If you are connected to the hunting circles of social media, you have most likely already heard about the Nick Bauman 2015 WI giant. On Saturday, September 19th, Nick arrowed a buck that dreams are made of; literally, a no-doubt "Buck of a Lifetime"!
*If you like reading about the mature buck hunting strategies like Nick used, make sure that you check out my"Whitetail Success By Design"series of books.
Nick had trail cam pictures of his WI giant, as well as other hunters within the neighborhood. So how did Nick narrow down this 216" green score brute, when obviously many hunters in the area were dreaming of doing the same? By not waiting until the rut, and instead taking advantage of an early season cold front.
Here is the message Nick sent to me a few days after he shot his 2015 WI Giant:
"Hey Jeff,
First off thanks for all the videos and posts that you have made. I read them all. But a special thanks is in order for your article last week. You talked about hunting the cold front Saturday. Well you convinced me enough to drive 2 hours to my parents hunting land to hunt. On a typical year I wouldn't have started hunting until mid October. But back to my story.
It's Saturday night and I'm in my stand by 5pm. By 6:30 I had already seen 6 different bucks. No shooters or at least not what I was looking for. About 7pm that monster buck came out. Just like you predicted. We had pictures of this buck, and so did the surrounding properties. So how lucky I feel, to have gotten this buck; it is still overwhelming! I know that if I wouldn't have seen your message about hunting Saturday, I wouldn't have been in the woods."
Best regards,
Nick Bauman
The Bauman 2015 WI Giant Cold Weather Buck
I am truly honored to have played a part in the harvest of Nick's WI giant, but what Nick was able to do on his own is outstanding! Nick not only pulled this buck out of an area during the slow period of the early bowhunting season, but he did so while other hunters had eyes on his buck as well. Nick set up with the wind in his favor, Nick passed on younger bucks, and Nick obviously placed his stand within a hotspot of early season mature buck activity. And Nick also followed my favorite prediction for mature buck activity: Cold front forecasts!
*Do you want to see how Nick used the weather to arrow this 216" green scored WI giant; so you can do the same from now through the end of the rut? Check out "Immediate Early Season Whitetail Hunting Alert".
How can you find the same success as the Bauman 2015 WI giant? Well first off you have to be open, ready and able to hunt prior to the rut. And secondly, you have to follow the varioius cold fronts that slide in and out of the weather forecast, from the bow season opener to the end of the October lull. Mature bucks are waiting to be predictably harvested before the rut, if you follow the weather. Often, this is also an outstanding time to not only have a great chance to see a cold weather monster like Nick did, but to have the woods all to yourself, while your neighbors may be still waiting for the "best" times to hit the woods.
*The formula to predict your own high value sit is coming soon! Check out this announcement from Outdoor Life Magazine.
A friend of mine states over and over again that the best hunters harvest their mature bucks during "September and October" and if that is true, Nick is well on his way to creating consistent early season opportunities for years to come. Those opportunities are out there if you want to study the weather to find them.
Great job Nick, thank you very much for the feedback! Also, I will look forward to more updates from you along the way as you follow the potential success that can be discovered by predicting your own hunts, through the weather forecast.