10PT.

In early November 2025, James spent seven days hunting the rut on private ground in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, booked through LandTrust. He and his cameraman camped on the property in a tepee. The landowner, John, had sent trail camera pictures and onX pins ahead of time, and met them the next day to go over the stands.

They hunted from tree saddles, so they could set up anywhere on the property. The hard part was finding two trees close enough for hunter and camera. On the first sit, a big 10-point came in at 10 yards in daylight. The camera was in a different tree and could not get the shot, so James let him walk.

The rut was on. Bucks chased does through the week, and shooters kept slipping past just out of range. Then, at last light, a buck splashed across the creek in front of them. James shot him at about 18 yards.

They followed the blood a couple hundred yards until it got sparse, then backed out. No tracking dogs were free, so the landowner put them in touch with a drone service. They flew it until past midnight and never found the deer. James said he believed the buck lived.

"Some of the best deer hunting I've ever had."James Zandstra · 10PT