Dombroski’s Buck
Most deer hunters will spend a lifetime in the field and not
even get a glimpse of a bragging size buck. What are the chances of someone who
can consistently fill their tag with deer that other hunters only dream about?
Jeff Dombroski, is
one of the most laid back, soft spoken persons you would ever want to meet. He
reluctantly agreed to be interviewed about his record buck and I mean
reluctantly as in not wanting to come across as bragging and bringing undo
attention to himself. He considers any dedicated bowhunter that takes
any matured deer, be it a buck or doe to be a trophy, because all deer are
truly trophies.
He revealed a few of his secrets why he is so successful. It
takes resolve! Prepare yourself for commitment. Good bow hunters scout year
round and hunt more than 60 days each season. And as Mark Kayser says,"You
can't kill a buck unless you hunt where he lives.
Jeff wanted to
emphasize that the lessons learned from the events that lead up to successful
hunt cannot be overstated or underestimated.
Understanding and utilizing this knowledge is more important
than all the hunting aids and infomercials combined. He went on to say that
there are some products that work well in a given circumstance but none should
be counted on to work all the time.
He stressed most important thing is learning about the
environment and terrain that deer populate and why deer are drawn to it. Every
buck has its own unique behavior patterns, and the more you observe and study
them the more you will understand their habits.
An experienced hunter
must also consider current weather and wind conditions along with concealment
and timing just to get a glimpse or hopefully a shot at a trophy buck. When it
all comes together, it’s priceless.
Jeff’s
story unfolds in Harrison County Ohio, home of giant earth movers, monster drag
lines and monster bucks. Harrison County is located in the eastern portion of Ohio, about 2 hours from Columbus,
Cleveland and Pittsburg and easily accessible from major
interstate highways 70 & 77 and by way of routes 22, 250 and State Route 9.
Draglines like the Silver Spade tore up the landscape in search of coal and
left behind thousands of acres of reclaimed and reforested land. Deer and Turkey
hunting abound in this terrain and annual deer harvests have exceeded 2,700.
One of the largest public hunting areas in Harrison County
is Jockey Hollow Wildlife Area. This area encompasses 3,469 acres and the
wildlife area is easily accessible to the public. The terrain is steeply
rolling hills and valley floors covered with second growth hardwoods, conifers
and grasslands.
Since this area wasn’t
glaciated during the ice age, some of the old timers think strip-mining has
something to do with the size of the bucks roaming the county side. They feel
that strip-mining brought buried nutrients and minerals to the surface to be
assimilated into the food chain that the local deer feed on resulting in above
average size and growth.
The residents of Harrison County are a God fearing, down to
earth people where a spit in the palm handshake is worth as much as their
signature on a piece of paper. Hard times have hit this region and a lot of
families stretch their budget by hunting and fishing.
If Hank Williams Jr. was
looking for a stereotype for his hit song “A Country Boy Will Survive” he would
not have had to look any further than the people who reside in this region.
Jeff was born in West
Virginia and raised in Harrison County Ohio. He was
introduced to hunting at an early age by his uncle and took his first deer with
a bow at 16 and has filled his tag every year since.
He chose occupations such as
coalmining, farming and construction that would allow him to be in the outdoors
as much as possible and he could schedule his outings so that it didn’t
interfere with his family responsibilities. Any man who works with his hands
scraping a living from the soil has a better understanding and appreciation of
nature and Jeff is no exception. He knows this terrain like he knows the back
of his weathered and calloused hands.
During
the 2008-2009 deer season, Jeff took nice 8-point with a bow and wanted to help
his son fill his tag during muzzleloader season. Jeff was making a drive and caught
sight of a very large buck going out the back of the woods he was driving. His
son never seen the deer but Jeff knew that this buck was something special and
he would have to put all his hunting skills and knowledge together to get a
opportunity for a shot at this buck.
