College Student's First Bow Buck Is a 17-Point Kansas Slammer

College freshman Jase Tarter got out of class around midday on Sept. 23. With the weather forecast calling for a 20-degree drop in Southeast Kansas that evening, Tarter knew just where he was headed.

“I knew it was a great time to get in a tree, so I got my bow gear and headed to my ladder stand,” an 18-year-old Tarter tells Outdoor Life. “I really went out thinking about all the does that were on this private farm I’ve been hunting. And that evening, about 6 p.m., four does came by.”

Tarter readied his bow and thought about whether he should take one of the four does standing 45 yards away. He badly wanted a chance at a buck, though — after four years of bowhunting, he had yet to kill one. And as he looked just beyond the group of does, he saw a set of antlers.

“I watched the buck walk down a trail I was hunting near a pinch-point between the field and a creek,” he explains. “He kept coming right to me. He got to 32 yards and stood broadside, so I drew my bow. But his shoulder was behind a tree.”

Tarter held his 70-pound Bear bow at full draw for two minutes as he waited for the buck to step out from behind the tree. The deer didn’t budge until one of the does started getting fidgety.

Tarter proudly holds up the 17-pointer, which was given a Buckmasters score of 183 6/8 inches. Photo courtesy Jase Tarter

“The buck knew something was up because of the way the doe acted. He lifted his nose high, trying to catch the wind. When he did, he backed up a bit, exposing his shoulder. I leaned around the tree a little, aimed through my peep sight, and released my arrow.”

The arrow was there in a flash, and the broadhead did quick work on the buck.

“I hit him a little high, so it cut his spine and he dropped right there,” says Tarter. “I called my dad right away and told him I’d just shot a big buck. My dad’s so positive. He always encouraged me when I was bowhunting all those years and just not getting a buck.”

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With his dad out of town and unable to help, Tarter contacted the landowner, who brought his ATV to help get the oversized deer out of the woods. Tarter says he’s planning to have a shoulder mount made of the buck. Its rack had 17 points and was given a BTR score of 183 6/8 inches by Buckmasters scorer Doug Walden.

“I had no idea a buck that big was in there. But I’ve been bowhunting for four years trying to get a buck, and all that hard work finally paid off.”