1ST IOWA BUCK

Quinten Tomajcik - Iowa - November 10th, 2025

By: Brennen Nading (@nadingbr)

Quinten is one of our 2025 interns.  He was excited to put boots on the ground here in Iowa, with hopes of harvesting his first Iowa buck this fall.  The prep work began back in the summer as he spent every evening driving around, getting familiar with the area, and scouting public lands.  With a handful of spots scouted out, Quinten felt good about some of the spots he had found to hunt.  In late October Quinten went into a spot where he had been getting a really big buck on camera.  As luck would have it, they encountered the giant deer, but Quinten never got a shot off.  Disappointed with himself, Quinten kept on hunting.  On the morning of November 10th, he would get another opportunity.  Unfortunately he pulled the shot and ended up hitting the deer further back than one would hope.  The interns played it safe and gave the deer plenty of time to expire.  They would return that evening and Quinten was able to walk up on his first ever Iowa buck - on public land!