True to Croton Creek form, the 2016 Team GVO Sooner State whitetail hunt was a success. In all, three does, three bucks and a turkey hit the red-clay hills that encompass much of the ranch.

Victory Archery President Steve Greenwood

Putting some horns on the ground were Bowhunting World Publisher Jared Pfeifer, Grand View Outdoors Vice President Derrick Nawrocki and Victory Archery President Steve Greenwood. Perhaps most exciting, though, was the fact that Grand View Media’s Chief Revenue Officer Chris Dolan put down his first doe on his very first archery hunt. For me personally, it was awesome to see how archery infects people in such a positive way. On Dolan’s first evening in the stand, he emptied his quiver. Scott Sanderford had him positioned in a perfect pinch point situated between heavy bedding cover and a lush, protein-rich alfalfa field. Dolan had a parade of does and young bucks slither through, but he was unable to connect.

Bowhunting World Publisher Jared Pfeifer with his buck

The next day, Dolan spent hours driving arrows into a pair of GlenDel 3-D targets. He was thirsty to improve and get back in the field. We took turns giving Dolan pointers, telling him to relax his grip, put a slight bend in his elbow, create a consistent anchor and stay strong in the front and strong in the back. By the end of the day, he was lethal with his Diamond Edge SB-1 out to a distance of 30 yards.

Dolan didn’t get another opportunity for a few days, but that didn’t stop him from shooting his bow. The guy was a machine. He wanted to make sure that if given the chance, his arrow would be true. That chance came on his third morning. Back in his secluded pinch, Dolan was able to release a good arrow on a do that was cruising past. The hit was a tad back, and, after trialing the doe for a bit, the team made the decision to back out. I could see the nervousness on Dolan’s face back at camp. Knowing how nervous he was, and confident we would find the doe, a few us went out and recovered her. When he arrived back at camp, we told Dolan it was time to go look for his doe. He sprang to his feet and walked directly toward Scott’s rig. It took him a minute to see his doe on the bed of the truck, but once he realized the little first-timer-deer-joke we’d pulled, he was elated. There’s nothing quite like your first!