OK, it took the better part of three months — but the wait was worth the prize for a determined Michigan hunter.
Mark Dalley from Owosso, Michigan, learned a number of valuable lessons during his lengthy hunt for a trophy whitetail during 2017. Most important among those was that if you don’t get the buck you’re after, keep hunting from one season to the next — and the next — and there’s a chance you will eventually score. Dalley finally did get the buck he was after on his 78th day of hunting. Over that length of time he went through the early bow season, firearm season, muzzleloader season and was into the late archery hunt when he finally got the buck with his Excalibur crossbow in December.
Dalley saw the buck 13 times during the course of his pursuit on an 80-acre tract of land, 20 of which is woods, and did get shots at the deer a couple of times, but they weren’t the best shot opportunities, and that’s why he missed on those occasions. In some cases, bucks that are pressured in such a fashion go nocturnal or relocate. In others, the bucks end up being killed by another hunter or a motorist. Fortunately, none of those scenarios played out in this case.
Blown Opportunities
Dalley got his first shots at the buck on the opening day of gun season (November 15). On that day, he carried both a Traditions muzzleloader and a Winchester Model 12 shotgun loaded with slugs. The muzzleloader was for shots over 100 yards and the shotgun was a backup in case he needed a quick second shot. The muzzleloader was loaded with 100 grains of Triple 7 powder and a Thompson/Center Shockwave bullet and was sighted in 3 inches high at 100 yards.
After spending all morning hunting in the woods, Mark spotted the buck 250 yards away in a field after exiting the woods during early afternoon. Aiming high on the deer’s shoulder, Mark took the shot then went to where the whitetail had been standing to look for blood and hair. When Dalley reached the spot where the buck had been, the whitetail blew at him from a fencerow about 50 yards away. He emptied the shotgun at the fleeing deer, but none of his shots connected.

During the December muzzleloader season, Dalley got another crack at the trophy whitetail when he exited the woods during the last minutes of daylight and saw the big buck sparring with a smaller buck at a distance of 150 yards. That shot also missed.
One Last Try
After muzzleloader season ended, the late archery season was still open, so Dalley continued hunting the buck with his crossbow. On the morning of December 19, the buck followed a doe to within 50 yards and Dalley’s arrow spined the deer. To his surprise, the deer got up on its front legs and started dragging itself away. Dalley ran after the deer until he was able to finish it off.
The 17-pointer has a gross score of 200 7/8 and nets 190 1/8 inches. Dalley said the Shiawassee County buck was at least 5½ years old and had an estimated dressed weight of 150 pounds. The buck was brought down by a 150-grain Excalibur Bolt-Cutter broadhead and Diablo bolt.