A hunt to cherish and r

emember

Colby teen bags dream trophy

BY ROSS PATTERMANN

TRIBUNE-PHONOGRAPH

For most hunters it can take years before the right combination of factors leads to the perfect mount for their man cave, the kind of deer that gives them a great story and becomes the envy of friends and family for years to come.

Carter Grewe only had to wait until he was 17 before he bagged and tagged “the buck of his dreams” a 16-pointer with a 168.5-inch rack, that came his way on a cold, still morning in Loyal this bow season.

Don’t let Grewe’s age fool you though. He’s been an avid hunter for years, and he and his father Shannon have made many a trek from their home in Colby in search of trophies.

“As long as I can remember, I’ve been in the woods,” Grewe says. “I always look forward to bow and rifle season. A lot of it is family - me and my dad really bond from it. Sometimes my grandpa comes over for rifle season.”

For Grewe, hunting is about more than just the meat or the trophies. Hunting is about the memories, the simplicity of being alone in God’s country, and enjoying the thrill of a challenging hunt.

“There’s nothing like being in the outdoors. It’s quiet and you don’t have all these interruptions,” Grewe said. “You can really think and just be yourself.”

Over the years, Carter has taken home just about everything, but if there’s one thing he loves more than anything, it’s a good deer hunt.

“Deer hunting is my favorite, 100 percent, that’s what I prefer the most.”

Carter came into this bow season armed with his experience and skill, but a little luck never hurt, nor did a little homework. Both of those led to Carter and his father discovering the 16 pointer.

“A few weeks before bow season we had never seen this buck before. Then it popped up on a game camera and he was really consistent,” Grewe recalls. “When we saw it Dad and I immediately looked at each other and said, ‘That’s the buck we’re going to kill.’” Carter and his father Shannon did their homework, working the trails, looking for signs and looking at the cameras every week to make sure their

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prize remained consistent and remained in the area. For days it came to the same spot and at the same time, but just as Carter and his father were getting ready and making their final preparations for the hunt, things changed.

“About two and half weeks before bow season starts it disappeared on us for a week,” Grewe said. “Then he popped up again, only he wasn’t as consistent. We’d only see him once or twice on camera and he was starting to go nocturnal a little bit. So that was kind of scary because we wanted him so bad.”

As with any hunt, luck and skill need to come together. That and some great equipment. Grewe went into the woods on that October day, climbing into the stand he and his father got from Richard Smazal at BBD Sports in Abbotsford.

Carter remembers that morning vividly, and as he talks, he recalls more and more details from that day.

He and his father were on private land, and he remembers how quiet it was. The trees seemed to swallow up noise. The wind was calm, and as the sun crept up, it reflected on the frost below.

“I got in the stand at 6:45 in the morning, just before light,” Grewe says in hushed tones, almost as if he’s back in the stand, not wanting to scare any nearby deer. “The weather was cold, really cold. I could see my breath and I was all bundled up. After a few minutes my fingers were frozen. It was really silent, and not much wind. It was great hunting weather.”

It became a waiting game. Grewe had an idea what direction the deer might come from, but this buck was full of surprises. After half an hour, he got his first glimpse.

“I thought he was going to come from a totally different direction,” Grew says. “I was betting on him coming from the right of me. All our pictures had him coming out that way. Then I just looked up and saw him coming straight downwind of me with a bunch of other does.”

Carter couldn’t get a very good view of the buck, with the does and a smaller buck trailing the four and half year old monster. The woods were dense and thick, and he only caught glimpses of his prize, but he knew it was the right one.

“I just saw a glimpse of his horns, and I knew right away it was him. No doubt.”

Grewe had all his equipment next to him, his Montech G5 broadheads, a sight from HHA Sports, and his 2005 Bowtech Tribute, what he calls “the finest bow ever made.” He had set up pins at varying distances but the buck was content to stay 100 yards away. He looked around and then wandered off into the foliage.

A large hill that dropped sharply obscured Grewe’s vision of the beast, and he was left to wonder if his prize would come back his way again. He quickly texted his father to let him know the buck could be circling his way. Other bucks came and went, but Grewe didn’t want to settle. He had the one tag, and he was saving it for that one buck.

“He disappeared and I had no idea where he was. Then I saw him over the top of the hill, the same spot he was before. He started zig-zagging around a doe in front of me so I knew I just had to be patient and wait for him to come to me.”

When it was 40 to 50 yards away the buck finally stopped and waited for about five minutes –– what felt like an eternity to Carter, who marveled at its size.

The minutes stretched on until finally a doe crossed in front of a tree Carter had marked earlier at about 40 yards away from his stand. Grewe knew the buck would follow the doe, and it did, at last stepping into a shooting lane.

Carter remembers how hard his heart was pumping and how nervous he was. He took a few quiet, deep breaths to still himself, and then he was ready, and there were no trace of nerves.

“I drew back, I didn’t shake. I didn’t feel my heart beating. It was just me and that buck and that moment.”

The arrow flew and hit true. The buck stumbled away, but Carter could still see the horns. That’s when the adrenaline faded and Grewe’s excitement returned.

“I could still see its horns and I called Dad up and at that time my tree stand was shaking I was so excited.”

Carter and his father waited for around six hours and returned in the afternoon and followed the blood trail and then jumped it up once and then it was dead.

With the hunt over Carter says he plans on getting a shoulder mount from Jeff Specht of Wild Things Taxidermy in Colby. He also plans for more.

“It was a heck of a hunt,” Grewe said. “I’m never gonna forget it. It was a roller coaster. It just makes me excited for the future and I want to keep hunting in the family. Maybe someday a son of mine can experience the same thing.”