For this 16-year-old Illinois sportsman, taking the state's top archery whitetail of 2002 was anything but child's play.
By Bobby Worthington
"The word is that a monster non-typical was bow-killed yesterday about 15 miles from here," my host said as I sat at the supper table following a cold day on stand.
"Did you happen to hear what it scored?" I asked.
"I don't know much about that," he said, "but it seems like I heard 230."
It was Nov. 11, 2002, and bucks in western Illinois were really running. The area is capable of producing a non-typical of the class described, but it seems I hear stories of 230-inch bucks every year in Pike County, and hardly any turn out to be true. I half-dismissed the rumor.
The next evening I visited a friend, Scott Andrews, at his archery shop in Pittsfield. Scott asked if I'd heard of a big buck in the county. I said I'd heard mention of it but had no details. Scott told me he'd heard a 16-year-old had arrowed the deer. "The young man walked up on it," he said.
"I'm happy for the lad," I replied, "but ain't that the luck? He's probably a beginner hunter going in late to his tree stand or leaving after a morning hunt when a rut-crazed buck walked up on him. Ain't that the way it usually goes with the really big deer? It seems like a lot of luck is usually involved in the hunt."
"Well," Scott replied, "I'm not so sure from what I heard that this hunt was all luck. You should get in touch with the hunter and talk to him."
I did just that, and from the time I met young Gavin Risley, I was impressed with him. As we talked about his hunt, a remarkable story unfolded. My preconceived notion that he was just "lucky" faded as he talked.
First off, Gavin is no rookie deer hunter. The tradition was passed down to him at an early age from his father, Brian Risley, as it was to Brian from his own father, Marvin. Also, shooting this buck from the ground wasn't all luck. Gavin sometimes hunts from ground blinds made of natural cover, but most of the time he stalks deer. In fact, he'd shot others in this manner!
Nov. 10, 2002, was shaping up as any other Sunday for the Risley family. After returning from church, Gavin and his Brian were finishing lunch when Marvin called to say he'd just seen a nice 8-pointer in his wheat field. A fateful decision was made: to try to get Gavin a shot at the buck.
As they drove up the driveway to Marvin's house, Gavin and Brian saw the big 8-pointer chasing does around the field. Gavin decided to go sit in a fence row about 300 yards from there, in hopes the buck would run past him while chasing the does. If that didn't work, Brian would wait an hour, then walk through the timber to try to work the buck to his son.
When Brian reached Gavin, he told him he'd seen the 8-pointer go around the ambush. At that time, the young man felt sure his hunt was over. But as Brian had approached, he'd seen a really nice buck bedded in some cover. Brian said the buck, a "10- or 12-pointer," was lying against a brush pile near the creek on Marvin's land. Brian had avoided the buck and so thought he was still there.
Gavin and his father began to make out plans for a stalk. The creek runs west to east, and the buck was bedded on the south side of the water in a big brush pile. A bluff 35 to 45-feet high runs along the south side of the creek, with the brush pile maybe 30 feet from the bottom of the bluff. The wind was out of the northwest.
The plan was for Gavin to approach the creek from the south, sneaking to within about 100 yards of the buck. He'd then ease up the creek, staying back from the bluff edge so the buck couldn't see him. Gavin would then ease to the edge and try to get a shot.
Meanwhile, Brian would work his way up the north side of the creek, staying 200 yards or so from the water. The hope was that the buck would wind him off in the distance, distracting his attention from Gavin, who'd be approaching from above.
As the young bowhunter began to move up the creek, he knew he couldn't get in a hurry. He inched along, stepping on mud and grass instead of the fallen leaves.
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About an hour into the stalk, as Gavin approached where he believed he should look over the edge of the bluff, he got really nervous. That's understandable; after all, Brian had said the buck was a 10- or 12-pointer, and Gavin had never shot a buck that big. He stopped to steady himself.
Gavin was about to step up to the edge of the bluff when he heard the buck stand up in the dry leaves. As the hunter reached the edge of the steep bank, he could see the buck below him, standing and looking toward the north, where Brian was. As the deer stepped out of the brush, he was clearly growing nervous.
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