VELVET STUD

Mike Mancl - North Dakota - September 4, 2022

By: Brennen Nading (@nadingbr)

Mike headed to North Dakota for opener this year with really no intentions of actually hunting with the bow in hand. He planned on spending the weekend running the camera. As luck would have it, Hunter and Jim were able to kill bucks on back-to-back nights which opened up cameramen and it was time for Mike to get in the hot seat. With the wind switching from N/NW to S/SW it was finally time to get in and hunt a buck that we were calling "Cowboy Jack''. The velvet 10 pointer was probably one of the most consistent deer we had on camera but we were unable to hunt him the first couple of nights due to the north winds. On the 3rd night of the season, the wind switch was just what we were waiting for. As the evening progressed, Mike got eyes on "Cowboy Jack" feeding out in the beans a few hundred yards away. After he pulled a disappearing act behind the cattails, the guys were unsure of where he went or what he was doing. Not long after, he reappeared inside 100 yards and closed the gap fast. Mike put an excellent shot on the deer and he ended up getting just out of sight before going down. This is Mike's biggest North Dakota buck to date, and definitely the most impressive velvet buck that our crew has ever got our hands on in North Dakota. Just an absolute exclamation point on a great opening weekend in North Dakota for the crew!