Joseph Coleman of Tennessee saw an issue of Whitetail News several years ago and started reading some of the success stories that other deer hunters were having with Imperial Alfa-Rack. The articles piqued his interest, so he decided to plant an Alfa-Rack food plot on his father’s 46 acres.
“It’s mainly hills and hollers,” Coleman said. “But there are 25 acres of rich land in front of my dad’s place. I read that Alfa-Rack would grow better in well-drained soil, so I worked up the land and put down a bunch of lime. It was recommended to put down two tons per acre, so that’s what I did. I also followed the instructions for the fertilizer and planted his plot. It was just a perfect spot.”
A couple years later, Coleman started hearing stories from his father and cousin, Joker, about big-buck sightings. Although Coleman knew his food plot was working well, he was still a bit skeptical about the stories.
“My father and my cousin kept telling me about seeing several big bucks, but I was thinking, ‘Yeah right, same old story and exaggeration’,” Coleman said. Three trophy bucks later Coleman was eating his words. He shot an 8-point buck that scored 140 1/8. His friend, Mickey Lehman, shot a monster 11-point that scored 160 3/8. And Joker scored on a 120-inch buck.
“Well, they were right (about the big buck sightings),” Coleman said. “I was glad I took the time to read about Whitetail Institute products. I tried Alfa-Rack with high hopes of attracting bigger bucks on my dad’s farm because most of the deer we have seen in the past were small. My father has been there for 10 years since his retirement and I have been hunting there the entire time. What a year we had!”
Coleman explained he had seen some small bucks early in the season, but things didn’t pick up until muzzleloader season. “I saw a huge buck while hunting on a Monday evening,” he said. “Although I was excited and wanted to shoot, there was danger shooting toward someone’s house, so, of course, I did not shoot. “Well, the next evening, about one hour before dark, deer were everywhere. I kept seeing small bucks chasing does.
There had to be 25 deer next to my food plot. Just as the light was about gone, I saw a deer dart right in front of me about 70 yards. I was ready to shoot, but when I pulled the trigger, nothing. I pulled it again, nothing. I pulled it again and again and again. I thought, ‘What the heck is going on.’ Upon further inspection, I had not pushed the safety off.” Coleman quickly composed himself and flipped the safety off.
“All I had was a neck shot, so I took it,” he said. “The big buck dropped in his tracks. I sat there for a few minutes in shock.” The 8-point bruiser had 22-inch main beams, a 22 1/4-inside spread, 9-inch G2s, and 8-inch G3s. Lehman had seen his incredible deer during bow season, but kept that information to himself.
Coleman said he saw Lehman’s deer standing right next to the Alfa-Rack food plot one week prior to Lehman bagging the animal. “I didn’t shoot him because all I could see was his rack, so I didn’t take a shot,” Coleman said. “Mickey shot his big buck one week later about 200 yards from where I was hunting when I shot my nice deer.”
Lehman’s deer grossed 160 2/8 with both G2s and G3s measuring more than 10 inches. The G4s measured an impressive 8 1/8 and 7 1/8 respectively. Not only is Coleman and his hunting partners bagging quality bucks, they are seeing more deer. “Instead of seeing four or five, now we see 20 at a time,” he said. Coleman added that he intends to plant more Alfa-Rack this year. With results like his, who could blame him.
