On November 12th of this year, 28 year old bowhunter Jeremy Collingsworth achieved what only a few others have done before him. Even in this “age of the deer,” very few hunters take 200 class whitetails. The Ford employee not only accomplished this great feat but he did so by hunting from the ground. Eye to eye with a buck this size had to be a thrill of a lifetime.
Like so many of us who take up this wonderful activity, Jeremy expressed a great passion for bowhunting Michigan’s whitetail deer. He invests a lot of his time and money and this year’s new gear included a Primos Ground-Max tent-blind and a Primos Scarface decoy. Jeremy utilized both of these purchases the night he shot his big buck.
Collingsworth was hunting a farm in Lenawee County that he has hunted since the 2001 season. This property has approximately 20 huntable acres with woods to the north and south and a wheat field in the middle. In past years the young hunter would become frustrated when he attempted to hunt the small woodlots because he would bust the deer out entering his treestand. This year he adapted by a placing a ground blind in between the two woodlots in an effort to interrupt a cruising buck.
The first night he hunted with a decoy he set it up as a doe and a big 10-pointer came across the field but held up 60 yards out and wouldn’t come any closer. Jeremy tried to grunt him in but the big deer refused to cooperate and went on his way. A friend of Collingsworth who has successfully used decoys in the past suggested that he use it as a buck.
On November 12, Jeremy knew that it was prime time for rutting activity so he chose to hunt all day. In the morning he had a small 4-point come to within about 50 yards of the decoy but it refused to close the deal. A little after 5 p.m., Jeremy saw a deer running from the woodlot straight at him. He looked through his binoculars and saw that it was a buck, and a big one at that. When the deer got to 120 yards he held up and started walking broadside to the awaiting hunter. Collingsworth grunted but the big buck failed to show any signs of a response. He then decided to try the snort-wheeze and this immediately got the attention of the deer. A second snort-wheeze challenged the rutting buck and the deer came straight in. The aggressive whitetail was fired up. He flared up his neck and back hair, and pinned his ears back to express his dominance. He started walking sideways at the bobbling-headed decoy. Jeremy drew his Matthews Switchback bow and grunted to make the buck stop moving. With the buck quartering away at 25 yards and a mere ten feet from the decoy, Collingsworth launched a G-5 tipped Easton arrow and the broadhead quickly did the job. The deer sprinted for 130 yards and then it stopped running, got wobbly and tipped over.
Jeremy’s father had come out to hunt the property during the evening and Jeremy called him up and said, “I just shot the biggest deer of my life, he is at least a 14-pointer!” Ted Collingsworth quickly joined his son and they went to the downed trophy. There was no so-called ground shrinkage with this brute. Ted immediately started counting points and came up with a total of 17. A quick recount came up with 17 again.
The incredible trophy has 10 points on the right and 7 on the left. The inside spread is 18 1/8 inches. Every tine on the right side is forked. The field dressed weight was 193 pounds. Taxidermist Gary Brown measured the buck and came up with a gross green score of an astonishing 205 Boone and Crockett points as a non-typical.
Prior to that fateful night, Jeremy had never seen this buck or even the other 10-pointer. Neither buck was captured on trail cameras either. What a wonderful surprise.
Jeremy joined his dad on hunting excursions as a young 10 year-old and started hunting himself as soon as he was legal to do so, which was 12 years of age back then. He is very thankful that his dad got to share in this amazing adventure. A 205 B&C point buck with a bow from the ground, wow!
