2017 - First buck with a BOW!

November 14, 2017 • Voyageur Press

“One arrow and one shot,” Matt said proudly. “I was able to bag my first deer with the bow!”

Matt, 31, had bowhunted for four years when he was younger but decided to return to the sport this season with a specific goal in mind.

“I really wanted to get a deer with my bow,” he explained. “I didn't even buy a rifle license this year.”

It took until the third week of bow season, which coincided with the rifle opener, for Matt to get his opportunity. The experience proved well worth the wait.

“This was just something I wanted to experience, and now I'm addicted,” he said.

Hunting and fishing have long been Matt's greatest passions. He had seen the buck occasionally on his trail camera but hadn't captured many images of it.

“I was hoping I would get the chance to get a nice shot,” he said.

That opportunity arrived Saturday, Nov. 4, at approximately 4:30 p.m. Matt was sitting in his stand when he heard a couple of branches crack.

“I looked over, and there he was, about 50 yards away,” Matt recalled. “I slowly stood up, got ready, and here he comes closer and closer.”

The buck eventually approached to within about 30 yards.

“I put him on the pin, took a breath and let the arrow fly,” Matt said. “It was a good shot. Of course, now I was shaking with happiness.”

Matt waited about 40 minutes before enlisting the help of two good friends, Ted Thompson and Calvin Wield, to track the deer. They found the buck not far from where Matt had shot it.

“At that point, it was nothing but smiles and high fives!” he said.

Matt's passion for hunting goes back to his childhood, when he helped with deer drives before he was old enough to carry a rifle. Once he was old enough to hunt, he harvested his first deer alongside his grandfather, Don Stelton, whom he calls Papa, and his father, Mark Salo.

Now, with his first bow-killed deer under his belt, Matt is already looking ahead to another opportunity.



When asked whether he planned to enter any regional Big Buck contests, Matt recalled a conversation with Rob Parrot at Bear's Den, where he took the deer for processing.

“That is exactly what Rob Parrot said up at Bear's Den when I brought it up to be processed,” Matt said. “That is something I will for sure want to do next year.”

After years away from bowhunting, Matt's return to the sport produced a memorable buck, a successful one-shot hunt and a new enthusiasm for the challenge of hunting with a bow.