POPEYE

Brennen Nading - Iowa - November 7th, 2025

By: Brennen Nading (@nadingbr)

The story of "Popeye" began back in 2022.  The first encounter I recall with him came on October 6th, 2022.  He actually stepped out that evening with the buck I was targeting that year, "Mini Mag".  We had encounters with this deer each of the next couple seasons. Fast forward to 2025 and "Popeye" was now the oldest deer on the farm to my knowledge.  Going into the season, he was definitely at the top of the hitlist.  With several promising young bucks coming up in the ranks, I felt the pressure to get "Popeye" out of there to make room for them.  My first sit would be on October 18th and it would also be my first encounter of the season with Popeye.  We had him at about 50 yards in the timber, and he eventually ran off chasing a doe.  My next sit on the farm wouldn't be until November 5th, for an evening hunt.  We decided to sit in a spot with good visibility to get a feel for what the deer were doing and how the bucks were acting. We laid eyes on a lot of deer that evening but no mature buck sightings.  The morning of November 7th found me in one of my favorite stands, the "Cedar Water" stand.  Over the last several years, "Popeye" proved to use this area frequently.  I felt like it was my best chance at seeing him.  30 minutes after sunrise, I caught antlers in the thick brush 50-60 yards away.  I let out a couple aggressive grunts followed by a snort wheeze.  "Popeye" came to the base of our tree on a string.  Only 4 yards from the tree, the arrow found its mark!