As
the season came to a close, all Jeff could think about was how he was going to
prepare himself for next years hunt. He already knew the lay of the land
including every thicket of multiflora rose and locus, every contour, and every food
source within an 800 acre tract that this deer was calling home. He was
confident that this buck made it through the season unscathed because word
travels in this neck of the woods if anyone seen, or shot at a wall hanger
carrying a rack of that size. Jeff was just hoping that the animal was not
pressured to the point it would leave the area.
Jeff made some inquires about trail cameras to his buddies
without letting them know what his ulterior motive was. They convinced him that
trail cameras were the way to go to verify what was running the trails, so for
the first time he started using cameras early in pre-season scouting trips. He
managed to get some nice pictures of bucks but not the one he was looking for.
He knew he needed something that would arouse this brute’s curiosity enough so
it would drop its guard to get a visual sighting on him.
While
at the Roger’s Sale,
Jeff met Smokey McNicholas, a professional trapper and maker
of deer lures. He had heard that Smokey’s glandular deer lures was a trusted
name in the lure business so explained to Smokey that he wanted to get this
particular buck to show himself because it was real camera shy. Smokey
recommended a gland lure that could be used early in the season and would
arouse this buck’s curiosity about other bucks in his territory. If this buck
was the alpha male he would definitely want to size up the competition.
On his next scouting trip Jeff started using the lure that Smokey
recommended, he made sure that it was being applied properly and about 6 weeks
before the start of bow season he finally spotted his buck
Jeff spotted him right where he had placed the lure. Now that he
knew where the buck was ranging he would be able to regularly observe this bad
boy’s habits from a safe distance using field glasses. As deer season
approached Jeff was confident that he had learned enough about this buck that
all he needed to do was put it all together.
If curiosity killed the cat then overconfidence can sometimes
leave you discouraged. Jeff forgot a very important rule when hunting, always
expect the unexpected.
Jeff would sparingly apply more lure and would see this buck on a
regular basis still hanging close to the field that he first found him. It was
early in the day and Jeff was on his 4 wheeler going back to replenish his lure
and almost drove right over the buck he was pursuing. He had no idea that the
buck was laying off the trail that he used to access the area. Jeff said
luckily, the buck was looking away from me and the wind was in his face and that
buck must have been used to hearing a 4-wheeler because he didn’t budge.
When Jeff finally realized how close he had gotten and how big
this monster was, he just said to himself “My God this just ain’t going to
happen”. Jeff got out of there as quickly and quietly as he could and didn’t
return until bow season, he just kept hoping that he didn’t spook this buck.
This encounter left Jeff so shaken that he was starting to
question his ability and resolve to take a buck of lifetime. So when he
returned home he called a good friend and fellow hunter Don Weber from Fairpoint, Ohio
a person he considers one of the best deer hunters and sportsmen that he knows
and respects. Jeff explained to Don what happened and how he was having second
thoughts about his ability to kill a 200 class buck. Don assured him that if
anyone could do it he would be the one that would be able to get the job done. Don’s
words went along way helping Jeff restore his confidence.
Bow season started on a Saturday and Jeff
promised his grandson who is fourteen that that he would take him out hunting
over the weekend. On the 3rd day Jeff returned to the site where he
had previously set up a ground blind and as he was going into it he seen his
buck coming up the hill toward him. Since he wasn’t prepared to make a shot, he
waited until he could back out of there without being detected and went to
another stand about a thousand yards away. While on that stand Jeff passed up a
shot on a real nice 8 point that he figured would have scored above average as
a non-typical.
The fourth day turned out to be a wash
and Jeff thought for sure that he pressured this buck just a little bit too
much. But on the 5th day, back in his ground blind he heard a commotion coming
from valley sounding like someone was taking a ball bat and hitting the trees.
He just knew it had to be that big buck, possibly fighting with that 8 pointer
he saw on the previous day.
It was early in the afternoon on the 6th day when
Jeff entered his ground blind and was just settling in when a
few does appeared on the edge of the tree line and started to make their way
into the adjoining field. Jeff was so intent on watching the does that he
almost missed seeing an 8 pointer coming come out of the woods and was studying
the does. Jeff thought to himself this looks like the same buck he passed up on
the third day.
