Aaron Davis

The Aaron Davis BuckAaron Davis, 28, of Holland, Michigan, had seen the big buck on friend Steve Vanderhoff’s dairy farm in Hudson twice while bowhunting. Both times he’d hoped to get a shot at it, but it never came close enough for a shot. He knew the deer was large, but he had no idea just how huge it really was. He’d soon find out.

On November 14, 2004, Davis learned that the third time really is a charm. While sitting in his stand that day, he spotted the buck again, and this time it stuck around for a while. The anxious hunter watched the buck for 45 minutes as it chased a doe in heat. Since he’d only killed one other buck with his bow, Davis was nervous, but the passing time gave him a chance to calm his nerves and collect himself. Finally the bruiser offered a good shot, and Davis didn’t hesitate to take it. He struck it through the lungs with his Muzzy broadhead and it dropped only 150 yards from his stand.

Davis, shaking and excited, walked up to the buck and admired its large size and massive antlers. Even with this up-close view of the buck, Davis still had no idea that he had just arrowed the new Michigan state record for archery deer. So, just as they’d done with many deer in the past, Davis and Vanderhoff hung the big buck up in Vanderhoff’s yard that evening and headed out to gun hunt over the next couple of days.

Much to both Vanderhoff’s and Davis’s surprise, the buck began to draw a crowd. Neighbors stopped by commenting on the immense size of the deer. One neighbor went absolutely crazy with excitement when he saw it, but the two still didn’t realize what they had.

The trip back to Holland was an even bigger eye opener for Davis. When he began his drive back, the buck, which was laying in an open trailer behind the truck with his rack jutting high into the air, created a traffic jam from Hudson to Holland. Davis called Vanderhoff on his way home and finally suggested that they get the deer looked at.

Good thing he did. Davis had tagged the new Michigan state record for non-typical archery deer. The 215-pound buck (dressed out) carried 20 measurable points which netted 225 7/8 P&Y.