ClubMembers

"Paco"

Paco is an original member of the club and has been hunting whitetails in the Mudbrook Valley since 1993. Although most of his deer hunting success has been with the rifle (he has four large wall mounts to his credit), he is a dedicated bowhunter who has had numerous opportunities to harvest large bucks only to see them slip away due to "bad luck". One of Paco's finest moments came back in 1998 when he shot a buck with an arrow that had first deflected off a small tree branch. The arrow's flight was redirected so that the broadhead just barely grazed the underside of the buck and "unzipped" his belly, thus leaving a visible trail of "guts" as he fled. After a few hundred yards of following the unusual trail of "spaghetti" we came upon the buck lying dead with virtually no guts in him at all. We have teased Paco many times about the shot he put on that buck...and now refer to it as the "zipper buck". In 2001 Paco killed his first Mudbrook wallhanger, a dandy 10 pointer, and in the years since has put himself in position to kill two more trophies...only to be disappointed with a near miss each time. Paco earned club bragging rights in 2005 with his 8 point buck and took top honors again in 2006 with a dandy 7 pointer...despite missing a smaller 8 pointer just moments before. It's better to be lucky than good sometimes!

"Barnacle"

Barnacle is the oldest member of the club...but in watching and listening to him you would think he's the youngest. He is constantly sharing his "experience and expertise" on all subjects with the other members. He had been strictly a rifle hunter for many years but took up bowhunting in 1996 after being persuaded by friends and getting the O.K. from his wife to go out and buy the necessary equipment. An interesting thing to note about Barnacle's first bow is that it was set up for him by a guy who is legally blind...which for a long time seemed to be explanation enough for his shooting skill. Barnacle is known far and wide for his ability to entertain and is also remembered by many as being somewhat of an "old hippie". Often times, when the club members are together, these two personality traits meet up and the result is hysterical. As for Barnacle's bowhunting resume, he currenlty holds club records in four categories. He has killed the clubs largest buck to date, has missed the most deer, has wounded the most deer, and one time even managed to shoot himself out of arrows (5 in all) during one single hunt! Barnacle was mired in a two year drought of not shooting a deer with his bow until shooting a doe and a six point buck during the 2006 season. Barnacle is back!

"Lefty"

Lefty has logged many hunting hours in the Mudbrook Valley and on other property near his home. He has a good understanding of whitetail behavior and consistently puts himself in position to see deer. Like the other members of the club, though, Lefty has also had his share of defining moments in the woods. One such experience occurred in November of 1996 when he was on stand in a pine tree that is located on the edge of a field. As evening approached some deer came to the field and began feeding. A hunting companion, who was in a stand on the other side of the field and down a fair distance, began flinging arrows at a doe. Well, this stirred up the deer and caused a fork buck to run towards Lefty and stop directly under his tree. Lefty peered through the maze of pine branches and thought he could snake an arrow in, so he raised his bow and drew back. As the arrow took flight it bounced off numerous pine boughs and landed harmlessly in a bush located below the tree. It never even made it to where the buck was standing...which was only three feet from the base of the tree! The other members of the club appreciated Lefty's honesty in telling the truth about his "misjudgement" but then quickly gave him the "ribbing" he had earned. To date, Lefty's biggest Mudbrook buck is a very fine 8 pointer he killed in 2000, but his real claim to fame is being a magnet for bears and coyotes....and for dancing to the song "Y.M.C.A." with swim goggles on. He also received a new nickname in 2003 from Paco's nephew Sleepy...who was always telling the rest of the Mudbrook team that Lefty was the "glue" that holds everything together. Paco took that and started calling him Elmer...as in "Elmers Glue". It's quite funny and has "stuck" with him. Lefty didn't fling an arrow in 2005 (which didn't surprise anyone) and managed to duplicate that feat in 2006...despite having a wall hanger buck just 8 yards from his tree!

It just to happened that the bruiser buck came along at the exact time Lefty decided to change his socks. Yes, his socks!