When the buck was about 10 yards away he
abruptly turned and was looking right at Jeff’s blind. Jeff thought he was
busted and he knew if this buck alerts, all hell was going to break loose. Jeff
also knew if that happened the only thing left for him to do was pack up his
dog and pony show and get out of Dodge.Unbeknownst to Jeff this buck wasn’t
looking at him; it was looking at another buck that came out of the woods
directly behind his blind. Jeff heard a loud snort and turned just in time to
see a flash of white break over the ridge and drop into the next valley. The 8
point then turned and went back into the woods and the does just kept on
feeding like nothing ever happened. Jeff waited awhile and figured it wasn’t
going to happen then eased out of his blind and removed his face mask. When he
happened to look up, standing 45 yards away on the far side of the field was
his monster buck. The setting sun was reflecting off its antlers making the
tines appear as polished sabers pointing toward the sky. With his nostrils
flaring, chest bulging and hair bristling, and with his head down the buck
started to move directly to the place the 8 point was last seen. This display
of superiority allowed Jeff time to re enter his blind and get his face mask on
with out being spotted.
Now Jeff was trying to keep it all together and even though his
eyes are the same color of blue as Paul Newman’s, “Cool Hand Luke” wasn’t in
the blind that day.
As the buck kept moving toward him it was all he could do to keep
his “10 Point” crossbow steady. Jeff used to hunt with a compound bow, but a
broken shoulder coupled with nerve damage to his right arm made all but
impossible to draw and hold a bow. He kept reminding himself over and over,
don’t look at the antlers and don’t look this buck in the eye.
The buck continued coming toward the blind until he reached the
tree where Jeff had previously placed the deer lure. The buck then stopped and
nonchalantly started to sniff at the tree. The buck’s interest shifted from the
8 point to the odor emanating from the branches. Then the buck turned broadside
and remained in that position giving Jeff enough time to pick a spot and settle
in.
Jeff continued to hold steady and was squeezing the trigger to the
point that he wondered if he released the safety. Finally the bolt exploded
from the bow hitting its target from about twenty five yards away. The buck
just stood there for a moment kind of startled and then trotted away, not
realizing it was hit.
Jeff said he was so
mesmerized by that moment that he continued to hold his bow on the spot where
he placed the dot in the scope and continued aiming well after the buck turned
and started back the way he came.
Not wanting to push this buck, so he waited for what he thought
was an eternity but he guessed it was about twenty minutes before he left the
blind. He decided to go home which was only a few miles away and come back
before darkness set in. It was all he could do to curb his enthusiasm as Jeff
and his son returned to the spot where the buck was last seen. He kept telling
his son, “it’s big, it’s big” as they recovered the bolt, covered in blood when
it made a complete pass through. Jeff knew at that time that buck was his, but as
the great sage Yogi Berra once said; “It ain’t over till it’s over”.
They found the buck in some tall grass about fifty yards from
where he shot it. There was very little blood trail to follow but by standing
on his tip toes Jeff could see its antlers protruding from the grass about ten
yards away. It was when he placed his hands on the buck’s antlers to hold its
head up that Jeff finally realized how big this buck really was.
The sun was almost below the horizon as Jeff and his son loaded
this magnificent animal on the 4 wheeler for its final trip home. Both father
and son were so humbled by this moment that no words were spoken or needed to
be said during their return trip home.
Jeff’s buck scored 192 3/8 at the Ohio Valley Outdoors’ 2010 Big
Buck Rendezvous held in Lisbon,
Ohio and was the highest scoring
non-typical entered. It was also the highest scoring Ohio buck and crossbow entry.
Jeff’s Gear
Crossbow- 175lb 10 Point, 2008 model
Scope- Red Dot
Bolt- Easton alum 2219 Crossbow Hunter
Broadhead- Montec G-5 100gr
3 blade
Camo- Bush in a Bag
Lure- Smokey’s Deer Lure
Blind- Natural
Taxidermist- Joe Pietro, Dillonvale,
Ohio
