Up to my hunt last week at Timberghost Ranch in southeastern Iowa, I considered myself a pretty good judge of whitetail antlers. Not anymore.

Sitting in a comfortable stand with my stepson, Scott Morrison, and his guide Brian Field, I noticed a buck off to my left just as he slipped into our beanfield. The winds were gusting to 40 miles-per-hour, but nothing was stopping the heavy-bodied whitetail from gobbling down an afternoon dinner of soybeans.

Following the buck through my Swarovskis, I proclaimed: “Scott, he’s pretty decent, but I’d pass on him.”


“He’s a lot better than you think,” countered Brian. “He’s not very wide, but he’s tall and heavy with all sorts of kickers. I’d guess that he’ll score in the 180s.”

I continued glassing the buck and, sure enough, I started to notice numerous sticker points jutting up from his heavy bases and long tines.

“I really like him,” Scott whispered as he settled behind his new Sauer S 100 in .30-06. At the shot, the buck dropped straight down into the beans.

Closer examination of Scott’s trophy revealed 30 different antler points and stickers. Back at the main lodge, Brian gross-scored the buck at 192 B&C points.

Situated in the tall hills overlooking the Mississippi River, Timberghost Ranch offers four types of whitetail packages on the thousand-acre preserve: management hunts, adventure hunts, trophy hunts and super hunts. Timberghost also provides for free-range archery and gun hunts.


Scott and I were very impressed with lodge and its cuisine, and especially with its dedicated and knowledgeable guides under the direction of Mike Willems.

To book your own hunt at this fabulous whitetail ranch, call (319) 394-9876 or visit timberghost.com.