Game Cameras Key In Archer's Success
By Mike Lambeth
With the help of his Moultrie game cameras, Tulsa’s Jared Mickle arrowed two giant bucks last season - and just two weeks apart, to boot. Mickle owns a thriving lawn and landscape business in Tulsa and stays pretty busy, but the whitetail addict still makes time to bowhunt. The 40 year-old hunter has been bowhunting since he was 16, and admits to taking his first buck in his teens. After taking an estimated 30 deer with a bow, Mickle admits to becoming trophy conscious five or six years ago.
His previous best bow kill was a 125-class buck, but he believed if given the opportunity his 1,000-acre Canyon Creek Ranch in Bristow, could produce better bucks. And consider this, after four years of intense management including controlled burns, adding 30 food plots, setting out several Moultrie game cameras, and having a biologist access the property, the ranch has yielded three bucks scoring 150, 160, and 166 inches.
When archery season opened last year Mickle was unable to hunt his favorite spot on the ranch – a ravine near a creek crossing – due to unfavorable winds. In late October, with the wind in his favor he hunted his spot twice without success.
On October 31 – Halloween – Mickle drove to his ranch and arrived at his tree stand 30 minutes after sunrise. Shortly after climbing into his stand, a large buck appeared and headed towards the creek crossing. “For 30 minutes I watched the big buck, and my heart about jumped out of my chest,” remembered Mickle.
At 30 yards away, Mickle knew he was staring at the biggest buck he had ever seen. In one smooth motion, Mickle drew and released a perfect arrow and the buck did something strange – it ran 15 yards and stopped! “I looked to see if I could see any blood on the buck’s body, but I didn’t see any,” said Mickle. “Then I raised my binoculars to look closer at the buck, and he fell where he was standing.”
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I always have my best luck when I am hunting the ranch alone. I got on my phone and started calling my friends to tell them the good news!”
The bow-killed beauty carried 15 points and after gross scoring 166, netting just over 157.
Less than two weeks later, Mickle opted to hunt a spot in Tulsa County where he had found a huge shed antler the spring before. The spot was small – only 11 acres – but was surrounded by some heavy woods that held good numbers of whitetails.
On November 12, with the rut approaching, Mickle went to his small hunting spot. He knew the spot held a big buck, due of the large tracks, and fresh rubs he had found there. Earlier in the season while hunting there he had seen a nice buck, but passed because the buck’s antlers didn’t resemble the huge shed he had found.
The morning dawned cool and crisp and deer began to appear, moving through the area. Soon he saw some does, and then some small bucks appeared. He had predetermined that he would only hunt until 9:30 AM due to work obligations, but when that time came having not seen anything in the last hour, Mickle decided to hunt for 30 minutes longer.
At 9:50 AM, a doe appeared on a trail and nervously kept glancing back over her shoulder. Moments later, a huge buck appeared following the doe and stopped in an opening 40 yards away, offering Mickle a broadside shot.
Mickle released his arrow and dropped the buck in its tracks. Knowing that the buck might get up, the excited archer scaled his way down from his stand and shot the buck again.
Shaken and amazed, Jared telephoned a friend to tell of his accomplishment. “I have shot the biggest buck of my life,” he told his friend. “I think this buck would score around 170.”
After loading up the buck and taking it to his friend for inspection, his friend believed the buck was larger, and might score in the 180’s. Mickle measured the buck the next day and the bruiser grossed an amazing 204 inches.
After drying the required 60 days Oklahoma Department of Wildlife employee Dick Hoar scored Mickle’s buck – ironically with 15 points like his previous buck. With two broken tines, the brute gross scored 189 6/8 and netted 181 1/8.
Mickle has high hopes for this fall saying he knows there are some bigger bucks hanging around his hunting places. Trust me you haven’t seen the last of Jared Mickle - this accomplished archer is destined to score again soon.