On September 27, 2010 I had booked my first whitetail trophy hunting trip at Oak Ridge Whitetail Adventure located in Windsor, Ohio, Ashtabula County. After about one year of planning and reading North American Whitetail, I had located where the trophy bucks were being taken within a reasonable driving distance of my home. What I ended up finding was a life long experience and friendship.
My original intentions were for a buck that would score up to 225″ SCI. Through the summer of 2010 I had been watching their website and was getting an idea of how the trophy bucks matured. As the summer rolled on the buck’s racks grew and along came a potential 300″. So we adjusted our sites for this buck. Through trail camera photos you could really see the very unique features.
As time grew closer to the hunt, special meal planning was taken into consideration down to the spices you liked. I practiced for three weeks, right up to the day before I left for my journey. I arrived the night before the first hunting day to a beautiful newly renovated lodge. This is where I met the owners Sam and Sonya Holley. They were wonderful folks to say the least.
We started our hunt early the next morning. The tree stands have plenty of shooting room and are either open or closed with small heaters inside. The first buck I saw was a 10 point which may have scored 130-140″. After that some does arrived bringing with them some mature bucks in the 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 year old range. A potential 245″ had arrived and Sam thought I should wait to try and find the big boy. After seeing a 245″ I wonder how this could get better.
We stayed in the stand till about 11:00 am and decided to get lunch early and I was still pondering the 245″. We left the woods on a different route back to the lodge. On the way out Sam spotted the 300″ buck I was looking for bedded down on a ridge with some does in front of him. Once I spotted him, Whoa, what difference! This buck looked like a tree! Well the trick was to get the does to stand and he would stand also and hopefully present a clear shot. Sam and I walked slowly and the does stood without spooking and the buck finally stood up but did not offer a clear shot. As he stepped forward I had a clear alley, one shot and down he went. Sam picked up the four wheeler and we took him back to the lodge, skinned and prepared him for processing and mounting.
Sam and a friend are both registered SCI measurers so the buck was scored at the lodge. He officially went 299″ and Sam admitted it was a pretty lucky estimation to be within 1″ on a buck this big. Later that day Sam had several friends stop over to see the huge buck and I met some nice people. The next day we toured some of the local wineries which were very good. Through the rest of the fall of 2010 and early winter of 2011 we planned some steelhead fishing for March and April of 2011.
If you like to catch fish from 1 to 18 pounds on a fly rod in small streams or a river Sam is the guide to go with fishing. I will not touch on the fishing much although I did land them to 12.4 pounds.A very unique fishing experience with a 5 weight fly rod. As the spring of 2011 rolled in and out I booked my next trip at Oak Ridge Whitetail Adventure for the fall of 2011.
I arrived in the middle of September. This time I was in a different tree stand with Mervin while Sam was checking other areas of the property. Through the use of cell phones texted he saw a large non-typical bedded down. So the decision was to stalk or stay seated? I chose to try a stalk. Well this big boy ended up scoring 365 6/8″ with 64 score-able points and 72 total points. It was a new Oak Ridge record and I was not done yet. I asked Sam if he could squeeze me in on a mid November rut hunt. I had seen trail camera pictures from the summer and fall and targeted four different bucks. Depending on which ones this time of year were still intact or broken. Sam took me to yet another stand and after seeing this buck twice without a shot, the buck followed a doe into the food plot. One shot with my Ten Point crossbow and he only went about 65 yards. A great 212″, 25 point, high racked buck!
So if you want great bucks, food, lodging, friends, guide service, beautiful property, and rustic wineries then hunt with Sam and Sonya Holley at Oak Ridge Whitetail Adventure.