Brooks Fost is 29 years old and from Fulton County, PA but currently resides in State College, PA with his wife Stephanie.  Growing up in rural PA meant Brooks had lots of time to spend in the woods.  He became addicted at an early age to the challenges of hunting.  Brooks entered the world of bowhunting at the age of 16 thanks to his good friends Dustin and Dave and has never looked back. 

After 13 years, Brooks has recorded more than 30 archery harvests in multiple states.  His success has not come without a price though. Preparation and scouting never ends for this hunter (and his wife will attest to that).  Each year his goal is not only to harvest a mature buck using his food plots but put together the entire story to share. 

When Brooks is not hunting or scouting, he is working on a PhD in Fishery Science at Penn State University.  Brooks already possesses a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science and a Masters in Fisheries Science from the University of Tennessee.  Through his education, Brooks has obtained a great deal of knowledge pertaining to wildlife management and ecology.  Most of his food plot knowledge came from school but he also has learned much from trial and error in the field - there is no substitute for experience. 

Brooks looks forward to sharing his hunting season with you this year.  He is also anxious to share knowledge that will make you a better hunter and wildlife manager.
 

  2011 Hit List

This spring Brooks planted 2.5 acres of soybeans, 8 acres of corn, and also maintained a ladino clover plot.  In August he planted a fall/winter plot with Frigid Forage Autumn Quick Plot.  These plots are the initial focus of his scouting.  He spends many hours watching deer feeding in the food plots during the summer to start patterning the bucks and become more familiar with the deer in his pictures.  Next, Brooks uses trail cams to monitor Trophy Rock mineral sites to build a database of bucks visiting the area.  From these photos, Brooks determines his hit list.  These deer are 3 years old, or older.  Last year’s hit list included “88”, “Big Shot”, “Hollywood”, “Titan”, and “Gripper”.  Brooks harvested “88” early in archery season last year and also arrowed a great buck in Nebraska.  His friend Ben put “Titan” on the ground in rifle season.  The other bucks have carried over to this year's list. 

 

“Black Magic Jr.”: Finally, a main frame 10 point is using my plots. Our genetics are poor so any deer with more than 8 points gets me really excited. He was an 8 pt last year as a 2 or 3 year old deer. He is easy to pick out because he has an overbite. He vanished the beginning of July and just showed back up in early September. I recently saw him while filming on my soybean plot and got some awesome footage of him out of velvet.

“Mr. Perfect”: This is another mature buck using my foodplots. He is a big frame 8 point with long beams and g3’s that angle forward. Just a perfect 8 point that I would like to put on the ground. I believe this buck is also 4 years old.

“Sidekick”: Sidekick hung out with Big Shot from my hit list last year so that is how he got his name. This buck is a 3yr old 8 point with good mass. He frequents the foodplots and usually enters in daylight. I hope to encounter this buck early in the season utilizing the soybeans or autumn quick plot.

   

 

State College, PA

“Needles”: This is a 3 yr old buck that has been a regular on my trail camera. I had pictures of him last year when he was an 8 pt with long tines but not much mass so I called him needles. He is a 10 point with g3’s that angle forward and point in. The coolest thing about him is the matching sticker points that point forward from the base of his brow tines. He has been traveling to a standing corn field not far from his bedding area. Mornings may be my best chance to catch him because he passes through about 1 hour after daylight. I will have a double set ready to intercept him coming to and from the field.

Brooks' 2010 Hit List    

This spring Brooks planted 2 acres of Eagle Seed forage soybeans, 4 acres of corn, and also maintained a ladino clover plot.  In August he planted a fall/winter plot with Frigid Forage Big and Beasty Brassicas.  These plots are the initial focus of his scouting.  He spends many hours watching deer feeding in the food plots during the summer to start patterning the bucks and become more familiar with the deer in his pictures.  Next, Brooks uses trail cams to monitor Trophy Rock mineral sites to build a database of bucks visiting the area.  From these photos, Brooks determines his hit list.  These deer are generally 3 years old, or older.  Last year’s hit list included “88”, “Tiny”, and “Gripper”.  A few of those have carried over to this year's list.

Fulton County PA

“Gripper”
I have trail cam pics of this buck for several years now.  I never saw him while hunting last season.  This year he is 4 or 5 years old.  This deer is also frequently coming to the soybeans and clover plots in daylight.  I hope to catch up with him early in the season.

“Big Shot”
This buck was around the food plots a lot last year as a 2 yr old.  This year he makes the hit list at 3 yrs of age.  He is a wide, tall 8pt.  He is also hitting the food plots in daylight and I hope to see him in the early season.

“88”
I have a lot of history with this buck.  He is 4yrs old.  This buck was yielding lots of pics and video of last season around the plots.  He is no where near as visible this year.  I only get pics of him every few days.  This year he has an odd right side probably resulting from an injury.  Not sure if I will shoot him or not given his messed up rack.

“Hollywood”
This buck got his name because he is always in front of the camera.  As a 3yr old 8pt he makes the hit list.  He has good tine length but not a lot of mass.

