.  When they arrived in Kansas it didn't take long to realize that this country was vastly different than the familiar hunting grounds around home.  The rolling crop fields offered little opportunity for treestands; the only cover was narrow drainages and creek bottoms that were too steep for farming.  On the 1000-acre farm, 20 to 30 acres was the only available cover once the crops were harvested.  Surveying the limited cover, they quickly picked out good funnels along a creek bottom that bordered a harvested bean field, placed their stands, and readied for the week's hunt.

The first three days on stand were miserably warm; the 75-degree temperatures stifled all deer movement.  Sparse sightings made it difficult to remain optimistic, but seeing occasional rutting activity by yearling bucks in the crop fields kept some hope alive.  Finally, on the fourth morning the trio got the break they had waited for.  The cool temperatures and stiff breeze raised the hunter's anticipation?maybe the big bucks would move today.  As the sun peeked over the horizon Chuck noticed a small buck crossing the creek 50 yards south of his tree and head out into the picked bean field.  Not far behind the young buck came another deer.  As it stepped into view Chuck was excited to see a tall-tined 9-point following the younger buck's lead.  Although the buck crossed out of range and headed into the field, Chuck was confident that an opportunity wasn't far away.  As the sun made its way higher into the morning sky a doe sped wide-eyed from the field past Chuck's stand.  As Chuck readied his bow he saw the big 9-point in hot pursuit.   Chuck came to full draw and aimed at the only shooting lane he had on that side of the tree, the buck trotted into the opening as Chuck let fly.  The arrow slipped tight behind the front shoulder as the buck made his final dash toward the bean field.  Chuck tracked only 75 yards before claiming his Kansas trophy; a heavy 9-point that grosses about 130 Pope & Young inches and weighed approximately 175 pounds.

As Luck would have it Zach hunted the same tree the following morning and harvested a nice Kansas 6-point.  Although, Chuck, Zach and Rick didn't see any of the gigantic deer that Kansas is famous for, they had a great adventure and were blessed with two great bucks.  According to Chuck, you can bet that Kansas will be on his hunting agenda again in the near future.