How Ashley Wozniak Arrowed the Ohio Buck of Her Dreams
- Hunter: Ashley Wozniak
- Buck Score: 162⅜ inches
- Date of Harvest: 27, 2022
- Location of Harvest: Tuscarawas County, Ohio
- Weapon of Harvest: Hoyt Eclipse
Last season, Ashley Wozniak came face-to-face with a 5½-year-old Whitetail nicknamed “Payback.” Her family had two years of history with the buck. During the 2021-22 season, they had several encounters with him, but decided to give it one more year.
Last fall, Wozniak hoped to cross paths with the Whitetail and fill the tag using her bow. “Growing up, my family always hunted during gun season,” she says. “It wasn’t until I started dating my husband, David, that I started hunting myself. I’ve been bowhunting for seven years.”
The family has been hunting a 15-acre property for seven years now. It’s not a big tract of land, but the hunters have greatly improved it by conducting a select cut on the timber to create bedding cover, plant food plots and establish water holes.
“We relied heavily on our Browning trail cameras to keep tabs on Payback’s movements,” Wozniak says. “Recent pictures showed a bunch of deer, including Payback, were keying in on a dozen oak trees, including several white oaks loaded with acorns. Though he had been showing up in daylight daily, we waited until we had the perfect wind conditions (speed and direction) to hunt him.”
On Sept. 27, 2022, all the hard work paid off. The first sit of the season brought overcast skies, light rain and blustery winds. With high hopes for the afternoon sit, Wozniak slowly eased along a good entry route, carefully picking her way through the rugged, hilly terrain of hardwood ridges and brushy draws. The oak flat was full of falling acorns, and that was her destination.
Wozniak’s stepdaughter, Aleah, was set up beside her filming that evening for a digital project, “My Story, with Aleah.” Squirrels scampered around as they settled into the hunting spot. Eventually, some does and fawns entered the scene and the bushytails cleared out. Paired with the smell of damp soil and freshly fallen leaves, it was quite a peaceful scene.
Later, turkeys yelped in the distance. Squirrels started barking, too. “At one point, there were a dozen does that wouldn’t leave, even during the heavy rain,” Wozniak recounts. “I thought for sure they would bust us, but just as the rain was coming to a lull, I saw Payback’s beautiful yellow rack crest over the ridge at about 80 yards.”
She slowly turned to Aleah, acknowledging, “It’s him.” Ashley grabbed her bow as Aleah fired up the camera. Soon, the buck fed through the oaks and stopped broadside at 18 yards. Ashley drew, anchored and released the arrow. It connected and the buck dashed out of sight.
“One advantage of filming your hunts is that you usually get a pretty good idea of the shot placement and shot angle,” Wozniak says. “After reviewing the footage, I knew I hit him a bit further back than I wanted. So, we decided to play it safe and back out until morning. With temps in the low 40s and no rain expected overnight, our only concern was coyotes.”
The next morning, after a nerve-wracking, emotional night, the pair started the search. It didn’t take long. They recovered the buck after a short blood-trailing effort. He only went 150 yards.
“This was an incredible hunt and an experience that I will never forget,” Wozniak says. “David [Wozniak] was instrumental in scouting, preparing the spot for the hunt and the recovery. Having Aleah in the blind with me when I shot my biggest buck to date is something we will both always remember. The moral support means more than she will ever know.”
“It’s hard to put into words what this deer means to me,” adds Wozniak. “Payback was the only deer I wanted this season. To put my tag on him after our first sit of the season is a surreal feeling. Sitting behind him with my hands on his rack was an extremely humbling experience. I love being a hunter and supplying my family with delicious and nutritious wild game. I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening than enjoying the sights and sounds that only nature can provide.”
