For the past several seasons in northern Ohio, a few in-the-know deer hunters have been aware of a colossal buck in the area. Logan Urban, an 18-year-old who lives in Vermillion, first heard about the buck two years ago. Last winter, he found one of its massive sheds.
“I never saw him last year,” Urban tells Outdoor Life. “But I located him this summer and watched him almost daily until the opening of archery season. I finally got photos of him in September. He was very smart, and lived far from roads, way back on some private property.”
Urban says that every evening, like clockwork, he could find the deer feeding in a large bean field. There were no trees along the field edge that he could use to hang a stand. So Urban decided to hunt the buck from the ground with a crossbow instead of his usual Mathews compound bow. Instead of setting up a blind, Urban brushed in a spot at the corner of a block of timber and sat directly on the ground.
Urban had the buck so well patterned that he knew (almost to the minute) when it would enter the bean field every evening.
Photo courtesy Logan Urban
Urban went to his usual spot on Oct. 4 and watched the buck enter the beans near a field corner. Conditions the next day were perfect for Urban to make his move. That afternoon, he sat on the ground with his crossbow and waited for the deer near the field corner.
“He stepped up out of a ditch into the bean field about 6 p.m. from 300 yards away,” Urban says. “I knew it was him immediately and watched him slowly move around the field feeding. He eventually headed my way.”
It took about an hour for the buck to get within range.
“I started shaking as the deer approached,” he says. “But when the buck got to 30 yards and turned broadside, I aimed and made the shot with my crossbow. It was perfect, going right behind his shoulder, passing through both lungs. I watched him run about 65 yards, then he cartwheeled and fell. Somehow, he got up and ran again before falling for good about 20 yards farther in the field.”
Urban called his dad to tell him the good news and to ask for help getting the heavy buck out of the field.
Logan Urban (right) and his dad with the 30-point buck.
Photo courtesy Logan Urban
“My dad and mom were headed out for dinner, but he came right away to help me,” Urban says with a chuckle. “My mom was a little upset when they came to the bean field instead of a restaurant. But it all worked out okay.”
They were able to drive their truck close to the deer and load it. The buck weighed 215 pounds dressed and has a tremendous 30-point rack. The huge brow tines resemble a man’s open hand, with points jutting out like fingers.
The buck was given a BTR score of 260-plus inches.
Photo courtesy Logan Urban
The nontypical antlers were scored by Toby Hughes from Buckmasters of Ohio, who recorded a video with Logan about his buck. Hughes scored the deer at 260 6/8 inches using the BTR system, and he says it’s likely the biggest buck taken so far this year in Ohio.
“I think we’ll put the mount in my grandfather Larry’s shop, ‘Bad Boy Bait, Tackle & Archery’ in Vermilion,” Urban says. “That way anyone who wants to see this great buck can.”
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