Taylor Harris thought he had ruined a prime morning of Iowa bowhunting when he realized his release was sitting in his truck. Going back for it put him in a different place at exactly the right time. In episode 7 of A Hunter’s Legacy, he tells Mitchell Fox how that mistake became part of the story behind his biggest buck.
Taylor also shares the family background that got him outdoors, years spent traveling for work, and a new chapter as a husband and dad in Reinbeck, Iowa.
The Kid Who Could Not Wait to Go Hunting
Taylor remembers joining his dad around age ten. His dad would sit in the stand while Taylor waited at the base of the tree, wishing he could see everything happening above him.
The interest came naturally. Hunting shows and the deer his grandfather had harvested gave him plenty to think about. On hunting mornings, he was eager to get his dad out of bed, even after a full week of carpentry work.
A bow from his grandfather helped get things moving. His dad bought a bow too, and they began hunting together. Those early seasons gave Taylor a connection to the outdoors that carried into adulthood.
A Working Life With a Different Schedule
Before joining the Iowa DOT, Taylor spent 13 years working for a contracting business. He described extensive travel, sometimes being away roughly 300 days in a year.
By the time of the interview, life had changed quickly. A new job, marriage, and the birth of his son all arrived within a relatively short stretch. Hunting now fit into a different set of priorities.
Taylor met Mitchell at the Iowa Deer Classic and had listened to the show’s earlier episodes. What appealed to him was hearing people whose mistakes and circumstances felt familiar. He wanted the stories behind the season, including the days that went wrong.
An Unexpected Buck During a Shotgun Hunt
Taylor spent a few seasons joining a shotgun group after high school. As a younger hunter, he often did the walking, helping move deer toward the people waiting on stand.
One day, while talking to his dad on the phone during a walk through the timber, he came over a hill and saw a ten-pointer close by. The conversation ended abruptly as the hunt changed in seconds.
His dad was still on the line after Taylor took the deer. The surprise and their exchange afterward made the encounter memorable. Taylor laughs about how many quiet hours in a bow stand can produce nothing, while an ordinary moment during a walk can suddenly become a hunting story.
A Return to the Truck Changed the Morning
The bowhunt behind Taylor’s shoulder mount began on river-bottom ground he and his dad had bought. Arriving before daylight, he saw numerous deer in the field and took a different route toward his stand.
After sitting for a while, he noticed something felt wrong at his wrist. The release was missing. It was still on the truck’s center console.
Taylor climbed down and headed back. Near the truck, he spotted does moving with a buck behind them. With the release retrieved, he moved into the timber and settled near a tree. The deer came through, giving him an opportunity he would not have had from the original stand.
The buck became a mount and a story he still enjoys telling. He remembers a measurement taken shortly after the harvest of roughly 151 inches, but did not have a later official score to report. The meaning of the deer was clear without one.
The Memories Behind the Mount
Taylor points out that forgetting the release put him in position to see that buck. It was a fortunate outcome to a frustrating mistake, rather than a plan anyone could repeat.
The experience sits alongside family hunts, hard work, and the equipment mishaps discussed throughout the episode. Those details explain why a particular deer matters beyond the number attached to its antlers.
Listen to Taylor Harris in episode 7 of the A Hunter’s Legacy archive. For another Iowa hunter balancing family time with bowhunting, read Mitchell Kearns’ guest story.
