On a cold and windy November morning, Darin Williams climbed into his truck long before daylight. The 51-year-old checked his cell for trail camera photos, and he was stunned to see a picture of a colossal Kansas buck that had crossed a food plot and walked within bow range of his blind that morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeighbors and I knew that buck was around, but no one had a chance to take him,\u201d Williams tells Outdoor Life<\/em>. \u201cSome trail cam pictures of the buck had been taken about three weeks earlier, but nowhere near my farm. Some friends also had seen him with does, always locked down with one in a draw or timber.\u201d<\/p>\n So Williams was surprised to see the buck on his 7-acre pea patch without a doe.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, maybe, just maybe, he\u2019s roaming again looking for hot does because the rut was wide open.\u201d<\/p>\n It was Nov. 16, 2022, and Williams decided to hunt his blind that afternoon. It was 20 degrees, and the wind was strong\u201420 mph\u2014but blowing in the perfect direction for his blind.<\/p>\n Williams is a farmer in Waverly, Kansas, and he had found a huge shed in 2021 that turned out to belong to a buck his buddy, outfitter Travis Sipe, recognized.<\/p>\n \u201cThe buck had a unique rack, with heavy mass and lots of points, and Travis said the shed I found matched the buck he had seen, and that he was trying to put clients on. Travis even had a bowhunter in 2021 get a 20-yard shot at the same buck but missed. The buck was a bit smaller in 2021, in about the 200-inch class.\u201d<\/p>\n The peas Williams planned to hunt over were planted in a travel corridor between patches of timber on his farm. Williams had planted the peas for deer and hoped a small pond would attract them, too.<\/p>\n \u201cThe spot was choice because it was well off public roadways, but not too far for me to reach using my ATV,\u201d says Williams says.<\/p>\n As he drove his Ranger eight miles to his hunting blind that afternoon, he saw lots of deer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rut was wide open, and I saw several giant bucks chasing does as I drove to the pea patch,\u201d Williams says. \u201cAt least two of the bucks were big shooters in the 150-inch class.\u201d<\/p>\n But Williams, who has deer hunted Kansas for 30 years, knew this buck was special, and he was committed to holding out for it. Early in his sit, Williams saw a few does and small bucks chasing them. When a coyote showed up, he thought his hunt was over. But not long after, a 6-point chased a doe through the peas, and she dashed into thick brush near Williams\u2019 blind. The buck stopped in the open field, however, and stared at the thick cover behind his blind.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew he was looking at something, so I turned around and saw a nice 145-inch, 8-point buck chasing a doe in brush behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n That summer Williams had cleared a path to access his stand, and the deer were clearly using it as a staging area. Its timbered edges were dotted with rubs and a few scrapes. The 8-point chased his doe through cover around Williams\u2019 blind and into the peas. Then that buck stopped and turned toward Williams\u2019 blind.<\/p>\n \u201cThat 8-pointer was on full alert,\u201d Williams says. \u201cHe stomped the ground, walked away in the pea patch, then came back, looking into cover behind my blind. He did that several times, and I knew something was going on. Then the 8-pointer suddenly looked different\u2014absolutely petrified.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams turned again, and saw the giant buck just 15 yards away, pushing a third doe through the cover. He watched the giant buck for about 15 seconds, then the two deer disappeared into brush as they worked away from his blind. He considered grunting, but didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cI had decided to let everything just happen that afternoon\u2014keep it natural, without messing up the magic,\u201d he says. \u201cI had 45 minutes of hunting light remaining and had the biggest buck I\u2019d ever seen chasing hot does around my blind. So I sat, watched and waited.\u201d<\/p>\n About 15 minutes passed, then Williams spotted a doe appear on a trail, headed toward the pea patch. As the doe worked to just eight yards in front of his blind, the colossal buck appeared on her trail, about 35 yards away.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was very cautious,\u201d Williams says. \u201cHe\u2019d walk a few steps, stop and sniff and look at the two does and 8-point in the field. Then he\u2019d take a few more steps.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, the buck stopped just 10 yards from the elevated blind.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I could just see his nose and tips of his antlers, because a cedar tree was blocking his body,\u201d says Williams. \u201cThen he took another step, and I could see his whole side.\u201d<\/p>\n The does and the 8-point moved farther out into the field, and the colossal buck stepped directly in front of the blind, broadside at 8 yards.<\/p>\n Williams\u2019s Ravin crossbow was snapped into a tripod rest, and he didn\u2019t dare make a sound by detaching it. So he picked up the crossbow, tripod and all, and settled the 30-yard crosshairs low on the deer\u2019s chest and pressed the trigger.<\/p>\n The arrow was there so fast that Williams never saw the shaft in flight. The buck jumped away, then turned running back toward the blind. He wobbled, then crashed 35 yards from the shot.<\/p>\n \u201cThe buck never knew what happened, or knew it was hit,\u201d says Williams. He was shooting a fixed-blade 100-grain Slick Trick that he says struck the deer\u2019s heart and passed completely through.<\/p>\n It was the first buck Williams had ever taken using a crossbow. He\u2019d bought a Ravin that fall specifically with this buck in mind, thinking that if he was lucky enough to get a shot at the buck, it would have been somewhere around 50 yards\u2014beyond his comfort range with his compound.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019d known I was going to get an eight-yard shot at that buck, I\u2019d have brought my compound,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I wasn\u2019t going to chance messing up that incredible opportunity for the buck of a lifetime, so I used my crossbow.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams called his friend Travis and some other buddies to help him load the buck. Williams is quick to give others credit for his good fortune, noting that his buddies helped him set stands, blinds, and trail cameras so he could keep farming in the weeks leading up to deer season.<\/p>\n Williams says a Boone and Crockett scorer officially measured the buck in Topeka at a Buckmasters event in January. The 24-point nontypical had a gross score of 236 5\/8 inches and a final score of 230 0\/8 inches.<\/p>\n Boone and Crockett, which does not categorize deer by method of take, accepted the crossbow-killed buck into its record books, where it ranks as the 45th<\/sup> largest nontypical in Kansas. But Buckmasters records a separate crossbow category, and Williams\u2019 deer is the new No. 1 nontypical whitetail taken with a crossbow in Kansas<\/a>. (Buckmasters, which also has a slightly different scoring system from B&C\u2019s, measured his buck at 244 1\/8 inches.)<\/p>\n Williams says he\u2019s missed some giant bucks in his 30-plus year bowhunting career, including a couple bucks that pushed into the 180- and even 190-class. But this buck has more than made up for those mistakes.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad died almost two years ago, and he\u2019s the one who brought me to this point in my hunting life,\u201d says Williams. \u201cDad wasn\u2019t much of a deer hunter. But he showed me the way to a good rural life and farming, and without him none of this would have happened \u2026 I wish he was here to help me celebrate this great buck, and share the joy it has brought me and a lot of others, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18\/williams_shed.jpg\")
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