It has been a rare feat over the years for me to shoot a mature buck early in the bow season in Iowa. I have had decent success in other states where the season opens in early September, but by Oct. 1, most of the bucks I have hunted have become nocturnal. This buck was an exception. Curly was 7 years old and was showing definite daylight patterns in early October. I was fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of this weakness and fortunate to catch him in the femoral artery with a poorly executed shot.