“Migrator”
Just got pics of this buck beginning of September.  Hence his name.  He looks familiar but I haven’t figured out who he is yet.  Also looks to be a 3yr old 8pt.

State College, PA 
I don’t have any history with these bucks.  Just started exploring this area.  These bucks utilize a bedding area very close to crop fields so it will be difficult hunting.

“Lobster 9”
This is a really cool buck.  He is a mainframe 9pt with a sticker on his left base.  He has great mass too.  Probably the highest scoring buck on my hit list this year.  I believe he is 4 yrs old. 

“Big Brow”
Great looking 8pt with long brow tines.  I think this buck is also 4 yrs old.

“Lucky 8”
He always seems to be in the background of pictures or there right before the flash kicks in.

“Big Ugly”

A mature 7pt that is just plain ugly!  My camera man will get the green light on this buck if he walks by.

“Guardian”
If there is a pile of corn or apples you can be guaranteed this buck will be there eating on it and trying to run all others off.  He is missing a brow tine but still a nice 3yr old deer.

“The General”  
 Only managed to get 2 trail cam pics of this buck.  I watched him cross a soybean field one night.  He was leading a group of 12 deer and that’s how he got named.  Looks like a wide 8pt and an older deer.  If I see him within 45 yrds the Maxxis may come off the hanger.

Brooks' 2009 Hit List

Each spring I plant 2 acres of Eagle Seed forage soybeans, 4 acres of corn, and also maintain a ladino clover plot.  In August I planted a fall/winter plot with Frigid Forage Big and Beasty Brassicas.  These plots are the initial focus of my scouting.  I've spent many hours watching deer feeding in the food plots during the summer to start patterning the bucks and become more familiar with the deer in my pictures.  Next, I use trail cams to monitor Trophy Rock mineral sites to build a database of bucks visiting the area.  From these photos, I can determine my hit list.  These deer are generally 3 years old, or older.  Last year’s hit list included “88”, “Tiny”, and “Gripper”.  A few of those have carried over to this year's list.

“8 BALL”: This buck is a mature 8-point that has nice tine length and a huge body.  Brooks will have to hunt this deer cautiously due to his age.

“BIG NINE”:  This is one of Brooks's highest scoring deer.  It is a mainframe nine-point that has great tine length and is fairly wide.  "Big Nine" provided Brooks with some great trail camera pictures.

“BROW”:  This buck is an older looking deer with mainframe points in short supply, but he appears to have a split brow on the left side. "Brow" wouldn't score a ton but he would be cool deer to have on the wall.

“GHOST”: "Ghost" is another one of Brooks's high scoring deer. He too has great tine length and nice main beams.  It will be interesting to see if this big boy shows back up this fall.

“88”: This buck is believed to be 3 ½ years old.  I cannot seem to match him up with any deer from last year.  He has been frequenting my soybean plot all summer and is one of the first to enter in the evening.  You can watch footage of him from early August.

“Gripper”: I have trail cam pics of this buck from last summer at 2 1/2 years old.  He wandered past my stand several times last year but was too young and therefore not on my hit list. 

This year he is 3 ½ years old.  He has added a lot of mass and tine length.  His body has also gotten much larger.  This deer is also frequently coming to the soybeans and will hopefully be captured on video soon for you to view.

“Tiny”: I believe this deer was a nice 3 ½ year old 9pt from my hit list last year called “Big 9”.  I never saw him while hunting but he has apparently made it another year.  He is in the background of the photo. 

This year he is 4 ½ years old.  I decided to rename him because he deserved better.  The last trail cam photo of him was on July 15th.  I recently saw him in the soybean food plot and he has n a lot!!!  Hopefully I can get some good footage of this deer to share with you.

"BENDER": He is a 3 year old with some character but not overly big.  He may be a buck that I let go when season rolls around so that he can get older for next season.  However, there is a chance that if he looks older than what I think he is from the stand, he will get shot.

"RUNT": This buck is a 3 year old who is only a six point.  His genetics need removed!  If you allow a buck like this to hang around for a long time then he is only going to get older and run younger bucks off that have a lot more potential than he does. 

"BEAMER": "Beamer" is a 3 year old that bent his left beam.   Looks a lot like "88" but smaller.  Even though he is smaller, if he walks by my stand you can bet that I will be shooting at him.

"GOLIATH": I recently spotted Goliath feeding under some fruit trees so I set up some cameras to get pictures.  They speak for themselves.  He is a main-frame 10-point with matching stickers on his G2's and is close to 19" wide. I think he is 5 years of age and he will push 145".  I had pictures of him 2 years ago and had not seen him since.  This deer is still frequenting the apple tree.  He is likely bedding on a thick ridge near a creek bottom.  My first attempt will be at the apple tree the first evening of bow season. 

I set up a ground blind a week ago with a round bale on each side for cover.  Hopefully, he comes in for a sweet snack that evening and I will introduce him to the ALPHAMAX!  He is the largest buck ever captured on film in this area and will definitely be the focus of my attention.