After missing the buck at 50 yards during the gun season, David watched this buck grow to giant status during the summer of 2026. (Photo courtesy of David Hostetler.)

September 30, 2026 By Clifford Neames

When it is time get corn out of the field farmers don’t get off the combine and go hunting! NO MATTER HOW BIG THE BUCK IS! David Hostetler had history with a buck he called Flyer, beginning two seasons back, when he missed it on a gun hunt at 50 yards.

“I was really disappointed then, but he got a lot bigger since 2024, so I guess it worked out better in the end”, he adds.

In 2025 the big deer had vanished, and David had discovered another buck he planned to hunt. Then that one died after being hit by a vehicle, leaving him without no real target. Fortunately, Flyer reappeared over the summer this year, and David decided to take him if he had the chance. In order to lock him in, he added a food plot, and Flyer started hitting it every day! 

“As Deer Surveillance Area bow season approached, we had dry conditions, so we were about to get really busy”, David says. 
“Free afternoons are rare and I knew if I was going after the buck it was then, or likely never.”

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An added food plot kept the mature non-typical, fat and happy through out the summer while he packed on the pounds and inches. (Photo courtesy of David Hostetler.)

David climbed into his stand early on the opener but got soaked in a sudden downpour. With the inclement weather upon him, he decided to come back and try again in the afternoon.

“I was back on my hang on by 3:30 PM and it was still warm after the rain”, he continues. “The first deer showed up around 7:00 PM, when a group of young bucks came in.”

David was in the corner of a small creek bend and could see further than he had permission to hunt. Want to guess where Flyer came out?

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“I was watching the smaller bucks, when I spotted his rack on the other side of the creek”, he adds. “He spent 20 minutes over there pulling corn off stalks, before he crossed over to where I was.”

With the waiting game over, and his nerves a little more composed, David waited patiently for a shot.

“He was quartering to me just a little, when I sent the arrow, and it hit a little back.” “He jumped and ran a few yards then stood there with his head down, then he laid down and I thought he was about done.”

Taking no chances, David decide to back out for a few hours, and then let a drone take a look. “I was surprised to see the buck still had his head up when the drone flew over at 11:30 PM!” “That meant a long rest of the night for me.”

This buck sports heavy beams, trash and long beams to rack up a BuckMasters score of 231 4/8 inches. (Photo courtesy of David Hostetler.)

When they flew the drone the next morning the monster buck had moved!

“I was getting a little worked up then we found him about 80 yards further down the creek!”

The buck’s huge rack has a little of everything, split brow tines, extra points at both bases that curve in like beams, and plenty of mass. It measured 231 4/8 inches using the BuckMasters scoring system. 

Now, the fun is over, and David has 7,000 acres of corn to get in.

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