I realize my quest for Crabclaw is soon approaching some sort of conclusion. Whether the conclusion is the end of the season or the end of Crabclaw, it really doesn’t matter at this time of the game. I’ve come to realize … that the hunt is more important than the kill.
Iolan Don Erbert wrote those words 30 minutes before he took a huge whitetail buck that in his three-year quest he had named Crabclaw.
After 67 days of hunting, Erbert took the buck down from a tree stand along a soybean field in Coffey County.
A clean 30-yard double-lung bow shot stung the buck, which bolted and then crumpled lifeless 100 yards away. Hundreds of hours of sitting and waiting ended with a decision made in seconds.
“I’ve sang in front of big crowds and I’ve bungee jumped, but nothing compares to the heart-pounding excitement of seeing movement that turns out to be a big buck,” Erbert said.
The buck had a gross score of over 200 points and netted 181â with a 25-inch inside spread, making it the 19th largest typical-rack deer ever taken in Kansas and 128th among 48,000 recorded by Pope & Young for archery kills.
Scoring is a complicated process that takes into account a rack’s width, mass and length. A score of 125 is required for inclusion in archery record books.
Erbert’s success came on Dec. 11, the last day of the Kansas firearms season; archers also may hunt while those with firearms are afield.
He had had three previous opportunities this year.
Once the buck came with 10 yards of his stand, another time within 12. Both times obstructions discouraged a shot. The third time occurred when he was hunting with an outfitter from Chama, N.M., here at Erbert’s invitation.
“I had a clear shot (with a rifle) at 180 yards, but decided to wait,” he said. “I wanted to get Crabclaw with my bow.”
The evening of Dec. 11, Erbert said he had heard numerous rifle shots in the area, and “I wasn’t expecting him that night.”
He was sitting between where he thought the buck was bedding and his food source, a cut bean field. A doe came out, and looked back, a sign that another deer likely was near.
“Then, all of sudden, there he was,” Erbert said.
He reached for his bow and it struck the rack in which it was hanging, making a noise that caused the buck to freeze. Then, when he started to draw the bow, the string got tangled for a second or two in his safety harness.
“That made more noise,” and Erbert feared the buck would spook and dart off.
