The late pre-rut brings some of the season's best buck activity, and Kansas hunter Chad Chambers took advantage of that on October 27 to tag an incredible whitetail that grossed more than 250 inches. The buck was one Chambers had known for three seasons, and his harvest proved what the hunter had suspected—that an amazing young buck had the potential to become world-class.
Chambers first became aware of a buck he called Titus in 2022 when he got a trail-cam pic of a great young buck with the start of a unique nontypical rack. Chambers was hunting another buck in the same area, so he passed a chip shot at Titus in early November that year. “There’s another hunter who comes up from Texas every year to hunt the same farm, and he passed Titus as well that fall,” Chambers told FS. “The next fall, in 2023, I only had two pics of him in early October, hitting a scrape. I told the Texas guy I thought the buck had extreme potential and that I was going to pass him again, and he agreed. But after those pics, I had no evidence of the buck; no pics, no sightings, no sheds. I didn’t have a clue he was even still alive.”
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But when the summer of 2024 rolled around, Chambers was in for a big surprise. “On August 3, I got my first pic of him and, wow, had he blown up into a mega giant. I swung into action and got some more cameras and made mocks as I tried to zero in on his location and decide how to hunt this deer. By the time the opener came, I was getting consistent pics of him and I hunted him every chance I got and was very aggressive. Then he disappeared on me for an entire month, from mid-September through October 18th.”
Chambers was mystified by the buck’s disappearance until a hunting buddy told him he’d spotted the buck entering and leaving a small draw he'd not been hunting. “Based on those sightings, I realized that the buck had probably been bedded in a spot where he could see me leaving the barn and going out to hunt him,” he said. Knowing he needed a new game plan, Chambers focused on the small draw where the buck had been spotted, and made a half-mile walk to reach the spot undetected. After finding a suitable tree, he settled into a saddle to wait, noting that the thermals were perfect for his setup. As the morning progressed, Chambers heard two different buck fights and when the second fight ended, he did a calling and rattling sequence, looked up, and saw a huge-bodied buck coming his way.
“When the deer stopped at 150 yards and turned his head so I could see a big drop tine, I knew it was Titus,” Chambers said. “He let out a massive roar/grunt and started looked for the fight. I turned my head a bit and grunted, and he whipped his head around and started walking right toward me.” After many tense minutes with Titus in bow range but presenting no shot, Chambers tried to make himself look small and prayed that the buck wouldn’t spot him in the tree. Finally, Titus walked straight to Chambers’ tree, licked one of his climbing sticks, then walked off just far enough to present a perfect quartering-away shot. Chambers slipped an arrow behind the buck’s shoulder, and the 3-year quest came to an end when Titus piled up after a 70-yard run.
It was well worth the wait. The main-frame 5x5 sported over 57 inches of abnormal points, a 17-2/8-inch spread and green-scored 252-⅛” B&C. “Walking up on him was like being in a dream,” Chambers said.