"Pedro"

Pedro is the "unofficial" leader of this interesting group of characters, not because of hunting skill or knowledge, but because his relatives own the farmland in Mudbrook Valley. He grew up rifle hunting the property but didn't develop the knowledge he now has of the land until he began bowhunting in 1993. Since that year many hours have been spent exploring, scouting, and studying the Mudbrook Valley which has paid off with consistent success in seeing and shooting bucks. Pedro's "shining moment" in the woods happened during the 1999 season. He was perched high in a tree on a sharply rising little knob called Salt Log Hill, which borders a large evergreen swamp. A summary of the event as quoted by Paco: "Now Pedro, who could be mistaken for a poster boy for Realtree Outdoors, always needs to look his best in the Mudbrook swamps. He also feels the need to wear his cap backwards. During this particular evening hunt in October, a nice 8 point buck came walking out of the swamp from the west at the exact time Pedro was facing that direction. Instead of having his freshly shaven face shaded from the sun by the lid of his cap, it was glistening like a babies butt and facing directly at the oncoming buck. Needless to say, once the buck started up the hill towards Pedro he saw this bright white reflection coming out of the east, and knowing that the sun is suppose to set behind him, bolted before ever presenting a good shot opportunity". What a perfect example of forgetting the "little" things that result in success. Pedro put a lot of effort into finding new stand sites for 2006 and his effort paid off on October 14th when he killed a respectable 8 pointer from a brand new stand called the Octopus. Pedro also downed a fine 11 point buck during the 2006 rifle season.

"Poison"

Poison is Pedro's first cousin and has been a member of the HHC since 2002. Like Pedro, he grew up being strictly a gun hunter until he was convinced that bow hunting is the most enjoyable way to hunt deer. Early in his bowhunting career Poison was known for inventing new and sometimes unbelievable ways to go about botching up prime shooting opportunities. During one season he missed the same buck on consecutive Saturday mornings in the same exact location. Another time he missed a buck then watched as it sniffed the arrow sticking out of the ground. The best example of Poison's bad luck / buck fever occurred early in the 2006 season. While on stand for an evening hunt he accidentally dropped one of his arrows out of the tree...thus leaving him with only two arrows for the hunt. As fate would have it, Poison missed not one but TWO different 8 point bucks that evening and then had to sit and watch the bucks feed 20 yards in front of him as daylight faded. What a way to go...OUCH! In recent years, however, Poison has figured some things out, as we all do over time, and killed a couple of real nice 8 pointers with his bow to go along with numerous gun bucks. There is no substitute for experience!

"Bee Sting"

Bee Sting's connection with the HHC began when he lived in the same neighborhood as Pedro & Poison. They all became friends and not long after Bee Sting was invited to hunt with the boys of Mudbrook. His nickname came about during a November rut hunt when he was allegedly stung by a bee in the middle of the night. We all know that there aren't too many bee's flying around in November so getting stung seemed to be a pretty rare occurrance...rare enough to warrant a nickname that will last forever. Prior to joining the HHC Bee Sting had only killed one deer with a bow but had some impressive success with his gun in northern Wisconsin. Much like Poison, his first few years of bow hunting with the Mudbrook boys was interesting and downright comical at times but over the years he has found his groove and killed some dandy bucks...thus becoming a threat to win the HHC Big Buck Award on a yearly basis. Bee Sting has also contributed his hard work and skills to the HHC on many occasions which has been very much appreciated by all.

"Chapper"

Chapper is the most recent addition to the HHC. He became friends with Barnacle on a summer camping trip and came to Mudbrook for his first bowhunt in 2006...and killed a dandy buck in the process. He immediately fit right in with the other Mudbrook Boys, and despite living over three hours away, has spent Opening Weekends and Rut Hunts with the HHC every year since. Chapper has become a great friend to all and has graciously donated hunting equipment and gear to the club on numerous occasions. In regards to hunting success, Chapper has killed a number of deer in Mudbrook since his initial wall mounter and has proven that when he shoots the deer go down...he is a closer!