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When I got the call from Aaron DeHaan that he had just shot “El’ Diablo” – I didn’t believe him. I asked him over and over, seriously – are you serious? Aaron isn’t the type of guy to joke about this type of thing – but I still couldn’t believe it. Could it be true, could the monster buck they called “El’ Diablo” really dead – and caught on-camera for the world to see?
The DeHaan brothers are old friends from back in my Michigan days. They have been involved with WKP since the beginning, so it’s sure nice to be able to write this story for two guys who have worked very hard, and deserve the attention. Last season Jason became famous for missing one of the most awesome bucks on our previous video “The Grind”. He had missed a monster of a “Double Droptine” buck, and it was just one of those bucks we all “felt” for Jason on. I mean – how many times does a guy get a chance to see; let-alone shoot a giant crazy double drop? Sorry Jason, it still probably stings a little.
This past shed season Aaron and Jason were on the farm walking and looking specifically for a set of sheds from the Double Drop. What they would end up finding would turn into a year-long quest. A quest for a buck named El’ Diablo. They found both sheds in a small wood-lot, and actually captured finding the sheds on-camera. Jason finds a side, and with Aaron recording, Jason walks a few yards and spots the other shed. Jason yelling at Aaron “O my god there it is” – Aaron yelling back “Shut up – you’re lying” – Jason - your kidding me”??? The footage of the sheds is just priceless – you simply can’t plan the real reactions of this stuff.
Here are a couple pictures of the sheds they found last year that scored nearly 210”! Yeah, that’s pretty big!
Throughout the entire season, Aaron and Jason have talked about this buck with both myself; and the WKP team at all the shows, training events, and whenever I happened to be in Michigan. As a whole, the entire team was just praying they might get a little footage of the beast – let-alone kill it! Well, to say these boys got the job done is an understatement. Just unbelievable!
Jason and Aaron actually filmed El’ Diablo on 3 different occasions this fall. Jason nearly killed the buck several days before Aaron had his encounter. They had the buck within 26 yards in some super-thick timber, and Jason just didn’t have a shot. They captured some of the most awesome footage of El’ Diablo on that encounter, I was just blown away at the size of this buck. He looked so big – it was almost fake.
On the morning of November 13th, Aaron’s DeHaan’s life would forever change. Jason was sitting on the side of the tree filming from the direction the buck came. The exact opposite direction they figured. Jason said at one point in the morning he just happened to look up in the pasture field straight in-front of him and saw nothing but giant bone closing the distance on them. He instantly yelled at Aaron to get ready, and he got the camera going and on the buck.
The buck gross scored 200” on the nose. Perfectly giant…
The buck quickly closed the distance to 23 yards, Aaron stopped him, and pulled the trigger of his life. The arrow hit the buck perfectly about 12 inches back from the shoulder, driving forward into the opposite side shoulder, straight through both lungs. I got a call from Aaron moments later when he had just smoked the buck of a lifetime.
Story continues below
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I was actually planning on leaving for the same area of Illinois for a filming weekend, truck packed, I told the boys – “I’ll be there in an hour”. I packed my last few things and was on my way to film the recovery.
Upon seeing two big smiles – I knew I was about to film the greatest recovery in WKP history. I was actually a little nervous; I just wanted everything to be perfect. Upon finding first blood, it didn’t take us long to find the buck. It had barely made it out of sight, and I actually had to hold Jason and Aaron back to get some footage along the way. Upon lifting the head of this massive buck, we were all pretty-much just speechless. Kind-of a dumb-founded massive cluster of bone – that pretty much has to be seen to believe.
The story of El’ Diablo will surely be one that goes down in the ages as we have some of the greatest documented footage I’ve seen with a buck of this caliber. It’s just VERY rare to see a whitetail like this; let alone have all the other footage and sheds to go along with it. I think I can speak for Aaron when I say that he is so grateful for the opportunity; well, that’s just Aaron. He is quite-possibly the nicest guy you will ever meet, so we are all just so happy for him. Couldn’t have happened to a better guy.
Good job guys – you made me very proud and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being involved with WKP. I can only hope some day I can return the favor in some way-shape-or-form. The big bonus about this story is that we can still make fun of Jason for missing the “Double Drop” – he he he….. Sorry Jay, it’s just too easy!
Aaron DeHaan’s story of the El’ Diablo buck will be featured in our next video that will be available mid-February.
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