Collin Derrow of Defiance, Ohio, has been looking since childhood, and he has a slew of respectable Buckeye State bucks to indicate for it. However like many avid deer hunters, Derrow dreamed of getting a bit of looking property to name his personal. In 2022, that dream got here true when Derrow went in along with his father and brother to buy an 85-acre farm in Williams County, Ohio. It was principally damp river-bottom land that regarded prefer it had the potential to be a whitetail heaven.
Derrow and his household spent the primary season doing whitetail recon on the brand new property. They ran a number of path cameras and had been happy with what they noticed, significantly one of many first bucks they picked up on the path cameras. It was a big however peculiar-looking buck. From the entrance, he appeared to have double drop tines, however from the aspect, it regarded like the top of his important beams bent downward, creating an odd, droopy look.
“The primary night time we put the cameras up, he got here by way of the weeds into the image, and he simply regarded superior,” Derrow tells Out of doors Life. “I spotted he was an excellent cool deer. He had these two curls. They weren’t tremendous lengthy but, however you possibly can inform they had been going to develop down a couple of extra inches.”
The rack was so distinctive that Derrow’s neighbors nicknamed the massive buck Ed — or E.D., which they mentioned was quick for “erectile dysfunction.”
Photograph courtesy of Collin Derrow
Derrow turned captivated by the massive buck’s uncommon antlers and he spent hours watching him over the course of 2023.
“In the summertime months, I’d go and watch him each night time after work,” Derrow says. I most likely videotaped him 30 occasions in our bean discipline.”
However throughout looking season the massive buck was continually giving Derrow the slip.
“I might by no means appear to meet up with him,” Derrow says. “I handed on a very nice mature buck that handed 20 yards beneath my stand as a result of I used to be holding out for that cooler deer with the drop tines.”
He hunted till late within the season and by no means noticed the droopy-beamed buck as soon as from a treestand.
“Each night time, I’d get footage of him,” Derrow says. “Within the morning, I’d stroll right down to my stand, and he’d be up at one other stand proper earlier than taking pictures mild, strolling round on the clear different aspect of the property.”
With the 2023-24 season winding down, Derrow determined to hunt one other buck on the property. He ended up taking pictures the identical mature buck he had handed up earlier that season.
Catching Up with Ed in 2024
After looking season ended, Derrow and his household received again to work making the farm into the whitetail haven they needed it to be. They spent the summer season months planting meals plots, reducing timber, blocking trails, and creating new ones.
“We did all kinds of various stuff for land administration. I needed to maintain that drop-tine deer in that space. We simply needed to make the property higher throughout, however I used to be particularly working for that deer. “
With the 2024-25 deer season approaching, the buck began making common appearances in a bean discipline on the property. Derrow would head down there to look at him feed each night when he received off work.
“I used to be getting actually excited. I get excited yearly, however this 12 months was much more thrilling simply because I knew that deer was within the space.”
An outbreak of EHD, epizootic hemorrhagic illness, in close by counties had Derrow on edge. EHD is a viral, typically deadly illness transmitted by biting midges. It may hit whitetail populations exhausting, and because it appeared to be spreading, Derrow was getting more and more frightened.
“It was affecting nearly each property within the space, together with my cousins’ and uncle’s. You’d simply stroll the property and discover lifeless deer in all places,” Derrow says. “I used to be simply hoping I wouldn’t stroll down in that river backside sooner or later and discover that drop tine buck lifeless. He would disappear or not be on the cameras for a few days, and with all of the EHD stuff happening, my head could be spinning, questioning if he died.”
By some means the Derrow’s farm made it by way of the EHD outbreak untouched. When the season lastly opened, Derrow centered his looking efforts across the bean discipline the place the droopy buck recurrently fed. He hunted stands across the discipline for the primary 5 nights of the archery season. Though Derrow noticed the buck each time he climbed a tree, he by no means might get shut sufficient for a shot.
“I knew he had 4 locations he bedded throughout the bean discipline, however he performed the wind so sensible that there was no method I might get in there with out bumping him,” Derrow says. “I’d get off work early and go down there considering I had him tricked solely to have him come out clear throughout the sphere. He was like 400 yards away each time I noticed him.”
After the beans turned from inexperienced to brown within the fall, the droopy buck stopped hitting the sphere. So, Derrow turned his efforts to one of many meals plots he had put in over the summer season.
“I received off work and went down, [and] I didn’t have a ton of hope that I used to be going to see him as a result of I wasn’t looking the bean discipline the place I had been seeing him each night time,” Derrow says. “I received fortunate although.”
Derrow had seen that the droopy buck had been touring with a nine-pointer. When that nine-pointer stepped into the meals plot on October 16, he knew precisely what was popping out behind it.
“I put my binoculars up to verify, and the one factor I noticed coming by way of the weeds was these drop tines.”
When Derrow put down the binoculars and picked up his Mathews V3, the buck he’d been watching for 2 years had stepped proper into the plot.
“He stood there like he was in search of me for what felt like half-hour, however was most likely 30 seconds. Then he turned broadside at 32 yards.”
Derrow drew his bow and despatched a 100-grain G5 Megameat mechanical broadhead by way of each of the deer’s lungs. He discovered his blood-covered arrow and, after he regained his composure, began dialing up reinforcements to assist him get better the deer.
Three hours later, Derrow’s complete crew, together with family and friends members, arrived on the farm to assist him.
“My mother even got here down,” Derrow says. “She by no means comes down for monitoring jobs.”
Nevertheless, they couldn’t discover any blood to trace as soon as the workforce reached the meals plot. After trying to find awhile, Derrow was starting to get discouraged.
“I knew I smoked him. I even heard him go down,” Derrow says. “I simply determined to go right down to the place I heard him crashing. I received to the spot on the sting of the riverbank, and there was loads of blood however no deer.”
Photograph courtesy of Collin Derrow
It turned out the droop beam buck had dropped straight down a 25-foot embankment and was laying proper subsequent to the water.
“I felt this rush of pleasure and reduction and simply began hugging all people,” Derrow says. “I’ve gotten excited over deer, however I’ve by no means been that excited. I’ve shot a variety of large ones, however this one was so distinctive. I figured I’d by no means get one other alternative at a deer like that.”
As soon as Derrow climbed down the riverbank and laid fingers on his buck, he realized simply how large he was. However they nonetheless had to determine the way to get the deer up that steep ledge and out of the woods.
“My dad needed to carry the tractor down and haul him up, however I didn’t need him tearing up the underside. There are nonetheless a couple of good deer in there, and I didn’t wish to mess up the remainder of the season,” Derrow says. “So me, my brother, and my buddy dragged him inch by inch up the financial institution.”
Whereas heaving the deer up the steep hill, they realized the curled beneath beams had an sudden perk.
Learn Subsequent: Large Drop Deer That Made Whitetail Searching Historical past
“There have been roots protruding of the aspect of the financial institution,” Derrow says. “We might drag him up about 5 toes at a time after which cling him from his drop tines on the roots. That method, we might take little breaks to catch our breath after which pull him up a bit extra. That actually saved us getting him up that river financial institution.”
The curvy-beamed buck had 13 scoreable factors and is now on the taxidermist. When requested what he thinks the deer will rating, Derrow dismissed the query.
“I fairly frankly don’t care what he scores,” Derrow says. “He’s only a actually cool deer. I like killing mature bucks, however a rating is only a quantity. I don’t fear about these issues.”