The Stank Juice

We discussed the previous year’s hunt, and had decided that any time near Halloween should hit the peak of the chase phase of the rut. To say that we planned this trip is an understatement. We checked… sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, average temperatures, and average wind speed. We started planning this trip in June, and it didn’t take us long to run out of things to research. We covered everything, with the exception of what time Trick or Treaters were going to leave their houses. We did talk about it, but we decided that was irrelevant.

The waiting game had begun. July and August crawled by, and September had finally arrived. Of course for Patrick, September just meant that he had less than two months until he got to hunt. But for me, I had Bow Opener right around the corner. Now the boxes started arriving. While I was pursuing my beloved Whitetails, Patrick was in Iraq surfing EBay for items he “needed”. He bought: a new Hoyt Alpha Max Bow, with all of the bells and whistles, a new pack, a toilet seat that fits on a 5 gallon bucket, a new bow case, and last, but not least… what Patrick called “Stank Juice”. Most of the products that were arriving at my house didn’t strike me as unusual. I knew that he had wanted a new bow, as well as a new pack, but the toilet seat? The “Stank Juice”? Neither of us had ever been huge advocates of using scents. We had been told for years that at best, they were a good cover scent. This stuff was “different” said Patrick. In his southern accent, “when I kill my big buck, then you’ll believe it”.

Patrick finally arrived all the way from Iraq on October 26th, and the final preparation had commenced. His new bow had to be completely set up and tuned, not to mention he had to be confident with it to make an ethical shot. This turned into a full-time job for the next two days. October 29th, we were finally headed south to Buffalo County.

By this time, all of the scouting had been done, trail cameras identified the four “shooters” that frequented this farm, and stands were set accordingly. All we needed now was for one of them to slip and give us a chance. For the first four days, Patrick didn’t see a single deer. I was seeing them, just didn’t have any shot opportunities. On Sunday, November 1st, I went to go check a camera halfway down the ridge when I kicked up a big shooter. I ran up the ridge and told Patrick that we had to get in the stand right now; the big boys are on their feet. I offered Patrick the stand closest to where that big buck was, but he declined. I saw a young 8 point who was chasing doe’s, and at last light, saw a big bodied deer come out of the bottoms. Once again, Patrick didn’t see anything. That night I told him that he had to get in that stand, that bruiser was still in the area. Monday, November 2nd, 4:30 am, hopes were running high. Just on the drive to the farm we saw 4 shooters, giving us the feel that the rut was in full swing. Patrick said that this was the day that his beloved “Stank Juice” was going to reel “him” in. Staying true to his word, Patrick loaded up the woods with cotton balls covered with his internet purchased secret weapon. It looked like someone had torn open a cotton pillow and dumped it all over the woods. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hunt very long with him that day and I had to head back to the Twin Cities for a normal work day. Around 8:40am my phone chimed that I had a new voicemail. Checking that message was difficult due to still being in the sticks, but each time I tried to check it, I would hear “Big Buck”….then I would lose reception. I pulled over to get the rest of the message, and yes, it was Patrick. Apparently, his Stank Juice worked! He said that the buck ran up the ridge at full speed. He had enough time to grab his bow, draw it, settle the pin, and touch his trigger. With that, he sent a 100 grain Rage 2 Blade deep into the chest cavity of this bruiser. The buck only went about 20 yards, then tipped over.

I never saw this buck on any of my trail cameras, and only knew he was in the area from an encounter with him the previous day. He carried 8 beaten up points, a 21” inside spread, and a live body weight that had to be close to 270 lbs. With that being said, I had to listen to Patrick give praise to his beloved “Stank Juice”.

Patrick is back to work in Iraq, and I am still in pursuit of my own Buffalo County Giant. To be completely honest with all of you, there is not a stand that I get into, that I don’t hang a Scent Wick doused with… you guessed it, Stank Juice.