Secrets of a Chautauqua County deer hunter
Submitted Photo Clint Catchot used a Mathews Lift-X bow set at 75 pounds draw weight, topped with a Grim Reaper Pro broadhead to take home this giant deer last week in Southern Chautauqua County.
Submitted Photo Big Chautauqua County deer are not new for 33-year-old Clint Catchot, who credits his Uncle Craig Silleman with getting him started in hunting when he was 12-years-old.
Submitted Photo Clint Catchot used a Mathews Lift-X bow set at 75 pounds draw weight, topped with a Grim Reaper Pro broadhead to take home this giant deer last week in Southern Chautauqua County.
Submitted Photo Big Chautauqua County deer are not new for 33-year-old Clint Catchot, who credits his Uncle Craig Silleman with getting him started in hunting when he was 12-years-old.
Trending
As deer hunting season begins to hit its stride across Western New York, the valleys of southern Chautauqua County, particularly those near the Pennsylvania line, have already been feeling the bite of autumn. Frost-covered pumpkins and a string of chilly mornings, despite our overall warming trend, signal a change in the woods. For some hunters, the early cold snaps can mean an early turn in the whitetail rut.
For 33-year-old Clint Catchot of Perrysburg, the timing couldn’t have been better. Catchot is a seasoned hunter who has already taken his share of impressive bucks, but recently experienced what every deer hunter hopes will happen someday: an encounter with the biggest buck of his life. The result was a remarkable 153-inch whitetail (estimated green score) taken from a treestand on a permission property in southern Chautauqua County.
Catchot had hung the stand just one day before the hunt. After seeing a few does and a smaller buck that first evening, he decided to return the following morning. It was a decision that would make for a hunt he won’t soon forget. The morning started with a little mishap when he dropped his grunt call and backpack from the tree. Mother Nature and the woods had other plans.
“Ten minutes later I saw a doe and a fawn. Ten minutes after that the buck came through 70 yards down wind,” Catchot recalled. The buck was moving cautiously, taking his time and seemingly checking every inch of his surroundings. He uses grunt calls from time to time.
“Very slow and cautious. He would walk 10 yards then look around for a minute or two. Then walk 10 more yards and do it again.”
It was a test of patience. With his experience, Catchot knew better than to rush the moment. Eventually, the buck worked his way to inside 35 yards, offering a broadside opportunity.
“I stopped him and took a careful shot.”
The recovery wasn’t immediate. Knowing he had made a good hit, Catchot gave the deer three hours before beginning his search. With no pass-through and no visible blood trail initially - bigger deer can be like that, he moved about 100 yards toward where he believed the buck had traveled. Eventually, he found a blood trail, leading him just another 20 yards to the deer.
There lay the biggest buck of his hunting career. The buck was taken with a Mathews Lift-X bow set at 75 pounds of draw weight, topped with a Grim Reaper Pro broadhead.
For Catchot, however, the story goes well beyond inches and antlers. His love of hunting began with a family connection.
“My Uncle Craig Silleman took me a handful of times and it got me hooked when I was 12 years old,” he said.
Today, after almost 20 years of experience and plenty of memorable encounters with mature bucks, Catchot understands that success in the deer woods often comes down to patience, preparation and keeping a cool head when opportunity finally arrives. He understands that there are those days that you can't take the shot and you need to come back later or tomorrow. That's a tough lesson.
He also knows what keeps him coming back season after season. It's exciting. Catchot adds, “I just love hunting. The woods are stress free, but so exciting when you watch the deer and learn more about specific deer with each hunt.”
Catchot shares many details of several deer, turkey and waterfowl hunts on a YouTube channel he started, search out and visit "Droppin Hammer Outdoors." Visit there and enjoy much of his hunting detail secrets from a tree stand or ground blind.
A 153-inch buck is certainly a trophy worth celebrating, but for Catchot, the quiet mornings, the challenge of outsmarting a mature whitetail and the memories made along the way are what make hunting special. Catchot shared that there are bigger bucks out there. He is a humble hunter.
Somewhere in the valleys of southern Chautauqua County grape farms and soybean fields, here’s to one more unforgettable autumn morning that will be talked about for years to come.
Gotta love the outdoors.
CALENDAR
Nov. 7-8: NYS Handgun Class, Westfield Fish and Game, 8150 Ogden Road, Westfield; 20-student max, $225 fee, register at RASGROUPTRAINING.COM or call 716-499-6959.
Nov. 8: Ripley Rod & Gun, turkey shoot, noon start; shotgun, rifle, pistol; open to all; 9820 Rod & Gun Road, Ripley.
Nov. 9: West Falls Conservation Society, monthly meeting, 8 p.m. start; 55 Bridge St., West Falls. Potential new members are invited to attend. Free dinner. Info: 716-652-4650.
Nov. 10: Children in the Stream Youth Fly Fishing/4-H Program, Fly tying/fly fishing classes, 7-8:30 p.m., free, Costello Room, Rockefeller Art Center at SUNY Fredonia, For info: email Alberto@albertorey.com.
Nov. 10: Erie County Trappers monthly meeting, Water Trapping, Hamburg R&G, 3434 Hickox Road, Hamburg; 716-648-2236