This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one of these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn More
The first time Trigg Cooke laid eyes on the buck he’d come to know as “Beanie,” it was mid-July in western Kentucky. He was sitting on the edge of a small-acre soybean field, glassing with a new spotting scope and phone mount, and his 4-year-old daughter was bouncing around beside him in the passenger seat.
“I bought that setup just so she and I could ‘watch TV together,’” Trigg says. “And man, we got a show that night.”
As the sun dipped, a heavy-racked buck stepped out to feed, and Trigg’s pulse jumped. His daughter named the deer on the spot.
“She said, ‘Beanie, because he’s eating beans,’” Trigg laughs. “And it just stuck.”
What followed was a four week long cat and mouse game. Trigg and his brother-in-law, Steven, who runs an exceptional Hunting Facebook page called The Harvst, hung trail cams, glassed religiously from a distance, and zeroed in on the buck’s entry point to the field. Every move Beanie made, they studied.
By early September, the duo had stands hung and a strategy in place. They were going to try and film the kill. But both of them knew that mature bucks rarely follow the script like they’re supposed to.
The opener of Kentucky’s bow season fell on Saturday, September 6. A rare cold front had rolled in, dropping the high temp to 70. Conditions finally felt right.
“We snuck in about 4:30 that afternoon,” Trigg says. “Got the camera set up, got in the stand. I closed my eyes for a second and said a little prayer.”
Beanie didn’t make them wait long. Just before 7:15 p.m., the buck stepped out of the creek and into the field. About two hours earlier than expected.
“He came out way earlier than we figured,” Trigg says. “We thought we’d be stuck in the stand after dark, but that front got him on his feet early.”
Thick trees blocked their view as the buck closed the distance fast. One minute he was 150 yards out. The next, he was standing 20 yards away, right beneath them.
“He knew something wasn’t right,” Trigg says. “He kept staring up the tree at us. He was head-on, no shot. I couldn’t even draw.”
The moment hung heavy. Then the buck turned to leave.
Trigg came to full draw, and just before Beanie slipped out of range, he paused and looked back one last time.
“That was it. I let it fly,” Trigg says. “But the shot was high and back. My heart sank.”
They watched the buck run with the arrow sticking out his side, blood spraying, before disappearing into the beans. Trigg was in full panic mode.
“I thought I screwed it up bad. We knew there wouldn’t be much blood. That arrow stayed in him.”
Still, they’d seen him fall. About 125 yards out. Just to be safe, they still backed out, called their buddy Corey, and gave it some time.
When they walked up on the buck, the emotion of all the hard work hit like a brick wall. Weeks of work. Hours of strategy. A once-in-a-lifetime deer.
But the best part? Getting to share it with the ones he loves most.
“Calling my daughter and telling her, ‘Baby, Daddy and Uncle Steven killed Beanie tonight’—that meant everything,” Trigg says.
The velvet buck’s exact score hasn’t been shared yet, but the heavy frame and mature body leave little doubt: Beanie is a Kentucky STUD.
For Trigg, the hunt was the payoff of a plan executed right. And also a reminder that even when things don’t go perfect, faith, patience, and a little help from above can make it all come together.
Check out the full hunt below!
