This story is about my neighbor and hunting buddy, John Cooke (JohnBow) as some of you know from Mojam and Ojam.
He has been shooting and hunting with traditional gear since about 1996, about when I started and introduced him to the stick bow.
We have hunted many places and times but those wiley whitetail just always seemed to give him the slip. He has had some incounters with some monster whitetail that most anyone would give certain parts of their body to get a shot at.   :D  
I will have to say he is persistent. Working through a shoulder surgery many years back, a hip replacement and then some maintenance on that hip and just recently this spring another shoulder rebuild after we found out we drew a tag for Kansas to hunt with our best friend and "guide", Ralph Renfro (KSBow) and Terry Newman (RainCrow) on the TradGang. John has worked all summer trying to rehab his shoulder so he could pull a bow and hunt this fall. With a little help with form, new arrows for more penetration and some words of wisdom from our "guide" he finally got the Monkey off his back. He took this nice whiteatil buck last weekend with a 14-15 yard shot and about a 40 yard run, with the buck falling within site.
He has been stepping high all week. His wife said he printed some photos of the deer and is showing people he doesn't even know and telling them about "The Lick he laid on that Buck". Even though I took a nice buck that weekend also, I had to listen to the story all the way home on Sunday. Which was by the way, okay because he earned it.
His gear was a Bear Montana Rocky Montain Elk Foundation recurve he got from Raincrow in some sort of shady deal. Hunter Carbons, fletched by John, with Magnus 125gn 2 blades.
The buck weighed approx. 130lb field dressed by compairing it to mine.
Complete pass through only leaving the fletching hanging from the hide on the off side do to hit hitting the bucks off side leg.
Now he can settle down and shoot a doe and some more turkeys when we return.
He doesn't know I'm putting this on here but he won't do it and doesn't get on the computer that much.      
Congratulation on the Buck and staying with it until you scored. Even through all of the ribbing we dished out.   :cool:  
Mike
 

Congrats for your friend, Mike!  Sounds like a great hunt, with a good crew, of course!

Congrats and good job!

Congrats!

Congratulations!!!

Love that smile! High fives all around.

Excellent deer!

   

Good job!
Goose

 Congrats.  

Congrats to your friend!

Always like to hear stories like that.

perseverance with a smile...that's what it's all about!  A dandy animal..well done

Congratultions to your buddy JohnBow. I wish John would come on here and tell us his story...the same one you had to listen to in the car.

Mike,

Tell John congratulations, that's a nice one.  So was yours...Ralph emailed me pics.

Sounds like you guys are having quite a season already!

Nothing better than a success story after a lot of patience and perseverance.

Give him a pat on the back from me. A lot of people would have opted for an "easier way" in order to fill a tag. Congrats to him for sticking with it.

Mark

Nicely done  

Good for Johnbow. Real happy for him.        

Tell him since he did so well with that buck, that I forgive him for chasing my little brother around the field at Mojam trying to kill him after he made that "itty bitty mistake" with the Hot Dogs from Hell that one year.  

Seriously...couldn't be happier for John. Congrats youngun.        

congrats :0)

To me it is the best ending to a hunting story I have heard theis year!  John is lucky to hang with a great bunch of guys but his shoulders have had to be pretty wide!  Way to go John!  Coach

Congrats!!!