Chris Lepley

The Chris Lepley BuckChris Lepley of Mt. Vernon, Ohio has been totally consumed by big whitetail bucks for as long as he can remember, and Lepley’s friends and family will tell you that he hunts all year long. Scouting, hunting for sheds, hanging stands, planting food plots, setting up trail cameras, chasing turkeys, and the list goes on and on. Chris even went to Hocking College and got a Wildlife Management Degree so he could spend college in the woods. With his degree, he was able to work as a part-time guide on the Faith Ranch in Texas, so he could learn as much as possible about big bucks and their habits.

In August of 2001, all of his efforts came together when he was scouting a farm that he had hunted before in Licking County, Ohio. He found good evidence of a big buck using a small area near several farmhouses, so he was concentrating his scouting efforts on getting a look at this buck. He finally saw the buck for about 30 seconds and immediately knew that this was no ordinary buck.

Now that Chris had solid proof of the buck, he started working out his plan of ambush and looking at stand locations. For this buck, Lepley hung two stands in a natural funnel that lead to a thick bedding area at a creek bottom. This was the path the buck used most to go to and from his favorite bedding area.

On October 30th the wind was right to hunt the funnel. Part of Chris’s plan for the buck included using buck urine on his boots to lay a scent trail to the stand. As he sat quietly watching the woods he caught a glimpse of the magnificent buck exiting a standing cornfield about 100 yards away. As the buck continued walking he hit Lepley’s scent trail. Chris saw the entire sequence of events unfold as the deer put his nose to the ground and began to follow the scent. This was a big, smart, mature buck, but Lepley’s plan was working, so far.

The buck periodically stopped and looked around, but kept following the scent trail. He eventually stood just 10 yards from Chris’s stand and stared into the woodlot. Even though the buck was really close, Lepley did not have a good angle on the buck, so he waited.

Suddenly the buck raised his head, curled his lip, looked straight up at Chris, and locked on to something out of place. The buck noticed a blob of camouflage in up in the tree, which was Chris. The tree in which Chris was perched was the only one large enough in the vicinity to hold a tree stand with a hunter. The disadvantage to this stand was it was too small to break up a human silhouette. Chris, facing the buck with the limb of his bow masking the uncovered portion of his face, knew the monster was staring right at him and this could go very wrong at any moment.

Hoping his camo had broken up his outline, Chris kept his composure. The buck continued to stared him down and this went on for some time. Occasionally the monster would lower his head to smell the ground and then quickly look back up at Chris. The buck was trying to make the blob in the tree move, so he could bust the deal. He knew something was wrong and he did not like it.

Suddenly, the farmer on the land next door started up a tractor and began to haul leaves to a pile they were burning. Focusing his attention on the tractor, the buck turned and began walking away. Lepley was now at full draw as the buck started to quarter away towards the woods. The big buck was giving Chris the angle he wanted, and Lepley let the Muzzy fly. From 18 yards, Chris’s arrow entered the back of the rib cage and lodged in the far shoulder as the deer scampered only 75 yards before falling. The monster made one attempt to get to his feet, but stumbled once again and died. The Muzzy 125 grain, three blade that tipped Chris’s arrow had done the job again.

Chris grabbed his cell phone and started calling friends from the stand. He’d just shot the biggest buck he had ever seen and it was down! He could see the monster from his stand.

The brute has 20 scorable points and grosses 221 7/8”. After deductions the rack net scores 212 5/8” certified by Pope and Young. The inside spread is 20 3/8” and the bases are 5” around. The rack’s appearance is even more impressive than its score. It’s a very typical looking main-frame 10-point, but most striking are the seven abnormal points, totaling nearly 27 inches, sprouting from the back of the right side G-2 tine. It looks like a fan of antler points that would stick the buck in the back if he raised his head too quick. It is one of the most beautiful non-typical racks we have seen.

Chris harvested his buck before the 200 Club was created, so when he heard of the program a few years after the harvest, he called Muzzy and became the 12th certified member of the Muzzy 200 Club.

Many big bucks are shot by sheer luck, but as Chris has proven, taking a trophy can be a deliberate process. Identify a buck’s bedding and feeding areas, keep pressure off him when setting up your stands, minimize your odor and always hunt by the wind. Lepley believes in scouting hard, but scouting smart, and hunting hard, but hunting smart. Follow this formula, and perhaps one day, you too, will become a member of the Muzzy 200 Club.