When 24-year-old Matthew Daniels pulled the set off on the night of Sept. 23, 2025, he didn’t but notice he was about to tag the most important buck of his life — an enormous 194-inch Kansas large that had haunted his desires since midsummer.
Daniels doesn’t hunt household floor. Each deer he chases comes from public land or permission-only farms — a problem that makes success even sweeter. He spends quite a lot of time scouting and knocking on doorways.
Recognizing the Large
Daniels’ 2025 season began off gradual. Path cameras weren’t displaying any bucks that piqued his curiosity, so he shifted his method. He began driving round in areas that he knew held quite a lot of deer and glassing fields. That’s how he first noticed him — late July, feeding in a beanfield.
There was only one downside: the buck was on a bit of personal land Daniels didn’t have permission to hunt.
He went again a number of instances simply to observe him. Daniels might inform the buck was utilizing that space fairly frequently, so he reached out to the landowner and was fortunate sufficient to get permission to hunt there.
From then on, the sport was on.
The Sample and the Miss
All through August, Daniels watched the deer practically each night from a distance. He was on such a constant sample that Daniels determined to not grasp path cameras to not danger bumping him.
When Kansas’ archery and muzzleloader season opened on Sept. 15, Daniels slipped into place with excessive hopes — and a brand-new muzzleloader purchased particularly for this hunt. “There’s not likely any bushes. There’s solely a pair actually small bushes in that space which is definitely the one purpose I used to be utilizing a muzzleloader to start with as a result of I’m a reasonably diehard bow hunter. However simply with sort of the state of affairs of the place the deer was, and I solely had a sure period of time that I used to be allowed to hunt that property, I ended up really shopping for this muzzleloader particularly to attempt to hunt this deer,” stated Daniels. What occurred subsequent practically ended his season.
Daniels watched him for in all probability 20 or half-hour earlier than he got here into vary with loads of daylight left. When Daniels pulled the set off, and the primer went off, however the spherical didn’t. About two or three seconds later, it fired as he was pulling his face away from the scope.
For just a few agonizing moments, Daniels wasn’t certain if he’d hit the deer or not. “That was my first time ever searching with a muzzleloader,” he stated. “It actually shook me up.”
The shot missed. However that wouldn’t be Daniels’ final encounter with the Kansas brute.
Six Encounters Later …
Over the following week, Daniels hunted the buck seven or eight instances — and laid eyes on him throughout six of these sits. “He simply by no means made it inside vary in good mild,” he stated. “Generally he’d come out proper on the finish, and I’d sneak out early earlier than he bought too shut.”
Then got here Sept. 23. After two days of storms, the skies had been lastly clearing — although heavy clouds nonetheless dimmed the sunshine early.
Daniels used a waterway to entry his searching spot, which is a grassy strip that runs by crop fields that’s designed for water to empty by the sector so it doesn’t erode the crops. He bumped just a few deer on the best way in however knew from scouting that the large one he was after was bedded some other place.
Because the night settled, Daniels scanned the sector edge from his setup. With about 15 or 20 minutes of authorized mild left, he noticed the buck come over the hill. He was following just a few does, identical to earlier than.
This time, every part went proper.
It was nonetheless fairly darkish due to the clouds, however he had simply sufficient mild. “After I shot, I heard the bullet hit — that sound you always remember. The smoke cleared, and after I regarded by my binoculars, he was already down.”
The buck fell inside 20 yards.
A Hunt to Keep in mind
After taking just a few moments to gather himself, Daniels known as his spouse, who got here out to assist with the restoration. “She’s my foremost searching companion,” he stated. “It was superior to share that second together with her.”
The deer ended up scoring 194 inches — Daniels’ largest ever. He plans to have it shoulder-mounted in a singular “Ridge Runner” pose, which incorporates a part of the deer’s entrance legs on a pedestal base.
A Household Custom
Searching runs deep within the Daniels household. Matthew’s father holds the Kansas state report for a typical whitetail — the third-largest ever taken with a bow on the earth.
“It’s sort of humorous,” Daniels stated. “My dad has one of many largest deer ever taken, however he’s by no means been a trophy hunter. He’s all the time hunted for meals. I assume his deer impressed me a bit of, however for me it’s extra in regards to the problem. I like chasing mature bucks — ones which can be good and have survived just a few seasons. That’s the true trophy.”
Between his spouse’s current doe harvest and his Kansas large, the Daniels household had a season to recollect — one which proves persistence, endurance, and respect for the hunt nonetheless repay in a giant approach.
