My name is Russ Bigus and I live in Northeastern PA. My family owns 50 acres in Sullivan County. I have been using your products since 2002 and have had a great crop each year. This year, I decided to try Winter- Greens too. While I still use and maintain Imperial Whitetail Clover in other locations with great success, this story is about the attracting power of Winter- Greens.
In July, I consulted with a Whitetail Institute consultant and a plan was formulated. As is usually the case, frost hit early in September and the deer began to use the plot very frequently. My 7 year old daughter Alexis has been very involved in every aspect of Whitetail Management since she was born. She actually helped fertilize, lime, and seed the Winter-Greens plot with me. Alexis and I hung a double ladder stand near the plot and on many occasions we used that stand in the pre-season to watch many deer feed in the Wintergreens and witnessed a few nice bucks. The first day of Archery season was September 30th. I don’t know who was more excited, Alexis or me. Unfortunately, the weather was very cold and rainy. Against my better judgment I gave into Alexis’s begging and took her hunting in the rain. We arrived on stand with about 3 hours to hunt before nightfall. At about an hour before dark, we saw a nice 7 pointer and a 10 pointer. I immediately realized I should be taking things more seriously on this hunt. My guard was down in thinking Alexis would not be able to remain quiet and still, not to mention be able to sit tight for 3 hours! The 2 bucks fed in the Winter-Greens as we watched with our binoculars. At 1/2 hour before dark, Alexis said, “Daddy, here comes a shooter!” I watched a 9 pointer step out of the pine thicket about 30 yards away. Alexis said, “Dad, I think you should whack him.” I thought so too. However he began to feed further into the field and a shot opportunity was not available. Alexis asked if she could use her doe bleat and then the grunt tube. Normally this early in the season this is not something I would be doing. She insisted and I told her to give it a try. She bleated twice and got the bucks’ attention. She then made a series of grunts. The buck folded his ears back and began to paw the ground. After another series of grunts, the buck turned and walked 75 yards right into to bow range. An important note: Alexis was attempting to capture everything on video, however she mentioned it was more important to shoot the buck and needed her hands free to use her calls. I made the shot and she was ecstatic! She said, “Daddy, I think it was a double-lung shot!” She followed the trail and the recovery was quick. The photo is enclosed. I have hunted for 30 years and have been fortunate to harvest many nice deer that are larger than this buck. However, this was the highlight of my hunting career and I have a child hooked for life. She is already talking about our food plot for next spring. Without Whitetail Institute products, I truly believe this type of deer activity is not possible. Sullivan County, PA is mostly “big woods,” and the deer are true browsers. Their only food source is beech and cherry mast, along with browse. I will continue to use Winter-Greens and am in the process of developing an additional food plot location this spring. Thanks Whitetail Institute for a great product! 