PEAX Equipment

Florida ghillie geezer

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Ghillieman

Active member
Joined
Jan 26, 2022
Messages
242
Location
Florida
New to HT and a Big fan of Randy.
His wisdom and drive give this 61 yr. Old some hope.
Dream hunt is a Rocky Mtn. Goat. Have alot of getting into shape prior. May never materialize if I cant get this old back right.
I decided this year to start filming my hunts so my family has some memories of me doing what is/was my passion...
My father left us over 10 yrs ago and was the one who gave me the gift of hunting. At 5 yrs. old I had to lean how to write my name for my first KY hunting license.
We owned a sporting goods store for 25 yrs outside Columbus Ohio in a little hamlet called Gahanna and I hunted every opportunity I had. If I wasnt in the woods during the day chasing deer I was wandering vast timber chasing masked bandits at night loving the lonesome bawls of my gal Sally running a hot trail. My best Ohio deer was a 190 typical 8 point monarch.
Fast forward... After several moves...
Many years later in GA. I was bit by the Saltwater fishing bug and laid down all my smokepoles for rod and reel. It was tough to do both but the water called me back then. I havnt been in the woods for 25 yrs and now back issues have kept me off the water permanently. Could take the beating any longer. Last season I had a stirring in my soul to once again step into Gods greatest tabernacle..
The woods bring me peace and solitude that can only be found there. Im a spot and stalk hunter, always have been and because of the back, slow and still hunting works. Im a Ghillie hunter now and am looking forward to the next chapter in the Diary of a Ghillieman.
Thanks for having me.
Hunt Hard!
The Ghillieman
Best,
Ed
 
Last edited:
nick87 said:
Would love to see a pic of that buck.
Click to expand...
Yea me too.. Here's the story.....Not a tall tale....

There were many pics but got burned up in a fire at my sisters home... The buck hung in our gunshop for over a year so the doubters can doubt all they like as there are hundreds of witnesses to this animal. Anyone in Gahanna that visited Gahanna Guns in that time can bear witness.

Soooo..... A taxidermist named Tom Kurelic, mounted the beast with a mulie in rut mount as a standard huge whitetail form was too small. The deer dressed at 275#'s. My friend and the guy who worked at the meat market (Wilsons in Gahanna) is the one who estimated him at 190. The only two measurements I remember were 28" wide between his top tines and 19" G2's. He was PERFECTLY symetrical, an absolute fairy tale buck.....I witnessed him take his last breath on that snowy day...in total awe.

Here's were my regret comes in..One late evening (the gun shop was open til 9pm) around 8:30, in a friggen blizzard, a guy walks in and looks around. After a few minutes he looks up a says WOW! now thats a buck. The mount was a facing forward, straight on mount, as regal as they get, VERY realistic mount. Tom did a great job. Come to find out this guy is a wildlife artist if I recall correctly was from New Hampshire. He stood there for a good 10 minutes and stared at that mount from all angles and asks.. How much is the mount? I told him it was the biggest deer I had ever killed and it wasnt for sale. He said, cmon everything has a price.. I said nope sorry. He then said I'll give ya 5 grand for it... Well after about choking, my 21 yr. old brain was reeling and 5 grand 40 yrs ago was a bundle to a kid that thought beer and girls in that order, were the most important things on the planet . I told him you just bought a mount... The minute I said that I regretted it and by the time he counted out those 100.00 bills and walked out I was sick......... That decision was one of the biggest regrets of my life.... I have many times, and to this day have tried to locate Tom Kurelic, Westerville, OH for years as Im sure he has pics. He said it was the most impressive and beautiful deer he had ever mounted and not being partial, I agreed...Havent shot a world class deer since... Perhaps the hunting gods have punished me for such a complete lapse of judgement.....
The story how I shot him is just as nuts....may post that sometime..
So if I do ever get pics I will gladly and proudly post em...
 
Last edited:
Ghillieman said:
Yea me too.. Here's the story.....Not a tall tale....

There were many pics but got burned up in a fire at my sisters home... The buck hung in our gunshop for over a year so the doubters can doubt all they like as there are hundreds of witnesses to this animal. Anyone in Gahanna that visited Gahanna Guns in that time can bear witness.

Soooo..... A taxidermist named Tom Kurelic, mounted the beast with a mulie in rut mount as a standard huge whitetail form was too small. The deer dressed at 275#'s. My friend and the guy who worked at the meat market (Wilsons in Gahanna) is the one who estimated him at 190. The only two measurements I remember were 28" wide between his top tines and 19" G2's. He was PERFECTLY symetrical, an absolute fairy tale buck.....I witnessed him take his last breath on that snowy day...in total awe.

Here's were my regret comes in..One late evening (the gun shop was open til 9pm) around 8:30, in a friggen blizzard, a guy walks in and looks around. After a few minutes he looks up a says WOW! now thats a buck. The mount was a facing forward, straight on mount, as regal as they get, VERY realistic mount. Tom did a great job. Come to find out this guy is a wildlife artist if I recall correctly was from New Hampshire. He stood there for a good 10 minutes and stared at that mount from all angles and asks.. How much is the mount? I told him it was the biggest deer I had ever killed and it wasnt for sale. He said, cmon everything has a price.. I said nope sorry. He then said I'll give ya 5 grand for it... Well after about choking, my 21 yr. old brain was reeling and 5 grand 40 yrs ago was a bundle to a kid that thought beer and girls in that order, were the most important things on the planet . I told him you just bought a mount... The minute I said that I regretted it and by the time he counted out those 100.00 bills and walked out I was sick......... That decision was one of the biggest regrets of my life.... I have many times, and to this day have tried to located Tom Kurelic, Westerville, OH for years as Im sure he has pics. He said it was the most impressive and beautiful deer he had ever mounted and not being partial, I agreed...Havent shot a world class deer since... Perhaps the hunting gods have punished me for such a complete lapse of judgement.....
The story how I shot him is just as nuts....may post that sometime..
So if I do ever get pics I will gladly and proudly post em...
Click to expand...
Wow, not to rub salt in the wound pretty sure if it netted 190 that would be the biggest typical 8 of all time. @antlerradar could probably correct me on that. Heck of a story.
 
Ghillieman said:
Really? Damn I wish I would have had him scored..yet another regret.. Thx...
Click to expand...
Feel your pain kind of. Growing up one other guy hunted my grandma's farm. I had the option to sit in the stand in the woods or the fence line that night. I chose the woods. He shot a 169 7/8" 8 point out if the other stand. I can't imagine what a 190 8 point would be like.
 
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